Initiatives designed to defend marriage and oppose abortion are essential elements in the building of the civilisation of love, Pope Benedict has said. Speaking to an audience of social workers in Fatima on Thursday afternoon, he expressed “deep appreciation for all those social and pastoral initiatives which “were openly concerned to defend life and to...
Marriages where husbands are involved in childcare and chores are at less risk of divorce than marriages where men do minimal housework, new research has found. The study, from the London School of Economics, found that the greater the fathers’ contribution to looking after children and doing household chores, the lower the risk of divorce....
Conservative plans to cut taxes for married couples have been the first casualty of the coalition betweeen Tories and the Liberal Democrats. The tax break, which had been a centrepiece of Tory plans to promote marriage as a means of tackling “Broken Britain” had been championed by David Cameron (pictured) since he was elected leader...
The Government is planning legislation which will give those who have ‘acquired a new gender’ the right to marry. In response to a Dáil question from Sinn Féin TD Aengus Ó’Snodaigh, Minister for Social Protection Éamon Ó’Cuiv (pictured) said that the Government was committed to to introducing “legal recognition of the acquired gender of transsexuals”....
New guidelines issued by the Scottish government will mean that children over the age of 12 found to be having ‘consensual’ sex will not automatically be referred to the police. Professionals working with children should respect “the freedom of young people to make decisions about their own lives”, the new guidelines say information. Critics have...
A “one-model-fits-all secular system” is not appropriate for Irish education, a leading Church of Ireland cleric has said. Retired Church of Ireland Archdeacon of Dublin Gordon Linney, writing in Church of Ireland magazine Catalyst, he said that, while educational reform was needed, it shouldn’t be “on terms dictated by a secular agenda represented to be...
Marriage is “an instrument of salvation” for society as well as for individual couples, the Pope has said. Speaking on Wednesday to future participants in the Congress on the Family, which will take place in Jonkoping, Sweden from May 14-16, he said that marriage, “like any worthwhile goal,” it is demanding, challenging and calls us...
A report by a leading UK think tank has shown the British families face ‘couple penalties’ of up to double what they incurred in 1997. The report, compiled by the widely respected Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) shows that the size of couple penalties have increased since 1997-98. It estimates that couples face an average...
Police in the UK have arrested and charged a Christian street preacher for expressing his religious beliefs about homosexual conduct. Dale Mcalpine, of Workington in Cumbria, appeared before a court last Friday and pleaded not guilty to breaching section 5 of the Public Order Act. Mr Mcalpine is being supported by The Christian Institute, a...
An article in a leading Irish medical journal has hit out at the decision of the Fitness to Practice committee of the Medical Council to charge fertility expert Dr Phil Boyle of professional misconduct. Dr Boyle, who operates a fertility practice in the Galway Clinic, was accused with the charge because he refused to treat...
