The US state of California has legislated for assisted suicide. Having ““carefully read the thoughtful opposition materials presented by…doctors, religious leaders and those who champion disability rights,” Governor Jerry Brown signed off on the controversial AB2X-15 Bill, meaning that assisted suicide will be an option for terminally ill patients from January 2016. Opponents of the...
Ireland needs “to discuss possible changes to education” towards better accommodating transgender pupils, a Government minister has stated. The message came from Community and Social Support Minister Kevin Humphreys at the conclusion of the first round of talks between the Department of Education and various groups, including school representatives and those of the LGBT community,...
Pope Francis has said that the Church must fully support the traditional family. In his remarks on the second day of the synod on the family, the Pontiff described as “profound” the relationship between the Church and the family and stressed that “when families journey along the way of the Lord, they offer a fundamental...
A Christian couple in the US state of Oregon fined for declining on conscience grounds to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding face financial ruin as the state moves to enforce the ruling. The couple have also been ordered not to speak about their religious objections in the case. The Bureau of Labour said the punitive actions against the couple was...
The British Government has said it has no plans to compile a watchlist of faith leaders as part of its ‘anti-extremism’ strategy. Following a previous report by the Christian Institute’s that the government was planning, in draft legislation, to create a national register and impose a requirement for faith leaders to undergo security checks before...
Pope Francis has again offered a clear defence of the traditional family. Echoing the Book of Genesis, he said that God willed marriage to be “the loving union of a man and a woman”. He also reiterated the indissoluble nature of marriage. Speaking during the Mass to officially open the Synod on the family, the...
A Christian employee of Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) has been given leave to appeal a finding of harassment against her for sharing her faith with a Muslim colleague. Victoria Wasteney had been suspended for nine months from her post as an occupational therapist when a finding of ‘harassment’ and ‘bullying’ was made against her at an employment tribunal....
The Vatican has moved to clarify details of the Pope’s recent meeting with Kim Davis, the US clerk imprisoned for refusing to issue same-sex marriage licences. Amid a media storm over the meeting, which reportedly took place at the Apostolic Nunciature in Washington DC during the recent papal visit, the Vatican Press Office issued a...
School patronage in Ireland is creating segregation, a school principal has charged, despite evidence to the contrary. As four non-denominational Educate Together schools in Dublin launched a common enrolment system, Colette Kavanagh, a principal of one of the schools told The Irish Times newspaper that due to the current patronage system, new schools were becoming...
Religious freedom is increasingly under threat in the modern world, a Vatican envoy has warned. Addressing the issue of fundamental freedoms during a session of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Msgr Janusz Urba?czyk, the Holy See’s Permanent Representative to that body, said: “The human rights of those who wish to profess...
