Tens of thousands of people rallied in Paris and across France on Saturday to protest government proposals to legalise same-sex marriage and adoption. Under the slogan “one dad and one mom for every child” opponents of the proposal called it a “major and dangerous upheaval”. Protests took place on the streets of Rennes, Nantes, Dijon,...
Military chaplains who do not support same-sex marriage could be dismissed under Government plans, a former Defence Minister has warned. Sir Gerald Howarth, who served as a Defence Minister until September this year, made his concerns known in a letter to Defence Secretary Philip Hammond. Sir Gerald cautioned that a chaplain who was also a...
New faith schools in the UK could be required to set aside as much as 50pc of place for pupils from non-religious backgrounds in the event of oversubscription if a judicial review currently being heard in the High Court is successful. This could mean such schools having to turn away children from the faith they were...
A third of births took place outside marriage in 2010, or 25,373 in total, according to the latest Vital Statistics Report. It marks a 0.4 percent increase compared 2009. In that year, 25,252 children were born outside marriage, representing 33.4pc of all births in that year. However, over the longer term, figures show that Ireland...
A group of MPs are urging David Cameron (pictured) to keep his commitment to introducing a tax break for married couples. In a letter to The Daily Telegraph, fifteen Conservatives, including former ministers, demanded action as part of the Finance Bill 2013. The Tory party promised a transferrable tax allowance for married couples in their...
A senior Maltese politician, Dr Tonio Borg, who has been nominated for the position of EU Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy was grilled by committee members of the European Parliament on Tuesday over his Catholic convictions. Reports suggest that Dr Borg won over a number of doubters during his confirmation hearing this week. A...
Less than 40pc of parents have responded to a Department of Education pilot survey as to their preferred choice of patron for Catholic primary schools, new figures suggest. The online survey was carried out in Arklow, Castlebar, Tramore, Trim and Whitehall in Dublin. The actual results of the surveys will not be known until next...
The Vatican has reiterated its opposition to same-sex marriage, insisting that children should have a right to say they have a father and a mother. Speaking on Vatican Radio, the press secretary for Pope Benedict, Fr Federico Lombardi noted “a widespread tendency” in the West “to modify the classic vision of marriage between a man...
A row has erupted in Brussels over whether plans to place a 25-metre ‘tree’ made from giant TV screens in the city’s Grand Place is a deliberate snub to Christianity. City councilwoman Bianca Debaets attacked the decision to erect the new display saying it was motivated by a desire not to offend Muslims and was...
The Tánaiste, Eamon Gilmore (pictured), has said he would like to see a referendum on the issue of same-sex marriage “as soon as possible”. He said that the issue would be one of the first to be addressed by the Constitutional Convention, which is set to meet for the first time next month. Speaking on...
