A senior academic and member of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland has criticised a National Union of Journalists statement on balance in coverage of current affairs. Colum Kenny, Professor of Communications at DCU, said that the NUJ’s criticism of the BAI over their decision to uphold a complaint over an unbalanced discussion of same-sex marriage...
All UK schools should give children sex education lessons from the age of seven, the Liberal Democrats have said. David Laws, Minister of State for schools, said that both primary and secondary schools should be required to provide sex and relationship education, the Daily Telegraph reports. The Liberal Democrats want to lower the age at...
Christians and other religious minorities continue to suffer in Northern Iraq, as the United Nations reports that over 1.2 million people have become internally displaced since the start of 2014. The Catholic News Agency reports that, Kris Ozar, head of programming for Catholic Relief Service Egypt, has been traveling back and forth from the Kurdish...
Pro-life groups are holding events this weekend in support of the mother and child at the centre of the latest abortion controversy, and in protest at the government’s abortion legislation. The Pro Life Campaign has organised a vigil to take place outside Dáil Éireann this evening, Friday 22nd August from 7.30 – 8.15pm, while Youth...
Five hundred sperm donors in the UK have been confirmed to have fathered over 6,200 children between them – an average of 12.4 children per man. Fifteen of these men are now the fathers to 20 or more children each. The Daily Telegraph reports that records released by the UK’s Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority...
World famous atheist Richard Dawkins has said on Twitter that it would be “immoral” for a woman to carry a child with Down’s Syndrome to term, and advised a friend wondering what she would do in that situation to “abort it and try again.” Dawkins has been roundly condemned by groups who campaign for the...
An edition of RTE’s Derek Mooney show breached the broadcasting regulations by airing an item in January of this year that favoured same-sex marriage, the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) has found. The complaint was brought by Donal O’Sullivan-Latchford on behalf of the Family and Media Association. The item, broadcast on January 20, discussed the...
A two-day international conference on adoption law is to be held in UCC next month. Entitled ‘Redefining adoption in a new era: Opportunities and challenges for law and practice’, the conference will hear from a number of international experts. Philomena Lee, whose story of the search for her son (who was adopted by a family in the...
The number of children calling Childline in Scotland worrying about their parents’ divorce or separation increased dramatically last year. The Christian Institute reports that NSPCC Scotland received over 600 calls about the issues to their ChildLine service in 2012-2013, a rise of 171%. ChildLine Service Manager, Susan Dobson, said there were many family issues raised...
Divorcing couples could be forced to engage in mandatory counselling before seeking the intervention of the courts, under plans from Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald. According to the Irish Independent, the proposed move comes as part of a radical overhaul of Ireland’s family law system, through a series of reforms orginally proposed by former Minister Alan...
