Authorities in Spain have launched an investigation into Cardinal Antonio Cañizares Llovera of Valencia following a sermon in which he defended the traditional family from attacks by gay activists and radical feminists. As a result of stating: “We have legislation contrary to the family, the acts of political and social forces, to which are added movements and acts by the gay empire, by ideologies such as radical feminism, or the most insidious of all, gender ideology”, the Cardinal could face four years in prison for ‘inciting hatred’. Tens of thousands of Spanish citizens have now signed a petition in defence of the Cardinal and his right to free speech.
US schools which distribute condoms to pupils experience a teen pregnancy rate 10% higher than schools that do not, a new study has revealed. Conducted by researchers at Notre Dame University, the study uncovered the greater rate of teenage pregnancy especially in schools where condoms were distributed without any counselling to pupils on the method of contraception. A spokesperson for Ascend, a US-based chastity group, said the findings were not surprising as another study it had carried out revealed that condom demonstrations in schools made sex appear as an expectation in the minds of pupils. “We’re not surprised that [distribution] would encourage sexual activity.”
Bishop Phonsie Cullinan of Waterford and Lismore has said he is “totally opposed” to Amnesty International having speaking access to Catholic schools given its calls for Ireland to end its protection for the unborn. Speaking to The Irish Catholic newspaper, Bishop Cullinan said: “I was a supporter of Amnesty myself in the past when it was campaigning for prisoners unjustly jailed in foreign countries. Now Amnesty is lobbying here in Ireland for the destruction of unborn human life which it considers not worthy of life. To say the least this is bizarre…Given the current situation it would seem prudent that they not gain widespread access to Church schools.”
Abortion activists in the Republic of Ireland have announced plans to fly abortion pills into Northern Ireland by drone next week in an act of defiance against current laws there. Describing the action as one of solidarity with women seeking abortion in Northern Ireland, one group behind the move, Rosa, said it will fly the pills from Omeath in Co. Louth and land close to Narrow Water in Co. Down where women who are not pregnant will consume them. A number of pro-choice groups, Alliance For Choice; Rosa; Labour Alternative and Women On Waves, have collaborated on the issue.
Doubts have been raised as to the validity of hundreds of marriages conducted in Ireland due to questions around training and accreditation of some wedding solemnisers. The Department of Social Protection expressed concern after the Registrar General raised issues regarding the training being offered to solemnisers by smaller, newer religious bodies. The Registrar General admitted there is no way to police this: “Religious bodies are not required by law to have training and accreditation procedures, and there is concern that the quality assurance provided by training and accreditation may not be present in some cases. The office is aware any individual can easily obtain an online ordination certificate without any training or accreditation by the religious body issuing the certificate.”
Prison authorities in England and Wales have been ordered to ensure transsexual prisoners have access to hair dye and make-up under new government guidelines. The move, which also calls for prisoners to be allowed to nominate the gender category of prison where they are held, comes after a review of prison policy found that it places too much emphasis on a prisoner’s birth sex and, in order to avoid “harm or distress”, prisons should support a prisoner’s self-identified gender option. The new policy states: “Regardless of where prisoners are held, they should be respected in their self-identified gender, being provided with those items that enable their gender expression.”
A growing number of hospitals in the US state of California are defying a newly introduced law on assisted suicide. Rather than comply with the law which allows physicians to prescribe life-ending medications, a number of hospitals in the Santa Barbara and Palm Springs areas have vowed to ignore the law on this issue. One spokesperson, for Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs and the JFK Memorial Hospital said: “After careful consideration, we have determined that aid-in-dying medication will not be ordered or administered.” The facilities have agreed that patients seeking information on the End of Life Option Act will receive said information, but nothing further at the hospitals now opting out.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny has announced he will bring a memo to Cabinet next week towards the formation of a Citizens’ Assembly on abortion. Questioned in the Dáil on a UN Committee’s recent call for Ireland to set aside its constitutional protection for the unborn, Mr Kenny resisted calls for an immediate move to repeal the Eighth Amendment protection, insisting that the UN call was “non-binding”. However, he also added: “If we were to decide to have a referendum to repeal the Eighth Amendment in October, it would not be passed…It is pointless rushing into a constitutional referendum unless there is a realistic consensus on whatever change might be recommended [by the Citizens’ Assembly].”
The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child has called on Northern Ireland to decriminalise abortion “in all circumstances”. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child made its call as a separate UN body, the Human Rights Committee (HRC) ruled that the Republic of Ireland’s pro-life laws are “inhumane and degrading”. However, like the HRC, the call by Committee on the Rights of the Child is also non-binding and Northern Ireland is not compelled to act. The UN has been criticised for this latest call, with Callum Webster, of the Christian Institute’s Northern Ireland Office, accusing the UN of acting against its founding purpose: “Unborn children in Northern Ireland currently have some of the best protections in the world. A committee tasked with looking after the ‘Rights of the Child’ should seek to uphold that, instead of acting as a cheerleader for abortion in any and every circumstance.”
Four Englishmen are facing trial for the mock crucifixion of a Catholic co-worker in a campaign of bullying described as religiously aggravated assault. The young Catholic man at the heart of the case, who remains anonymous, told York Crown Court that he felt “ashamed” and “embarrassed” when the defendants restrained him in 2015 and tied him to a make-shift cross and placed it against a wall while they filmed the incident. The man alleges a pattern of behaviour of bullying which included him being covered in drawn crosses on another occasion. He said: “I just felt ashamed that everyone else saw what was happening to me and it wasn’t happening to anyone else. I just felt really embarrassed.”
