Militant Islamist terrorists are specifically targeting Christians in Nigeria, according to the country’s Government.
“In the wake of a renewed onslaught by our tireless military against Boko Haram and their ISWAP (Islamic State West Africa Province) allies in recent times, the insurgents have apparently changed their strategy,” said Lai Mohammed, the minister of information and culture, at a press conference last week.
He said they started targeting Christians and Christian villages “to trigger a religious war and throw the nation into chaos.”
“Yes, Boko Haram is targeting individual Christians. In doing so, their target is all Nigerians, and their goal is to divide Christian brother against Muslim brother,” Mohammed, the information minister, told Christianity Today.
“What Boko Haram seeks—and always has sought—is to drive a wedge between Christians and Muslims in Nigeria.
“It is the strategy of the desperate.”
Argentina’s President Alberto Fernández has said he will send a bill to Congress to legalise abortion within the next 10 days.
Mr Fernández, who was sworn in as president in December, has previously described abortion as “a matter of public health”.
In Argentina, abortion is allowed in cases of rape, or if the mother’s health is in danger. While the President didn’t include specific detail as to how permissive a new law should be, Argentina’s feminist movement is pushing to make it available on demand during the first 14 weeks of pregnancy.
Abortion is largely prohibited across Latin America, except in restricted cases. If the bill is passed, Argentina will become the largest country in the region to pass such a permissive abortion law.
Mr Fernández also promised to introduce a programme to ‘improve’ sex education.
A solicitor who was sacked from a prominent law firm has launched an unfair dismissal case claiming she was fired for her religious beliefs.
Ammi Burke was dismissed from Arthur Cox last November after working for the firm for three years as an associate.
Ms Burke has complained about an article which quoted an anonymous source who described Arthur Cox as having sacked a “Christian nutjob” and that the employee had “lost their rag” with those who had used blasphemous language. Ms Burke has denied this and said that she found the comments hurtful.
Ms Burke wrote to the firm on January 2 and said that her dismissal was in breach of the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977 and in disregard of fair procedures and the requirements of natural justice. She wrote again on January 29, saying “It is apparent that my dismissal is linked with my religious belief and practice”. Ms Burke has since initiated proceedings for unfair dismissal at the Workplace Relations Commission.
Arthur Cox has denied any unlawful behaviour.
A newly elected Social Democrats TD has said she regrets any offence caused by a number of old Twitter posts, including one where she called Pope Francis the leader of a paedophile ring.
Cork South-West TD Holly Cairns posted a tweet in March 2013 on the day Pope Francis was elected where she said she would get an abortion “for every minute of air time taken up on the papal conclave”. Three days later Ms Cairns wrote: “New paedophile-ring-leader Describes Gay Adoption as ‘Child Abuse’,” with a link to an article that is no longer online.
In another tweet in December 2012, Ms Cairns posted: “The pope is gonna get so cyber bullied, can’t wait #pope #vatican.” This was in response to the setting up of an official Twitter account for the papacy.
The tweets were posted and before she became involved in politics.
Contacted for comment yesterday, Ms Cairns said she had deleted many of the tweets in question.
“I was much younger and they weren’t the best-advised tweets,” she told the Independent.ie.
“I regret any offence caused. I took them down for that reason. I am really sorry for any offence caused.”
UK MPs were encouraged to uphold the current law prohibiting assisted suicide and work instead towards improving palliative care.
Dr Dominic Whitehouse, a doctor working in palliative care, told MPs from across the political spectrum that based on his own medical experience, legalising assisted suicide would affect vulnerable patients by creating a pressure on them to die.
He presented evidence from the US showing that in 2018, over half of those killed by assisted suicide in Washington state (51%) and in the state of Oregon (54%) said they had decided to end their lives because of the burden on family and friends.
“I have shown you why legalisation of physician assisted suicide would be a bad idea, and likely to harm patients, doctors and the public at large, and shown you how, on the other hand, good palliative care, properly funded, and equitably available, is the humane answer to suffering at the end of life,” Dr Whitehouse said.
“It should be our promise to our citizens at the end of their lives whenever they need it.”
An order of nuns has gifted a site for a major new housing development in the heart of Portlaoise town.
The Presentation Sisters offered their former convent site to the local authority free-of-charge.
Their only stipulation was that the site be used for social housing for the benefit of the community.
The residential development envisages 52 dwelling units and will be prioritised for elderly and disabled people.
John Whelan of LaoisToday.ie gave details of the reaction of local officials at a town council meeting this week.
Chairman, Cllr Willie Aird acknowledged the role of the nuns in providing the site free of charge to the community and the emphasis they had placed on social inclusion in any development.
Cllr John Joe Fennelly described the project as fantastic and it was high praise too for the nuns from Cllr Mary Sweeney.
Cllr Catherine Fitzgerald said the plans for the redevelopment of the old convent site were the best she had ever seen and she commended the Presentation order for the outstanding contribution and donation they had made to the community.
Cllr Noel Tuohy observed that the clergy often come in for a lot of criticism and this was an example of the great work they do.
A German Court has struck down a prohibition on assisted suicide.
On Wednesday, the Federal Constitutional Court acknowledged the risks of abuse but nonetheless ruled that individuals have a right to determine their own death.
Responding to the shock decision, Felix Böllmann, a German lawyer and Legal Counsel for ADF International said laws protecting every human life must be strengthened rather than weakened to protect the sick, the suffering, and the most vulnerable.
Böllmann said that in a fair and just society, the most vulnerable deserve our care and respect, but, he added, this decision sends the opposite message.
The five Catholic Bishops of Northern Ireland have called for protections from charges of discrimination for members who refuse to officiate at same-sex marriages or facilitate same-sex couples with marriage preparation.
Responding to the Northern Ireland Office Consultation on what is termed “Religious Same-Sex Marriage”, they welcomed some aspects of the proposed new regime.
However, they sought assurance that Catholic Church agencies would not “be compelled to provide marriage preparation, relationship counselling or other marriage related services in respect of those contracting same-sex marriage, should they believe it is inconsistent with their religious belief to do so.”
They also asked for “explicit provision” to protect faith-based organisations which provided services in support of marriage and the family “from being discriminated against in access to public funds because of their beliefs in respect of same-sex marriage.”
Committed Catholics “cannot be asked or expected to create a false division between their faith and their public, professional life” they said, and believed this should also be recognised.
A Finnish Member of Parliament faces a police investigation because of a tweet she posted in June 2019. Critics say the move is a direct attack on free speech.
Päivi Räsänen directed the tweet at the leadership of her Church and questioned its official sponsorship of the LGBT event “Pride 2019”, accompanied by an image of a bible text. After attending a lengthy police interview in November 2019, she now faces a second interrogation on March 2 regarding a pamphlet she wrote over 16 years ago on human sexuality for a Christian foundation.
The leader of a confessional Lutheran denomination in Finland was also questioned by the police about his responsibility in the distribution of the same pamphlet, “Male and Female He Created Them”, a 24-page booklet published in 2004.
The booklet gives a traditional Christian understanding of human anthropology and sexuality.
Commenting on the case, Paul Coleman of Alliance Defending Freedom said: “In a free society, everyone should be allowed to share their beliefs without fear of censorship. This is the foundation of every free and democratic society. Criminalising speech through so-called ‘hate-speech’ laws shuts down important public debates and poses a grave threat to our democracies. These sorts of cases create a culture of fear and censorship and are becoming all too common throughout Europe.”
In Finland, there are a number of laws that regulate speech, including the “ethnic agitation” law – an offence that carries a prison sentence of up to two years.
The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) will continue to oppose a change in law on assisted suicide, following a consultation of its members.
The RCGP’s consultation, conducted independently by Savanta ComRes, was sent to almost 50,000 members, who were asked whether RCGP should change its current position of opposing a change in the law on assisted dying.
Just under half (47%) of those surveyed said the College should not change its position, while 40% said it should support a law change providing there is a regulatory framework and appropriate safeguarding processes in place.
11% of respondents said the RCGPs should be neutral, while 2% abstained.
The RCGP Council agreed that the survey results did not support a change in the RCGP’s existing position on assisted suicide.
Professor Martin Marshall, Chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: “Assisted dying is a controversial topic and this was reflected in the responses to our consultation. However, the highest proportion of respondents said that the College should continue to oppose a change in the law on assisted dying…
“The role of the College now is to ensure that patients receive the best possible palliative and end of life care, and to this end we are working with Marie Curie and others to support this.”
