Two Catholic priests in northern Nigeria have been abducted after unidentified gunmen attacked their residence last week.

The kidnappers stormed St. Patrick Catholic Church in Katsina state in the early hours of 25 May, seizing Fr. Stephen Ojapa, Fr. Oliver Okpara, and two other people.

The director of social communications for the Sokoto diocese confirmed the incident in a statement and urged the faithful to pray for the safe return of the abductees.

The statement noted that there is no information as to the whereabouts of the four people seized during the raid.

This latest abduction is the latest in a series of kidnappings and attacks that target church institutions, priests and religious men and women.

Earlier this month, the Archdiocese of Kaduna announced the death of Fr. Joseph Aketeh Bako who died in captivity after being abducted in March by gunmen from his residence in St. John Catholic Church, Kudenda, where he had been serving as parish priest.

Nigeria, especially the northern region, has been facing security challenges in the past years, fueled by the activities of the Boko Haram Islamic extremist group, as well as clashes between nomadic herdsmen and the local indigenous farmers.

The Pro-Life Campaign has attacked the Government for allowing a campaigner against the 8th amendment to lead a key part of the review into the operation of Ireland’s abortion law even though the review is supposed to be even-handed.

Dr Deirdre Duffy, who is based in Manchester Metropolitan University, describes her work as drawing heavily on “abortion activisms, abortion trails, and reproductive justice.” When she appeared before the Citizens’ Assembly before the 2018 abortion referendum, she called for repeal of the pro-life 8th amendment.

The Pro Life Campaign described the move by Stephen Donnelly “as final proof that the Minister for Health has no intention of ensuring an objective and even-handed review of the abortion law.”

The Minister for Education, Norma Foley, was pressed at a recent meeting of the Education Committee on whether the State’s RSE programme would be imposed on all schools regardless of ethos and regardless of the wishes of parents.

Indicating she is supportive of mandatory Relationships and Sexuality Education, Fine Gael’s Jennifer Carroll MacNeil  put it to her: “Just to be clear, Minister, based on the answer you gave to Deputy [Brid] Smith, every child in Ireland will get the same technical sexual education as each other, with no opt-out for parents or schools?”

The RSE curriculum is currently being updated by the State’s advisory body on the curriculum, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment.

Ms Foley said “what is laid down in the curriculum will be followed”.

When Ms Carroll MacNeill asked if this meant schools would still be able to opt-out of the new curriculum, Ms Foley responded: “You’ve asked the question, and I’m answering it now. What is laid down in the curriculum must be followed within our schools. And there is oversight of that by our inspectorate.”

Minister Simon Coveney’s response to the arrest of Cardinal Joseph Zen in Hong Kong is “tame” and displays a diplomacy that is “terrified by its own shadow”, said Independent TD Carol Nolan.

In a response to a parliamentary question from Ms Nolan, the Minister for Foreign Affairs did not specify if he will raise the Catholic prelate’s arrest directly with China.

Minister Coveney said he was “concerned” about Cardinal Zen’s arrest and added that it is “the latest in a series of actions under the National Security Law that impinge upon fundamental freedoms for Hong Kong”.

“Ireland will continue to raise concerns directly with China and to address these issues in the appropriate multilateral fora,” Mr Coveney continued in his response.

Commenting on Minister Coveney’s statement, Ms Nolan told The Irish Catholic that “Ireland’s response, and the PQ reply in particular, while welcome and better than nothing, is very much as tame and muted a response as we have to expect.

“We seem more concerned with not saying anything remotely offensive than forthrightly and forcefully condemning such actions,” she continued.

The Northern Ireland Secretary of State has affirmed that he intends to roll out his own UN-approved sex education programme across NI – with a strong emphasis on teaching abortion – despite the fact that the Catholic church has just unveiled its own resource for teaching the subject in primary schools.

The new RSE resource, ‘Flourish’, was launched by Catholic Bishop Donal McKeown a week ago.

At present individual schools have great autonomy when deciding what to teach, whereas a standardised UN-approved curriculum was legislated for by Secretary of State Brandon Lewis as part of NI abortion legislation last year.

The Belfast News Letter reported that Mr Lewis holds that he is under “a clear legal duty” from his own abortion legislation to ensure that the recommendations from the 2018 Report of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women are implemented in full. These recommendations include: “Make age-appropriate, comprehensive and scientifically accurate education on sexual and reproductive health and rights a compulsory curriculum component for adolescents, covering early pregnancy prevention and access to abortion.”

Over 27,000 people have been killed through euthanasia in Belgium since it was legalised 20 years ago on 28th May 2002, according to the latest official data from Belgian authorities.

The country has been cited as an example of a “slippery slope” that pro-life advocates warn is inevitable with such legislation. Though euthanasia was initially legalised under narrow, “strict conditions”, updates to the law have seen Belgium become the first and only country in the world to have no lower age limit enforced for children.

Belgian cases have also included instances where patients have been euthanised for psychiatric conditions, including depression.

“A fair and just society cares for its most vulnerable. International law protects everyone’s inherent right to life. It requires countries to protect the inherent dignity and lives of all people, rather than to help end those lives,” said Jean-Paul Van De Walle, legal counsel for ADF International in Brussels, Belgium.

In a move that Van De Walle says “threatens” the right to conscientious objection, a 2020 amendment in the law prevents health care institutions from objecting – by way of general policy or by specific provision – to euthanasia being practiced within the premises of their institution.

The Manchester Metropolitan University has been appointed to undertake a key part of the review into Ireland’s abortion laws.

The contract was awarded following a public procurement process and will see the university carry out research into the experiences of GPs and medical practitioners who provide abortions, as well as medical colleges and the Health Service Executive. The research team will present their findings to barrister Marie O’Shea who is the chair of the overall review which is ongoing.

The overall review will be split into two main phases. The first involves widespread collection of evidence about how the laws are operating, including the university team’s research into abortion providers as well as separate research into the experience of women who undergo abortions, and a more widespread public consultation.

The second phase of the review will be led by the independent chair who will examine whether the objectives of the 2018 legislation have been achieved.

The trustees and secretary of the fund were arrested under the Beijing-imposed national security law two weeks ago on suspicion of ‘colluding’ with foreign forces. They were all released on police bail without charge except for one who is serving a prison term for a banned pro-democracy event in October 2019.

Tuesday’s court hearing saw dozens of residents line up for seats in the public gallery. Consulate staff representing numerous countries such as the US, Britain, Australia, Germany, France, Austria and Ireland, as well as representatives from the European Union Office, also attended the hearing.

The principal magistrate ordered all parties to return to court on August 9 for a pre-trial review, while the official five-day trial is set to take place between September 19 and 23.

Both the Premier and the Opposition Leader had opposed the bill, but they allowed MPs a conscience vote on the extremely divisive issue which passed by a majority vote.

This means that so-called “assisted dying” is now legal in every Australian state. At the Federal level, the new parliament is expected to permit the Australian Capital Territory, where Canberra is located, and the vast but sparsely populated Northern Territory, to legalise it there as well.

The new law does not allow institutions to refuse to allow their residents to have an assisted death, to the consternation of Catholic healthcare officials.

“This law will force organisations that do not agree with assisted dying to allow doctors onto their premises to prescribe and even administer restricted drugs with the intention of terminating a resident’s life – without even informing the facility,” said Brigid Meney, of Catholic Health Australia. “These laws ignore the rights of staff and residents who may choose to work and live in a particular residential facility because of their opposition to assisted dying.”

New powers being taken by Northern Secretary Brandon Lewis would force the North into accepting Westminster’s extreme abortion legislation and further erode the Good Friday Agreement [GFA].

That’s according to Aontú Leader & Meath West TD, Peadar Tóibín.

“From the outset, the imposition of abortion on the North by Westminster has been undemocratic and in complete violation of the Good Friday Agreement. This imposition was facilitated by both Sinn Féin and the SDLP. Attempts to impose radical abortion law on the North have been met with fierce resistance from every corner of society,” he said.

“Now, in an effort to bypass Stormont, Irish self-determination, devolution and the GFA, the Northern Secretary is availing of new powers so he can force the Northern Health Department to expand abortion services. Many people have been shocked and disappointed by SF working hand in hand with Westminster in this circumvention of Irish democracy. They have binned 200 years of Republic ideals of Self-Determination in doing so.”