The US Supreme Court sided with a rural Colorado church Tuesday that challenged the state Democrat governor’s COVID rules restricting attendance capacity in some parts of the state.

The 6-3 decision overturned lower court rulings that had upheld Gov. Jared Polis’s church gathering limits to a maximum of 25 percent or 50 people, whichever is fewer, and ordered lower courts to re-examine the case.

This follows a ruling last week by the same court against religious worship in New York.

The cases upholding religious liberty come on the heels of rare public remarks by Justice Samuel Alito criticizing coronavirus lockdowns this year as placing “previously unimaginable” restrictions on American freedom.

In Europe, similar judgements have been made in cases in Geneva and Belgium in the past week.

The UK’s two-child limit on tax credits and other benefits for children should be ended, according to a Scottish MP.

The limit, which dates to 2017, means that for each child after their second-born, parents lose £2,900 each year in a universal credit and in tax credits.

The cap on benefits exempts women who formally disclose that their child was a result of rape. However, if their first- or second-born child was conceived in rape, the exemption does not apply to a child born later.

Alison Thewliss, a member of parliament for Glasgow Central, recently wrote to Thérèse Coffey, the UK Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, urging an end to the “wicked policy.”

“It is beyond belief that the UK Government remains so obstinately devoted to such a pernicious policy, one that— in light of this most recent evidence— is unarguably playing a real and significant part in women’s decisions to terminate pregnancies,” Thewliss wrote.

In a Feb. 24 letter, written before the coronavirus pandemic had grasped the region, Catholic leaders said that abolishing the two-child limit for universal credit and the universal tax credit would help more than half a million of the poorest children of England and Wales.

Italy’s national statistics institute, Istat, is predicting that the country will see a significant decline in births in the years immediately following the coronavirus pandemic.

In a report, Istat said that the climate of uncertainty and fear caused by the coronavirus may result in 10,000 fewer births in Italy in 2020 and 2021. It also predicted that if unemployment rises as expected, the birth rate could drop even further.

In 2019, births in Italy already hit a historic low since Italian unification in 1861. Across Europe, countries are facing what has been dubbed a “demographic winter.”

Pope Francis has described this as the dramatic result of a “disregard for families.” Europe’s devastatingly low birth rate “is a sign of societies that struggle to face the challenges of the present, and thus become ever more fearful of the future, with the result that they close in on themselves,” the pope said in 2018.

That year, Italy’s birth rate was 1.29 children per woman — just ahead of Malta and Spain’s rates of 1.23 and 1.26 respectively for the lowest rate in Europe.

A man has appeared in court charged with an illegal abortion.

Few details have been reported as to how he may have carried out the alleged crime.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was arrested by arrangement at Letterkenny Courthouse in Co Donegal on Monday.

He was charged under Section 23(2) of the 2018 abortion Act.

The Act says it is an offence for a person to prescribe, administer, supply or procure any drug, substance, instrument or apparatus or other thing knowing that it is intended to be used to end the life of a foetus, or being reckless as to whether to be so used or employed, otherwise than in accordance with the provisions of the Act.

The court heard the man had already appeared at Letterkenny District Court on a Section 3 assault charge on December 7th and that this was a related matter.

Gardaí said they had no objection to bail but asked that he does not interfere with witnesses in the case or the alleged injured party.

The court also ordered that if the accused is driving through Co Meath he does not stop in the county.

A presidential bill aimed at radically liberalizing Argentina’s abortion law has been passed by the country’s lower house of Parliament.

There were 131 votes in favour, 117 against, and 6 deputies abstaining.

The bill will now go to the Senate, where the pro-life side expects to turn things around as it did in 2018.

Immediately after the vote, pro-life groups and Catholic bishops went to Twitter to protest the decision. Bishop Sergio Buenanueva of San Francisco wrote: “It’s clear that the worst of this 2020 is not COVID-19.”

On the eve of the vote the bill had been modified to try to secure a majority. The two major changes were allowing for institutional conscience objection, though private hospitals that refuse to provide abortions will have to “pay for expenses” a patient has to incur to get an abortion at another place. In addition, girls under 13 who want an abortion will need the consent of at least one of their parents, and those under 16 will need the “written consent” of an adult.

People with a conscientious objection to abortion should make known their opposition to the use of foetal remains in the development of vaccines. However, if nothing else is available, then using such vaccines can be morally defensible.

That’s according to a Senior Research Fellow of the Catholic Anscombe Bioethics Centre and a Research Fellow of Blackfriars Hall, Oxford.

Foetal tissue sourced from historical abortions was used many years ago to make various cell-lines that circulate in labs today and are used in developing some vaccines.

Helen Watts says those who need a vaccine, should first try to access the least problematic vaccine, one unconnected to abortion.

At the same time, she asked people to write to health authorities and to pharmaceutical companies urging them to make alternatives available. “The time is ripe to raise awareness of foetal tissue collection – a repellent practice which continues today albeit not normally for vaccine production.”

“Asking companies to avoid even a cell-line historically derived from foetal tissue collection will help make such collection – an act of close complicity with abortion – be seen as the aberration it is.”

A Catholic Bishop has appealed to the members of various sporting organisations to assist with stewarding at Christmas masses to implement Covid-19 guidelines.

Bishop of Cloyne Dr William Crean said that priests and parish pastoral councils across the diocese, which has a population of approximately 160,000, would be hugely appreciative to anyone who does offer to act as a steward so that people can gather safely for prayer at this difficult time.

Separately, in a letter to priests, he noted that while some parishes may limit their celebrations for Christmas day to online broadcast, “most parishes will be offering extra Masses to facilitate as many people who wish to gather to celebrate the gift to the world of the Christ Child”.

Ireland’s Catholic Bishops have welcomed the arrival of vaccines to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a statement, they encouraged Catholics to get vaccinated, to protect both themselves, and those who are vulnerable.

They also urged people to advocate for ethically-developed vaccines.

They noted that many currently being developed do not depend for their design or production on foetal cell lines derived from abortions.

But if one of those is not available, they say it is permissible to accept a vaccine involving the use of foetal cell-lines, when the risk to life is significant, as in the present pandemic.

The only group in America whose mental health is better this year than last year, are weekly church-goers.

That’s according to a new poll by Gallup.

Americans reported the worst assessment of their emotional and mental well-being since polling began in 2001.

Taken over the month of November, the poll showed declines since last year across all demographics, with one exception.

While the number of people who rated their well-being ‘excellent’, declined by 9%; the number of weekly church goers who did so, increased by 4%.

A Labour MP in the UK has resigned as the party’s shadow faith minister after she suggested conscience protections for people tasked with officiating same-sex marriages.

Janet Daby, the Lewisham East MP, quit her front bench role on Monday and issued an apology for her remarks.

It comes after she last week told journalists there “needs to be something in place that respects people’s conscience and views of faith” if they don’t wish to officiate at same-sex marriages.

Ms Daby had been asked on a Zoom briefing for the Religion Media Centre as to whether it was appropriate for registrars to be sacked for refusing to hold same-sex wedding ceremonies.

She compared it to a vote of conscience in parliament, or nurses not wanting to participate in an abortion, she said there needs to be something in place that respects people’s conscience and views of faith, as well as that protects people’s right to be treated equally.

In a Twitter post on Monday, Ms Daby said: “I sincerely apologise for my misjudged comments on Friday, and have decided to resign as Shadow Faith Minister.”