A constitutional challenge to the ban on public worship has been postponed again.

In the High Court yesterday, the State clarified that it is an offence to leave your home to celebrate or attend a public mass, other than weddings or funerals.

The admission contradicted previous assurances from the Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, that it was not a criminal matter.

Judge Charles Meenan gave both sides two weeks to amend their filings in light of the clarification.

Galway businessman Declan Ganley first took the case in November alleging the restrictions are disproportionate and in breach of freedom of religion.

Meanwhile, in a letter to the Irish Times on Friday two law professors cited the case as an example of the Government misleading citizens about their legal obligations.

Prof Oran Doyle and David Kenny of the Covid-19 Law and Human Rights Observatory at Trinity College Dublin wrote: “In October, the Minister for Health told the Dáil that the organisation of religious services was not a criminal offence, but Gardaí continued to prosecute people anyway. The Government has now changed its interpretation of the law, maintaining in the High Court that the organisation of religious services is a criminal offence.”

In addition to other examples, they say The Government’s “persistent misrepresentation of citizens’ legal obligations offends the rule of law and corrodes public trust”.

A new cross-party all-island coalition of activists will seek to outlaw what they broadly define as “conversion therapy” even as lawyers in the UK raise religious freedom concerns.

The Anti Conversion Therapy Coalition (ACTC), which launches today, is made up of independent activists, as well as members from different parties in the Republic and Northern Ireland.

The group will support Sinn Féin Senator Fintan Warfield’s Prohibition of Conversion Therapies Bill 2018, which will soon undergo committee stage.

Nearly two dozen Senators have co-signed the Bill, including from Sinn Féin, Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, the Labour Party, Green Party and Independents.

The bill would prohibit “any practice or treatment by any person that seeks to change, suppress and, or eliminate a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity and, or gender expression”, and would criminalise any attempt to do so.

Meanwhile, in the UK, a broad ban on conversion therapy could criminalise Christian parents who encourage their children to follow the Bible’s teachings on gender and sexuality, a leading QC has said.

Prominent human rights lawyer Philip Havers QC has sent a formal legal opinion to Government ministers, warning them that a proposed ban could make everyday Christian actions illegal, including conversations both in church or at home.

Havers determined that encouraging a child with gender dysphoria to accept their birth sex, or preaching the Bible’s position on same-sex marriage, could become a criminal offence if a broad ban is instituted.

Catholic bishops have said that free speech on issues such as abortion, assisted suicide and human trafficking must be at the centre of elections.

In a turn that would have taken the British utilitarian John Stuart Mill by surprise, the Bishops say that if Scotland is to be “a tolerant, open, diverse country then we must be free to discuss and debate ideas, even those which are deemed by some to be controversial”.

In a pre-election pastoral letter the bishops urge Catholics to play their part “in putting human life and the inviolable dignity of the human person at the centre of Scotland’s political discourse” and to warn politicians against imposing “unjust restrictions on free speech, free expression and freedom of thought, conscience and religion”.

In a 1,000-word letter distributed online and via 500 parishes, the bishops ask Catholic voters to give consideration to six key areas, when selecting a candidate. These include the beginning and end of life, poverty, family and work, free speech, Catholic schools and the environment. They say that “society relies on the building block of the family to exist and flourish” and that “government should respond to this reality with policies creating economic and fiscal advantages for families with children”.

The Sunday Mass obligation will be restored for Catholics in the US state of Colorado next month, unless sickness or another grave reason prevents them from being able to attend Mass.

Numerous dioceses have gradually begun reinstating the Sunday Mass obligation in recent months.

A joint statement from the bishops of Denver, Colorado Springs, and Pueblo on April 6 announced that the Sunday and Holy Day Mass obligation will be restored on Pentecost, May 23.

“Prudent health precautions will still be taken by every parish, but as the worst of the pandemic seems to be behind us, and access to COVID-19 vaccines for those who desire to receive it has increased, the time has come that the general dispensation is no longer necessary,” the Colorado bishops said in their statement.

The bishops urged all Catholics without significant health risks or other serious obstacles to attend Mass every Sunday and to use the Easter season to reflect on the importance of Mass and the Church’s teaching surrounding it.

“The Sunday and Holy Day obligation is not something God asks of us out of his own necessity or need to be worshipped, but rather a gift to the faithful for our own spiritual nourishment, happiness, and eternal salvation.”

The words “woman” and “mother” are being erased from Irish legislation.

The move was revealed in a letter to the Irish Times on Tuesday.

Last month, a parental leave bill removed the word “mother” from seven existing Acts.

Another bill, to allow paid time off for undergoing IVF or suffering a miscarriage, doesn’t mention women or mothers even once.

Two further bills, to provide free period products, also do not cite women or girls, preferring gender inclusive terms instead.

The news prompted a flood of highly critical letters to Thursday’s and Friday’s Irish Times asking what’s wrong with the word ‘woman’?

One letter writer said for years women and girls were taught that the natural biological processes they lived with were shameful and dirty and should not be mentioned in polite company.

“Given that we’re finally moving beyond this extremely harmful silliness, it’s very difficult to understand why the words “women” and “girls” cannot be used in discussions about these same natural biological processes. Is it now shameful to mention women and girls in these discussions? If so, why?”, she wrote.

The Irish Catholic Bishops are seeking suggestions on how best to consult the faithful in preparation for a recently announced Synod of the Church in Ireland.

Bishop Brendan Leahy of Limerick said they are inviting submissions on what methods and models to adopt in the coming two years of conversations.

He said parish hall meetings, focus groups, questionnaires, or deep-listening sessions are all possibilities, as also are family-focused gatherings; summary of findings of assemblies that have already taken place across dioceses; and/or conferences.

He requested feedback of no more than 300 words to be submitted on a dedicated website by Pentecost Sunday, the 23rd of May.

Authorities in China are detaining Christians in secretive, mobile “transformation” facilities to make them renounce their faith using techniques similar to those used against muslim Uighers, Radio Free Asia is reporting.

A member of a Christian “house church” in Sichuan said he was held in a facility for 10 months after a raid on his church in 2018.

The man said he was held in a windowless room, during which time he was beaten, verbally abused and “mentally tortured” by staff.

His account is chillingly similar to those of former inmates of “reeducation” camps in the northwestern region of Xinjiang.

“They use really underhand methods,” the man said.

“They threaten, insult and intimidate you. You have to accept the statement they prepare for you, . . . If you refuse, you will be seen as having a bad attitude and they will keep you in detention and keep on beating you.”

“There is no time limit for the brainwashing process,” he said. “I don’t know the longest time anyone has been held there, but I was detained for eight or nine months.”

“You can’t see the sun, so you lose all no concept of time.”

He said suicidal ideation and self-harm was commonplace.

“I couldn’t sleep; after you’ve been in there a week, death starts to look better than staying there,” he said. “I bashed myself against the wall to self-harm.”

“One time in there, I was groggy and was trying to open my eyes but I couldn’t,” he said. “Four or five of them grabbed me by the arms and legs and pinned me to the ground.”

“They injected me with some drug, and brought me back to consciousness.”

Fathers in the US State of Utah are now legally obliged to pay half the cost of a mother’s medical care related to pregnancy and delivery.

Supporters of the law – which is thought to be the first of its kind in the US – say it will help alleviate the financial burden of motherhood for American women and lessen the circumstances that conduce to abortion.

The law, which will take effect on 5 May, passed unanimously with bipartisan support in the state’s Senate but faced some Democratic opposition in the House of Representatives.

Utah’s Shared Medical Costs law applies to biological fathers, but if paternity of the child is in question, fathers are able to delay payments until paternity is proven.

The payment process is not automatic. Similar to child support, if a woman does not seek assistance, the father will not be notified.

Fathers will not be required to contribute to the cost of an abortion if it is sought without their consent, except in the case of rape or if the mother’s life is in danger.

One of the bill’s sponsors, Republican state Congressman Brady Brammer, has said that he wanted a bill that was fully “pro-life” rather than just “anti-abortion”.

Since joining the legislature in 2019, Mr Brammer has seen a number of abortion bills introduced. Each time, “they’re contentious and they’re emotional”, he said. But at the “core” of the issue, “there’s someone in a really tough position in life, making a real tough decision in life”.

Abortion is often an act of desperation, made by someone who is, “scared, alone and poor”.

“Perhaps we could make that situation a little bit easier,” he said.

The pastor of an evangelical church in the UK has expressed his dismay at being branded anti-gay in the wake of an apology by the Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer for having visited them.

The head of Jesus House of All Nations, Pastor Agu Irukwu said “we have felt prosecuted, judged, and sentenced unfairly”.

“Some of the language that has been directed at us can only be described as vile, abusive, hateful, and possibly criminal. It is tantamount to cyberbullying”.

The pastor has in the past spoken out against same-sex marriage and aspects of equality legislation. LGBT+ groups accused the Church of promoting “conversion therapy”, a charge the church strenuously denies.

“We do not engage in any form of conversion therapy. We, as a church, provide appropriate pastoral support, including prayer, to all our members, whatever life situations or circumstances they find themselves in. This is consistent with the basic fundamentals of freedom of speech and freedom of religion and the government’s current position.”

He added he’s “very concerned” for the thousands of churches and millions of Christians who hold traditional biblical understanding of marriage and sexuality.

“There is an increasing atmosphere of bullying and intimidation which is a cause for concern, but we do not take our lead from politicians and others.”

A non-denominational Christian pastor has been given a prosecution notice and threatened with up to six months in prison by Gardaí for opening her church on Easter Sunday.

Gript media reports that Pastor Sharon Perry of the Abundant Grace Christian Assembly in Ringsend, Dublin, said her congregation were upset and anxious after Gardaí took action when she opened her church during the Level 5 restrictions.

The Easter indoor gathering of around 25 people – which was fully socially distanced, and featured roughly an hour of prayer and religious song – was ultimately allowed to go ahead. However, while most worshippers were allowed to leave unimpeded, Pastor Perry herself was confronted by Gardaí as soon as she stepped outside.

“The inspector was waiting for me as I left the building and quietly told me that I would be prosecuted for having the service, which would result in a fine of up to €2,500, or a six months prison sentence.”

Pastor Sharon Perry has already received a €500 fixed penalty notice for opening her church the previous Sunday, which she says she has no intention of paying.

On that occasion another pastor was arrested after police broke up one of the church services.