Europe’s bishops have denounced surrogacy as “a violent assault on human dignity” in a new document released this week. At a special event at the European Parliament in Brussels, the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community (COMECE) unveiled its ‘Opinion on Gestational Surrogacy: the question of European and International Rules’ towards explaining...
A claim that same-sex marriage is a human right, made by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC), has been rejected by a Senior Counsel. In a policy statement released ahead of the forthcoming same-sex marriage referendum, the IHREC stated it “believes that the opening out of civil marriage to two persons without distinction...
A Christian florist in the US state of Washington has been found to be in breach of anti-discrimination laws for not supplying flowers for a same-sex wedding. Despite mounting a defence under her rights to freedom of religion and expression, Baronelle Stutzman fell foul of Benton County Superior Court, which ruled that while the US...
A massive ninety-one percent of people believe that when a child is being placed for adoption, it is best to place the child with a man and a woman, a new opinion poll conducted by Amarach Research on behalf of The Iona Institute has found. The new Children and Family Relationships Bill contains no such...
The Catholic bishops of New York state have unveiled a new website in their campaign against assisted suicide. As state legislators gear up for a debate on physician-assisted suicide, the bishops announced the launch of www.catholicendoflife.org, a site designed to communicate Church teaching on the issue. The site, the bishops stated, offers “moral clarity and...
The Children and Family Bill must be amended to give preference to mothers and fathers, a new advocacy group. Mothers and Father’s Matter has said. Responding to the Bill, published today, Mothers and Fathers Matter commended portions of the proposed legislation, such as improved guardianship rights for unmarried fathers, but took issue with those elements...
Italy’s constitutional court has ruled there is no provision in the country’s constitution to force the provision of same-sex marriage rights. In a ruling arising from a case brought by gay activists that gay people faced discrimination in being unable to wed, the Court of Cassation declared that there was, in fact, nothing discriminatory in...
Ireland’s State-run postal service An Post has denied that a stamp produced for Valentine’s Day is intended to back a Yes vote in the forthcoming same-sex marriage referendum. According to The Irish Catholic newspaper, the latest stamp, employing the word ‘LOVE’ in multi-coloured lettering, also includes, as part of the red letter ‘E’ an equals...
Pope Francis has described children as “a gift” vital to the wellbeing of a happy society in his latest weekly audience. Following on from earlier audiences dealing with the responsibilities of mothers and fathers respectively, the Pontiff turned his attention to the importance of children, both within the family and to the wider world. “Children...
Over two thirds of Irish people believe that children are happier when raised by a “loving mother and father”. The finding is just one contained in a new survey on attitudes to marriage and the family conducted by Amarach Research on behalf of the Accord, the Catholic Marriage Agency. The survey, ‘The Meaning of Marriage’,...
