President Michael D Higgins has rejected claims that he linked the massacre of 40 people at a Catholic Church in Nigeria to climate change.

“The President’s comments with regard to climate change related to the plight of pastoral peoples in the region and the President made no link in his statement between climate change and the attack itself,” a spokesman for Mr Higgins told The Irish Times.

In his statement last week in the immediate aftermath of the attack, President Higgins expressed “deepest condolences” to the families of the dead and injured.

He added: “That such an attack was made in a place of worship is a source of particular condemnation, as is any attempt to scapegoat pastoral peoples who are among the foremost victims of the consequences of climate change. The neglect of food security issues in Africa, for so long has brought us to a point of crisis that is now having internal and regional effects based on struggles, ways of life themselves.”

He concluded: “The solidarity of us all, as peoples of the world, is owed to all those impacted not only by this horrible event but in the struggle by the most vulnerable on whom the consequences of climate change have been inflicted.”

Ireland’s support for Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion has exposed an “uncomfortable” official prejudice towards “white Christian” children, a former minister for equality has suggested, even though the policy makes no mention of either.

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, Labour’s education spokesman, said it was “demonstrably true” that a split has emerged in how the State treats children from Ukraine and refugee children who are neither white nor Christian.

Speaking before an Oireachtas committee on the needs of almost 7,000 Ukrainian children enrolled in Irish schools since the outbreak of Vladimir Putin’s war, Mr Ó Ríordáin insisted support should be universal.

“I wouldn’t want it to be said of the Irish system that we have one attitude for, let’s be blunt, white Christians on the edge of Europe and a different attitude for those who are not white Christians and not from the edge of Europe,” he said.

“That is an uncomfortable sentence to have to utter. But if that is the underlying suspicion within the Irish education system and among practitioners, then it is a very troubling one.”

A fourth of Japanese singles aged 30 to 39 have little interest in getting married, according to a white paper released by the Japanese government.

Respondents cited responsibilities such as childcare and housework as negatives they intend to avoid by staying single, as well as financial issues or job insecurities that make matrimony less feasible.

According to the government white paper, approximately 55% of men and 63% of women in their 30s are married. Among 30-somethings that have never tied the knot, approximately 27% of men and 25% of women currently plan to continue living single for the rest of their lives.

Respondents cited the financial burdens of childcare and homeownership, as well as the additional responsibilities that come with marriage and children. Job instability was a major consideration for men, while women frequently cited housework and domestic responsibilities as a turn-off from getting hitched.

The survey was conducted from December 2021 to January 2022. The poll was answered by approximately 20,000 people. Respondents ranged in age from 20 to 60.

An Irish missionary who worked for years in Nigeria has slammed President Higgins’ suggestion that climate change played a part in the massacre of several dozen worshippers attending a Pentecost Sunday Mass in the southwestern part of the country.

Sr Kathleen McGarvey said President Higgins’ “use of words reveals the ignorance of our leaders, whether conscious or unconscious, of the alarming spread of insecurity and violence in Nigeria”.

To present climate change “as the reason for the gruesome massacre in the church on Pentecost Sunday or for the ongoing rise of terrorist activities, banditry, kidnapping, attacks, and unabated onslaught of peoples and villages in Nigeria, is hugely incorrect and far-fetched, as Bishop Jude has said”, referencing a local Nigerian bishop who had earlier criticised the President’s statement.

“The rise and spread of radical Islamic extremism, seen today in the Boko Haram and the militants known as Fulani Herdsmen, are manifestations of this manipulation of religion for political purposes and indeed of what many today perceive as the Islamisation of Nigeria project of president Buhari and the northern Muslim elite,” she said.

Attacks such as that on the church of St Francis on Pentecost Sunday, as well as “continuous attacks on villages in Christian dominated villages in northern states, all of these go almost unanswered”, she said.

She urged that Government leaders “be more committed to truthful analysis and to conscientious involvement in ensuring security and development for the dear people, of all religions, of this great African nation”.

Responding to the attack, President Higgins had said: “That such an attack was made in a place of worship is a source of particular condemnation, as is any attempt to scapegoat pastoral peoples who are among the foremost victims of the consequences of climate change.”

The House of Commons held a debate on the growing violence against Christians in Nigeria following the attack on a Catholic church on Pentecost Sunday that left dozens dead and almost 100 injured.

MP Fiona Bruce tabled an urgent question asking the government about helping religious groups in Nigeria and whether they believe religious freedom itself is an issue “as the attacks are mainly on largely Christian communities?”

In her response, Vicky Ford, Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, condemned the “heinous” attack and stressed “the importance of those responsible being brought to justice in accordance with the law”.

She also said the UK government is working “closely with religious leaders” and is also “liaising with the authorities in Ondo state to encourage a thorough investigation”.

Ford continued: “We are committed to defending freedom of religion or belief for all, and to promoting respect between different religious and non-religious communities.

“We will continue to encourage the Nigerian Government to take urgent action to implement long-term solutions that address the root causes of such violence.”

A pro-abortion activist disrupted Mass at a church in Michigan, USA, by standing on a pew, removing almost all her clothing and shouting pro-abortion chants.

“Overturn Roe? Hell, no!” the woman shouted, interrupting the priest’s homily. “Abortion without apology!” Two other women visible in the video joined her in the chants and held green cloth bandanna-like banners which often are used by activists with the pro-abortion group Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights.

Ushers escorted the three women out of the church. As they were led out, a man inside the church chanted, “Abortion kills babies! Abortion kills babies!”

The episode took place at St. Veronica Parish in Eastpointe, Michigan, located about a 20-minute drive north of Detroit. The video originally was posted on TikTok and then re-posted on Twitter. A caption on the video says the disruption happened Sunday.

A Nigerian Catholic bishop has assailed President Michael D Higgins for suggesting climate change played a role in the massacre of 40 people at a Pentecost Sunday Mass in his diocese, describing the claim as rubbing salt into the wounds of the victims.

In a statement, Bishop of Ondo diocese, Jude Ayodeji Arogundade, described President Higgins’ statement as “incorrect and far-fetched”.

“To suggest or make a connection between victims of terror and consequences of climate change is not only misleading but also exactly rubbing salt to the injuries of all who have suffered terrorism in Nigeria”.

He added: “Alluding to some form of politics of climate change in our situation is completely inappropriate.

“Such comments associating banditry, kidnapping and gruesome attacks on innocent and harmless citizens of Nigeria with issues concerning climate change and food securities are deflections from the truth.”

The bishop said that it is “the responsibility of every one of us to take case of our earthly home,” but added that he appeals to “those who are trying to take advantage of this horrific event to project any form of ideological agenda to desist from such opportunism”.

Portugal’s parliament voted for the third time in just over a year to make euthanasia legal, though the country’s Constitutional Court or president could yet prevent the change from becoming law.

A bill that would permit euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide introduced by the governing center-left Socialist Party passed on a 128-88 vote, with five abstentions. Three other similar bills, from smaller center-left parties, carried by almost identical margins.

The four bills next go to a committee stage, where they likely will be blended into one, before being voted on again and sent to the head of state. That process could take months.

Portugal’s top court blocked a previous bill in March 2021, saying its wording was “imprecise.” In November, the president vetoed a second parliament-sanctioned bill.

He said further clarification was needed about whether the proposed law would apply only to incurable illnesses or whether it could be extended to fatal or serious illnesses.

But none of the four new bills addresses Rebelo de Sousa’s specific concerns. Instead, they attempt to simplify circumstances where euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide are justified by referring to “a situation of intolerable suffering, with a definitive injury of extreme seriousness or a serious and incurable disease.”

Commentators say that omission is unlikely to assuage the president’s concerns.

Isabel Moreira, a Socialist lawmaker who championed the legislation, said the law “is an invitation to understand others: When in doubt, show tolerance.”

Children may be born into a “stateless legal limbo” if proposed legislation regulating donor-IVF does not include a legal framework enabling international surrogacy, a solicitor specialising in the field has said. Almost no country in Europe allows commercial surrogacy on the grounds that it leaves low-income women open to exploitation and commodifies babies.

Annette Hickey warned the Joint Oireachtas Committee on International Surrogacy yesterday that the State “cannot run that risk”. The committee has heard almost entirely from people who favour the practice and from almost no critics.

Ms Hickey recommended the inclusion of a regulated statutory framework for international surrogacy in the legislation as well as inserting retrospective recognition of parentage in the Bill for all existing children born through surrogacy, both domestic and international.

Muslim teachers in Scotland face discrimination after being forced to take unpaid leave to observe holy days, a union claims.

School holidays are “heavily orientated towards a western Christian background” so teachers enjoy Christmas and Easter off, but minorities must take unpaid leave for holy days such as Eid in some council areas.

The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS), the largest teaching union, backed a motion at its annual general meeting to investigate schools that deny teachers time off for religious observance.

James McIntyre, a member of the EIS anti-racist subcommittee, said school policies on religious observance were not routinely published, but those whose policies were transparent revealed “time off for religious observance wasn’t regarded as a normal holiday”.

He said: “If you wanted to do it you would have to take it off unpaid. If you play a sport to a particular level, or like me you are a qualified national referee, I can get time off to go and referee at an event and I will get paid for it.

“The last I checked being a referee or a sportsperson was not a protected characteristic [under the Equality Act], so why do I get favourable treatment over someone who has a right to be able to celebrate their religion?”