The Holy See has recently released an official document stating that, “when ethically irreproachable vaccines are not available, … it is morally acceptable to receive Covid-19 vaccines that have used cell lines from aborted fetuses in their research and production process.” This is a reference to the fact that some of the vaccines have in...
Public worship will be effectively banned again in Ireland from St Stephen’s Day because of the increase in Covid case numbers. Leo Varadkar has indicated that the new level 5 restrictions could continue for two months. The question that must be asked, as always, is whether the move to ban public worship is proportionate given...
Over the course of the pandemic, the Iona Institute has been commissioning opinion polls to ascertain what has happened to religious practice when public worship is not permitted, and how many people returned to church when it was permitted albeit with limits on numbers who can attend. Similar research has been conducted in Northern Ireland,...
Our image of public figures is formed mainly by what we read about them in the media. In the case of Pope Francis and Pope Benedict, anything that made the later seem more hardline than he really was received plenty of publicity. In the case of Pope Francis the reverse holds true. Hence, his frequent...
There are indications that Covid-19 will increase rates of divorce and separation because of so many couples being forced to live at close quarters for weeks or even months at a time, without the safety valve of being able to leave the house to go out socialising. But a study based on the UK Household...
A number of vaccines are being rolled-out to fight Covid-19. In some cases, the vaccine companies have used cells ultimately derived from aborted foetuses. For example, the one announced by Pfizer and BioNtech has used a cell line called HEK293, which uses a kidney cell extracted from an aborted foetus in the Netherlands back in...
Almost everyone believes in free will. We take its existence for granted. We think we can choose one action over another, love this person rather than that person. It is the basis for our belief in moral accountability. After all, if we don’t really choose our actions, how can we be held responsible for them?...
The members of the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) might take some time out of their day to read a ruling by the US Supreme Court that declared new restrictions imposed on public worship because of the pandemic are disproportionate and violate the constitutional right to religious freedom. In fact, a French court, the...
Marie Stopes International, a chain of abortion and family planning clinics, has announced that it will change its name and remove any reference to Marie Stopes, due to her controversial past. Stopes was a member of the Eugenic Society, which promoted the selective breeding of human beings. A supporter of Nazism, she advocated for the...
The Irish Family Planning Association has just published its annual report, covering the first full year of the operation of Ireland still new abortion law. The organisation, which is the biggest private provider of abortions in the country, surveyed 177 of its clients to try and find out more detail on who is having abortions....
