The Iona Blog

Another win for the new absolutism

The High Court in Britain has effectively ruled that no-one who believes in traditional sexual morality can foster children. Adoption can’t be too far behind. This is the latest in a series of rulings intent on driving belief in traditional sexual morality underground. Observant Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, Orthodox Jews etc all believe in traditional...

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Sinn Féin emerge as most aggressively secular party in Atheist Ireland survey

Atheist Ireland sent a range of policy questions to political parties and individual candidates. Amongst the questions they asked were whether parties or candidates would support a referendum to remove religious references from the Constitution, whether they would support legislation to prevent hospitals from having a religious ethos and whether churches should pay taxes. They...

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New poll shows support for same-sex marriage

A new poll in The Irish Independent today shows a clear majority of the public are in favour of same-sex marriage. Sixty-one percent say they back ‘State recognition of same-sex marriages’, with 27 percent opposed. However, this support is likely to be very soft and would change rapidly in a referendum campaign. For the last...

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Eamon Gilmore and religion: what he should have been asked

The other day Eamon Gilmore was asked point-blank by a voter whether Ireland is ready for an atheist Taoiseach. His answer, in summary, was that religion is a private matter. Later in the day, Pat Rabbitte said it isn’t a politician’s religion that matters so much as his or her values. I agree. But the...

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A Guardian writer who sees the uniqueness of traditional marriage

The Guardian website is the not the first place you would expect to see an acknowledgement of the uniqueness of traditional marriage. In fact, it’s probably one of the last places you’d look. But this blog by Guardian political writer Michael White makes exactly that point. To be sure, there are a lot of contentious...

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Easier access to Morning-After-Pill does not reduce rate of unwanted pregnancy

Incredibly, and without any debate whatever, a new brand of the Morning-After-Pill, or ‘Emergency Birth Control’, has been made available in Irish pharmacies without prescription. The ordinary, everyday contraceptive Pill is available only on prescription and cannot be given to minors without parental permission or consent. How this can be squared with making the MAP...

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Where the parties stand on family, marriage, education

With the general election campaign in full swing, voters for whom marriage, religious education and freedom of religion are important issues need to inform themselves on these issues. Here is where the three main parties stand. Fine Gael Marriage and Family: Fine Gael says in its manifesto that “it recognises the value of the family...

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Why French supreme court found ban on same-sex marriage does not breach equality

A couple of weeks ago France’s equivalent of the Supreme Court found that the country’s ban on same-sex marriage did not violate the French Constitution. Vitally, it found that the principle of equality wasn’t breached because the State is entitled to treat different situations in different ways. This is an absolutely crucial point.  Everyone believes...

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Failing to ask the tough questions

Writing in The Irish Independent last week, former chief economist for the Central Bank, Tom O’Connell, said one of the reasons no-one  shouted ‘stop’ during the property boom is that the boards of the Central Bank and the Financial Regulator were stuffed with people who didn’t ask the hard questions. He wrote: “With one political...

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The People’s Commissar for Enlightenment goes mainstream

Before becoming Prime Minister, David Cameron had many good things to say about marriage and the family. Since becoming PM, however, he has been disappointing in this regard. It is said this is because his Chancellor doesn’t care whether marriage is promoted or not, and his coalition partner, Nick Clegg is actively hostile. In any...

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