How Relationships and Sexuality Education is taught in schools is currently under review. The Iona Institute recently heard from Dr Olwyn Mark who described what a good RSE course looks like and what elements it ought to contain. One important point she made is that it is impossible for RSE to be morally neutral. Dr...
Dr Stephen Bullivant of St Mary’s University in London analyses the religion results from Census 2016 and finds an Ireland where religious affiliation is falling but is still very high by European standards. You can view his presentation here. He addressed the topic at a meetings of The Iona Institute held on August 24, 2017....
The Iona Institute hosted Dr Finola Kennedy recently who described how, from 1930, and very much against the prevailing mood of the time, Frank Duff and the Legion of Mary helped unmarried mothers to keep their babies. He did this with scarce resources and the help of the Legion’s volunteers. This was in strong contrast...
Hear a fascinating and in-depth talk by Jennifer Lahl on the history of surrogacy, the industry that services it, and the victims it has left in its wake. The talk was hosted by The Iona Institute. Jennifer is the founder and president of The Center for Bioethics and Culture Network(CBC) in California. She has 25...
A recent paper from The Iona Institute shows that families today are massively penalised by the tax system compared with families in the past.
On June 9, John Waters addressed a packed meeting of The Iona Institute in the Davenport hotel, Dublin. His topic was ‘Ireland and the End of Debate’. In a wide-ranging address he described how the range of acceptable opinion in Ireland has become narrower and narrower over time. He said that rather than helping to open...
Christians and other religious minorities in ISIS-controlled areas of Syria and Iraq are being subjected to ferocious persecution for their beliefs. They have been killed, enslaved, sexually abused and driven from their homes. In April, John Pontifex of Aid to the Church in Need addressed a joint meeting of The Iona Institute and Aid to...
In January, the Iona Institute and the Irish Catholic newspaper held a conference called ‘Pope Francis and the Future of the Family’. It was a reflection on the two Synods on the Family that took place in Rome in 2014 and 2015 and which led to the Apostolic Exhortation, ‘Amoris Laetitia’ in April. The keynote...
In February the Bishop of Elphin, Kevin Doran delivered a talk called ‘How should a Catholic think about politics? In it, he said he found it “very difficult to see how any Catholic could, in good conscience, vote for a candidate or a political party whose policy it is to legalise abortion”. He listed the areas...
At an Iona Institute meeting in Sligo, Bishop Kevin Doran addressed the topic, ‘How should a Catholic think about politics’.I find it very difficult to see how any Catholic could, in good conscience, vote for a candidate or a political party whose policy it is to legalise abortion”, the Bishop of Elphin, Kevin Doran will...
