Two Catholic secondary schools in Dublin have been accused of bias by four Muslim families for admitting Catholic children ahead of non-Catholic children. The two schools, St Benildus and Oatlands Colleges, elected not to enrol the children of the Muslim parents due to a shortage of places. However, according to a report in the Irish...
The BBC has told presenters that they should use “religiously neutral” terms instead of “BC” or “AD” to avoid causing non-Christians offence. However they are facing opposition from leading presenters over the move. Ethics specialists for the corporation suggested that the modern phrases “Common Era” and “Before Common Era” should be considered as alternative terms...
Police in the English county of Lancashire have told the owner of a Christian café to stop displaying Bible texts on a video screen, because it ‘breaches’ public order laws. Officers attended the Salt & Light Coffee House on Layton Road, Blackpool, on Monday 19 September, following a complaint about “insulting” and “homophobic” material. The...
A Church of Ireland minister who decided that an openly gay man was not suitable as a volunteer for a local youth group is standing by his decision after being attacked by a gay rights group within the Church of Ireland. Rev Kenneth Lindsay, of the Methodist and Church of Ireland churches in Ballinamallard, Co...
The Obama Administration’s decision to challenge the constitutionality of the Defence of Marriage Act (DOMA) in the courts could create “a national conflict between Church and State of enormous proportions” the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has warned. In an open letter to President Barack Obama, Archbishop Timothy Dolan of...
Almost half of children (48pc) whose fathers do not live with them see their dads less than once a week, according to the latest report from the Government’s longitudinal study on the progress of Ireland’s children. Parental separation is having “a considerable impact” on children’s routines, and leading to relationships with non-resident parents which are...
Pope Benedict has asked Germany’s MPs to reflect on whether the moral law has its origin in a Creator, or whether it is an invention of Man. The Pope, who is on a State Visit to his native country, was given a two-minute standing ovation by parliamentarians following his 20 minute address. He told Germany’s...
Proposed changes to recognise “transgendered persons” are offensive and dehumanising, a leading transgender campaigner has said. This is despite the fact that the Irish law looks set to be based on the UK’s, which is one of the most radical in Europe. Writing in yesterday’s Irish Times, campaigner Leslie Sherlock said that government proposals to...
Nearly one out of every five births in the first quarter of this year was to a cohabiting couple, according to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO). According to its quarterly Vital Statistics report, 3,622 births were to unmarried parents with the same address, which amounted to 18.2pc of all births. Overall,...
One of the most prestigious Catholic universities in America has been threatened with a law suit for seeking to revert to single-sex dormitories. John Banzhaf, a professor at George Washington University Law School, has filed a complaint against the President of Catholic University of America (CUA), Mr John Garvey, alleging that the university’s plan violates...
