On Saturday October 5th, The Iona Institute held its annual youth conference. The theme was ‘Whatever Happened to Tradition?‘, the title of a recent book by historian, writer, and columnist with The Daily Telegraph, Tim Stanley. Tim was the keynote speaker on the day and addressed a packed house on the theme of his book, but...
David Quinn was on RTE’s Today With Claire Byrne on Monday debating the future of religious schools with Aodhan O’ Riordáin of the Labour Party. David argued that the school system must reflect the wishes of parents, including for faith-based schools if that is what they want. Aodhan O’Riordain wants religion removed from schools completely. You can listen to...
A NEW paper from The Iona Institute shows that last year a quarter of all weddings that took place in Ireland were broadly ‘New Age’ in character, while Christian ceremonies accounted for not much more than a third of the total. The paper, by columnist Breda O’Brien, says that the Churches must respond to this...
Last week, End of Life Ireland hosted the 2024 international conference of the World Federation of Right to Die Societies, which pro-euthanasia campaigners from around the world attended. Several speakers at the conference made no secret of their wish to see euthanasia and assisted suicide permitted on very broad grounds indeed, far beyond the terminally...
Last week, a publisher issued an apology for the stereotypical portrayal of an Irish family in a textbook. The volume, which was withdrawn following public outrage, was produced for the new Junior Cycle course on Social, Personal, and Health Education (SPHE) introduced last year by the Department of Education. A closer examination of these SPHE...
The Department of Education is to survey parents to find out what, if any changes, they want made to the school system. This will include asking them what kind of ethos they wish schools to have, including a religious one. David Quinn was on the Hard Shoulder on Newstalk to discuss the planned survey. He...
The Department of Education has published it new specifications for the Social, Personal, and Health Education (SPHE) for Senior Cycle. It will become mandatory from September 2027 and includes Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE). Quite apart from what’s in the programme, what is concerning is what is left out. For example, the new curriculum, unlike...
During the Covid-19 pandemic, the Irish Government imposed the longest ban on public worship in Europe, while in Northern Ireland restrictions were less drastic. A new academic study says that religious institutions and media outlets largely supported these measures, with the main exception of the Irish Catholic newspaper. The study, by Gladys Ganiel and Caoimhe...
A new poll highlights significant public concerns about the potential legalisation of euthanasia and assisted suicide in the UK. It also highlights contradictory attitudes. There is broad support for allowing the procedures but nervousness about how it may work out. While a majority may support “assisted dying” in principle, many feel that the complexities and...
Ireland has recently passed one of the most permissive surrogacy law in Europe. To appreciate how extreme this law is, it can be compared with what is in the report issued last year by the Law Commission of England and Wales, in collaboration with the Scottish Law Commission. This report reviews the current legislation and...
