News Roundup

Archbishop renews call for public worship to be allowed at Level 3

The demands for reopening of churches for public worship are all the more important because the Covid19 pandemic crisis will continue well into the coming year”, the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin has said.
Recalling a recent online meeting between the Taoiseach and representatives of various religions, he said there was “unanimous agreement on the part of all the faith representatives that if there is a return to Level 3 at the beginning of December, then there should be a rethink on the place of public worship in Level 3 provisions”. Ireland was the only country in Europe to stop public worship under mid-level restrictions.
The Taoiseach had “stressed the enormous effort made by churches to ensure that church buildings were safe places for worship during the pandemic” and had shown an openness to “a re-examination of the place of public worship at Level 3,” recalled the archbishop.
Mr Martin had also noted “that the public health authorities continually express their anxiety about large gatherings, but that they distinguish between controlled gatherings and spontaneous uncontrolled gatherings”.
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Large swath of UK students feel censored on campus, poll finds

Almost 40% of students in the UK admit fears that expressing their views on campus could adversely affect their future career opportunities, according to a poll released by ADF International (UK).
In addition, over a third stated that events are being increasingly cancelled on campus due to objections from other student clubs and societies based on the topic and the speakers.
“Freedom of speech is the foundation of every free and democratic society. Of all places, university is where students should be free to debate and explore ideas – especially those with which they disagree. Institutional policies and practices can suggest that even mainstream views are beyond the pale. Today’s censorship on campus can easily become cancel culture in the public square,” said Ryan Christopher, Director of ADF International (UK).
The findings of the national poll follow a number of recent legal challenges to universities across the UK who have been accused of stifling free speech. In one example, Julia Rynkiewicz, a midwifery student, battled suspension and a “fitness to practise” hearing at Nottingham University because of her involvement in a pro-life student group.
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Northern Executive closing churches is ‘great disappointment’, says Archbishop Eamon Martin

The head of the Irish Bishops’ Conference has reacted with dismay to the decision of the Northern Executive to close churches across Northern Ireland for two weeks from November 27th.

Archbishop of Armagh, Eamon Martin called the news “unexpected” and described it as “a great disappointment”.

He added that it was “contrary to the assurances given to faith groups at a meeting just last week at which we were praised for our attention to safety and public health.”

He said the Church would urgently request that the ban on public worship would be for the shortest period possible.

He will also seek urgent clarification on whether churches may open for individual visits and private prayer.

“I cannot understand how a person may still go to an off-licence to buy alcohol but might not be permitted to visit and sit in quiet solitary prayer in a large church.  The right to do this is particularly important for Catholics,” he said.

“In speaking about ‘saving Christmas’, I urge the Executive to accept that for many people a ‘meaningful Christmas’ is about more than shopping, eating and drinking.  Spiritual preparation is essential”.

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Consultant voiced fears before false foetal diagnosis at NMH

A hospital consultant made a protected disclosure to the Minister for Health in 2018 raising concerns about clinical genetic services at the National Maternity Hospital (NMH).

The disclosure was made shortly before a couple agreed to an abortion after their unborn child was mistakenly diagnosed with a genetic condition trisomy 18, or Edwards’ syndrome.

The couple claim they were told there was no hope for the baby after the first test and were not given the opportunity to discuss their case with a consultant clinical geneticist, who might have advised them to wait for the results of a second test.

The abortion took place in March 2019, before a more comprehensive test showed the baby was healthy.

The whistleblowing consultant raised concerns about the provision of clinical genetic services at the NMH in November 2018, after being informed of a proposal to outsource all genetic and laboratory services to Birmingham Women’s Hospital.

Meanwhile, the couple have personally written to Taoiseach Micheál Martin outlining their distress that a review of the case is still unable to get under way.

They said they do not have full trust and confidence in the process and they feared they were being “kept in the dark” regarding critical, ongoing communications between the Department of Health and the hospital.

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Bishop of Raphoe calls for lifting of public Masses ban

The Bishop of Raphoe is calling on the government to lift the ban on public worship, put in place as a measure against Covid-19.

The ban has been part of mid-level restrictions imposed since early October.

Rev Alan McGuckian, SJ, said the prospect of churches remaining closed in the weeks leading up to Christmas was “both frustrating and frightening”.

Speaking to the Donegal News, he said he would encourage parishioners to lobby their TDs to put pressure on the Cabinet and public health authorities to have public Masses reinstated.

“We are 100 per cent supportive, and always have been, of everything the Government is trying to do but our Churches have shown themselves to be such safe spaces. Many people who are suffering more this time than before are saying that they really need to get back to their worship of God.

“I’m really supportive of people speaking to their public representatives and encouraging them to get the Government to see that it makes perfect sense that the churches, in absolute safety, should be opened for worship,” Bishop McGuckian said.

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British soap plans Down’s syndrome abortion storyline

Emmerdale producers have defended a forthcoming storyline which will see a couple terminate their pregnancy after being told their unborn child has Down’s syndrome.

The move comes despite a backlash from some, who said the ITV soap was perpetuating the idea that those with Down’s syndrome do not lead lives worth living.

Tim Reid, the co-creator and co-writer of Car Share, tweeted: “Dear Emmerdale, are you confident you’ve tackled this story in a way your audience with Down’s syndrome deserve? Have you taken the same approach you would if characters were choosing to end a pregnancy for reason of gender, race or physical disability?”

Wendy O’Carroll, the founder of support charity Ups and Downs Southwest, voiced her concerns in an open letter to Emmerdale which was widely shared on Facebook.

“Your proposed story will further serve to encourage and confirm the opinion that ending the life of a baby just because it has Down syndrome is perfectly acceptable and understandable because maybe it would be better if fewer people ‘like them’ were in the world,” she said.

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More than 500 hate crimes against Europe’s Christians recorded in 2019

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe published data Monday documenting more than 500 hate crimes against Christians in Europe in 2019.

Incidents included attacks against Catholic priests, arson attacks on Catholic churches, the destruction of images of the Virgin Mary, vandalism of a pregnancy counseling center, and the theft of consecrated Eucharistic hosts from tabernacles.

France had the most hate crimes against Christians, with 144 incidents in 2019, the majority occurring against Catholic churches. The OSCE also reported 81 incidents in Germany, 75 in Spain, and 70 in Italy.

In total, there were 595 incidents against Christians documented by OSCE. Of these, 459 were attacks against property and 80 were violent attacks against people. Nearly a fourth of the data on Christians was reported directly by the Holy See.

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Priest threatened with prosecution for public Mass

The Gardai have warned a parish priest that he faces prosecution if he says mass while parishioners are present.
Except for weddings and funerals, public worship has been banned for levels 3 to 5 of covid restrictions.
Last Sunday morning, before Mass begun in Mullahoran, Co Cavan, Fr PJ Hughes was told by two guards that he was breaking the law.
After Mass ended, he was visited again, this time by a Sergeant, another garda, as well as the first two officers, to press the matter further.
Fr Hughes was informed that a file would be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), meaning that he may be prosecuted for breaching the Covid rules.
The penalty, if convicted, is a fine up to €2,500 and/or six months imprisonment.
Fr Hughes informed the Anglo-Celt newspaper, he has now been given “one more chance” to comply.
“I have to make a decision to celebrate Mass everyday, but I cannot celebrate it at the time that’s designated because people will come in,” says Fr Hughes. “So I’ll say Mass at a different time each day, on Facebook, for the people. Because I don’t want to be prosecuted either, although I would like to test to see would they go and bring me before the DPP because I just think this is scandalous really, we’re gone to a police state.”
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Irish study indicates babies born alive and left to die after botched abortions

A new study indicates that unborn babies are sometimes born alive after legally-performed abortions in Ireland, and are then left to die. Such late term abortions are carried out in cases where there is a life limiting condition or a so-called ‘fatal foetal abnormality’.
The study, published in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, is based on interviews with abortion doctors working in Ireland.
They say they “are ‘unclear as to who will look after these babies’ if a baby is born alive following TOP (Termination of Pregnancy) by induction of labour and without feticide, resulting in them ‘begging people to help’ them in providing palliative care”.
Some of the doctors performing these abortions talk about the “internal conflict” they experience and how ending the lives of unborn babies can be “brutal”, “awful” and “emotionally difficult”. The study quotes one doctor referring to what they do as “stabbing the baby in the heart.” Another doctor interviewed for the study said: “I remember getting sick out in the corridors afterwards because I thought it (feticide) was such an awful procedure and so dreadful.”
Yet, despite all this, some of the doctors interviewed believe the new abortion law is too restrictive and want all remaining restrictions removed.
Eilís Mulroy of the Pro Life Campaign reacted by saying the findings are truly heart-breaking:
“It goes way beyond confirming the worst fears that pro-life campaigners expressed before the 2018 referendum about what would happen in the event of legalised abortion. Doctors in this study are openly talking about the grotesque life-ending procedures they engage in, yet in the same breath they want to see the legal grounds for abortion expanded even more. It’s clear from reading the study that many of these same doctors are more preoccupied with concerns about the threat of litigation than the horror of what they are doing in ending lives”.
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Lesbian couples in UK are twice as likely to divorce as married gay men

Lesbian couples are more than twice as likely to divorce as gay men, Government data on England and Wales suggests. It confirms a similar finding in Scandinavia.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) published annual research on Tuesday that showed there were 822 same-sex splits in 2019.
589, or 72 per cent, took place between women while there were 233 between men.
Alison Fernandes, a partner with Hall Brown Family Law, said same-sex divorces involving women tend to happen “at a slightly younger age than for gay men or heterosexual men and women”.
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