Pope Francis has lamented the absence of fathers from families and warned of the consequences for children. Devoting his general audience address this week to the topic of fatherhood, the Pontiff said that “the problem of our times no longer seems to be the invasive presence of fathers, but rather their absence”. “Fathers often so...
The Church of England has condemned as “irresponsible” a move to legislate for three-parent families in Britain. Ahead of a parliamentary debate next week around amending the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 to allow for mitochondrial DNA transfer, widely mooted as a medical advance against certain debilitating conditions, the Church of England moved to...
Northern Ireland’s Employment and Learning Minister has been accused of leading “an attack on all Catholic schools” following his announcement of savage cuts to a leading Catholic teacher training college. As part of budgetary cutbacks by the Department of Employment and Learning affecting a number of institutions, Alliance Minister Stephen Farry has announced plans to...
A court in Germany has ruled that children conceived via sperm donation have a right to know the identity of their biological father at any age and do not have to wait until they are 16 as was previously the case. The forthcoming Children and Family Relationships Bill here in Ireland makes children wait until...
Portugal’s legislators have voted against allowing gay couples to adopt. In a vote on January 22nd the Lisbon parliament rejected a move by opposition parties, Socialist, Left Bloc and Greens, to update existing gay marriage legislation to accommodate adoption by same-sex couples. The defeat came after the ruling Social Democrats allowed a free vote on...
The political grouping to which Fine Gael belongs in the European Parliament has launched a defence of the traditional definition of the family based on the union of a man and a woman. At the weekend, the European People’s Party (EPP) tabled a resolution, ‘Prospering families for a prosperous Europe or What is good for...
Confidence that same-sex marriage will be overwhelmingly carried in the forthcoming referendum has been undermined by the findings of a new poll. According to a Red C Poll compiled for the Sunday Business Post last weekend, while there is still majority support for proposition, at 77%, researchers describe this as ‘soft support’ which could be...
Britain’s Christian Institute has criticised the government’s school inspectorate, Ofsted, for having ‘twisted priorities’ after it closed a Christian school for ‘discriminatory views’. Established just 18 months ago on Christian principles, Durham Free was ordered to close following a damning Ofsted report. In part that report was based on the answers given by pupils to...
In a major legal victory, a Christian advocacy group in Britain has received an apology after an event it planned was barred from a Government-owned venue due to its backing for traditional marriage. In 2012, Christian Concern, which has publicly campaigned against same-sex marriage, organised a debate on that subject which was to include speakers...
Members of Britain’s Parliament have given their backing to a plan for fast-tracked legislation to outlaw gender-based abortion which normally targets female foetuses. Amid debate and uncertainty on the issue of gender-based terminations under the terms of current legislation, specifically the 1967 Abortion Act, 73 MPs have supported a proposed amedment to the Serious crime...
