Religious freedom in the US is under “dramatic and immediate threat” a leading Catholic bishop has said. In a speech to the General Assembly of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Archbishop William Lori referred to a range of challenges to the conscience rights in the public square. Archbishop Lori, who is chairman of...
The Forum on the future patronage of Catholic schools has recommended the abolition of the rule which allows denominational schools to permeate the school day with their ethos. The last public meeting of the Forum took place yesterday. The recommendations of the Advisory Group to the Forum were presented Professor John Coolahan. One of the...
Same-sex marriage is “ without doubt, the most important civil rights issue of our time”, according to newly elected Labour TD Aodhán Ó Ríordán. In a statement released today, Mr Ó Ríordán, Labour TD from Dublin North East, said that last year’s Civil Partnership Act “must be greatly welcomed”. The legislation gave same-sex couples almost...
Women over 40 now account for almost one in five IVF procedures in the UK, according to new figures. The figures, published by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), which regulates the fertility industry in Britain, show that proportion has almost doubled in the last 13 years. In 1998 the over 40s only accounted...
Only 15pc of scientists at major research universities believe religion and science are always in conflict, according to a new study. And it found that 68 percent of scientists surveyed consider themselves spiritual to some degree. The research, carried out by Rice University, found that a majority of scientists viewed both religion and science as...
Increasing pressure is being brought on the Government to recognise surrogacy arrangements contracted overseas. In a recent court case, the parents of a child conceived by surrogacy were not recognised as the legal parents of the child by the Circuit Court. Both the Leader of the Opposition, Michéal Martin and Foreign Affairs Minister Eamon Gilmore...
Women are more than three times as likely to work part time than men, according to a new report. International research shows that this is in line with the preference of most women. According to the new ESRI study, almost 40 per cent of women work part-time compared with 12 per cent of men. The...
Social Protection Minister, Joan Burton, is to propose a major change to the qualifying criteria for the lone parents’ allowance, according to a report in the Sunday Times. At present a lone parent receives the payment until his or her child reaches the age of 18. The Sunday Times reports that officials at the Department...
Forced sterilisation is in breach of the European Convention of Human Rights, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has found. In a ruling last week, the ECHR found that forced sterilisation constituted “a major interference with a person’s reproductive health status” and as such was in violation of article 3 and 8 (prohibition of...
The Catholic Church in Scotland is stepping up its campaign against Government proposals to legalise same-sex marriage. The hierarchy has sent out a second wave of 100,000 postcards to help parishioners make their views known to the Scottish Assembly. The Scottish Government is currently consulting on whether to legalise gay marriage. The consultation document says...
