News

Failed adoptions in UK double, new figures show

The number of adopted children in the UK who have been returned to care homes because their new parents cannot cope with them has doubled in the past five years, according to a report in the London Times. Data obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show that the number has increased by a third...

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“Cooling off period” for divorcing couples proposed

UK couples thinking about a divorce should be required by law to have a three month “cooling off” period to get more information as to what divorce involves financially and emotionally according to a new family law report. The suggestion is one of a number of proposals put forward in a wide-ranging review of UK...

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UK teens told that “sex keeps you healthy”

Teenagers should be told “an orgasm a day keeps the doctor away”, according to a new booklet produced by the British heatlh service, the NHS. A new leaflet, entitled Pleasure, says health promotion experts focus too much on encouraging ’safe sex’ and not enough on enjoyment. It has been circulated to teachers, parents and youth...

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Government publishes first part of major study on children

The first results from the National Longitudinal Study of Children, a major study of Ireland’s children, was launched today. The study, entitled Growing up in Ireland, partly involves tracking the lives of 8,500 nine-year-old children and their families, draws on data collected during Wave One of the Child Cohort which took place between September 07...

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Massachusetts sues US Government over Defence of Marriage Act

The US state of Massachusetts, which has legalised same-sex marriage, is suing the federal government over the Defence of Marriage Act. The lawsuit, brought by the first state to legalise gay marriage, claims that DOMA infringes on a state’s sovereign right to define marital status. They are seeking to gain a ruling that DOMA is...

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House of Lords votes against ‘anti-hate’ law

An attempt to repeal a law protecting the right of Britons to criticise homosexuality has been defeated in the House of Lords. Peers voted by 186 to 133 to keep the protection in place. The matter will be passed back to the House of Commons where MPs voted for repeal. The House of Lords feared...

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Government teen pregnancy campaign backfires

A UK Government-backed project designed to curb teenage pregnancies has seen them rise instead, according to new figures. The Young People’s Development Programme (YPDP) tried to reduce conceptions, drug abuse and truancy among vulnerable young people, at a cost of £2,500 each. But at the end of the scheme there were far more pregnancies among...

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Governments must promote marriage, says new encyclical

Promoting marriage is a “social and economic necessity,” Pope Benedict says in his latest encyclical, Caritas in Veritate. The new document, which focuses on economic and social questions, warns that the economic uncertainty created by deregulation and increased labour mobility, has created “new forms of psychological instability” which have made it more difficult for people...

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Only one in four want all schools to be state-run: new poll

Just a quarter of people want all publicly funded schools to be run by the State, according to a new poll commissioned by the Iona Institute. The survey, carried out by Red C, also found that three-quarters of those polled wanted to have a choice of publicly funded schools, including church-run schools. The poll involved...

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Catholic school in Quebec denied right to teach Catholic religion course

A Canadian Catholic school has been refused permission to to continue teaching its own Catholic-centered religion course. Loyola Catholic High School has taken a case against the Department of Education in the Canadian province of Quebec to force them to allow the school to teach its own religion course. The school objects to the province’s...

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