The first Christian Mass in over two years has been celebrated in the newly liberated city of Qaraqosh, Iraq. Having ousted fighters of so-called Islamic State (ISIS), Iraqi forces cleared the way for the Immaculate Conception Cathedral at the centre of the city to host a religious celebration as a symbol of the city’s hard-won freedom. Led by Syrian Catholic Archbishop Petros Mouche of Mosul, Kirkuk and the whole Kurdistan, worshippers sang hymns in Aramaic and listened as the prelate called on Christians to clean up this city from all traces of [ISIS], the hatred of which we have all been victims”. Of the cathedral itself, seriously damaged but still standing, the Archbishop said: “This church is a symbol for us.”

Britain’s Department of Health has announced that it has approved a form of earlier pre-natal screening which opponents say will increase the rate of abortions for babies diagnosed with Down syndrome. The Department is now set to roll out use of Non Invasive Pre-Natal Testing. The move comes despite a letter signed by 279 health professionals across Britain which accuses the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of “advocating that women with a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome should end their pregnancy”, arising in part from the ‘cost effectiveness of caring for children with the syndrome. Nine out of ten diagnosed Down Syndrome babies are already aborted in the UK.

Poland’s President Andrzej Duda has pledged to support a restriction on abortion for children with disabilities. Just weeks after abortion advocates staged major protests against any tightening of abortion laws, President Duda declared current laws “ineffective” in protecting the unborn. In addition to cases of rape, incest and the health of the mother, Poland allows for abortion of foetuses deemed to be suffering ‘severe deformities’, though this is often interpreted to include babies with disabilities such as Down syndrome. “I believe that the lives of these children are too poorly protected at the moment,” President Duda said. The President’s message has been echoed by Prime Minister Beata Szydlo who has just unveiled a new ‘Pro-Life’ programme to provide more support to families raising children with disabilities.

Northern Ireland’s First Minister has criticised the region’s Equality Commission (ECNI) for its part in the Ashers Bakery case. Arlene Foster MLA said the ECNI had not “covered themselves in glory” in dealing with the discrimination claim made against the Christian owners of Ashers during the so-called same-sex cake row, and for offering no assistance to the family during the hearing. The body’s actions had been “quite troubling”, she said. Instead of “accepting the metropolitan liberal elite definition of equality they need to look at what real equality is and look at the faith communities in Northern Ireland and that is something they haven’t been doing”, she added.

A judge in Britain has ordered a boy to be placed into the care of his father after it emerged that social workers had been backing the child’s mother in dressing him in girl’s clothes and forcing him to live as a girl for two years. In a custody hearing, the judge praised the child’s Catholic school for bringing the issue to light and criticised social workers for ignoring concerns expressed about the boy’s welfare. It was found that social workers had failed to check on the mother’s false assertion that the boy had been diagnosed as transgender and had subsequently prevented professional assessments of the child. The judge stated that the “profile and sensitivity” of transgenderism “blinded a number of professionals from applying their training, skill, and, it has to be said, common sense.”

The European Parliament has adopted a resolution to offer protection to Christians in Iraq once the offensive to retake the city of Mosul is complete. Tabled by the European People’s Party Group, the resolution – which will also offer protection to other minority groups such as Yazidis passed by a huge margin of 488 votes to 11 (with 100 abstentions). The motion to pass the resolution noted the dreadful regime inflicted on the people of Mosul and the fact that people are now starving as they await liberation. “The coming liberation of Mosul is… the defining moment when it comes to the future of Iraq’s indigenous peoples,” said Swedish MEP Lars Adaktusson, who initiated the resolution. “Now that Islamic State is on its way to being driven out of Mosul, it is indispensable that the EU, together with other countries, shows solidarity with minorities…That means the creation of maximum regional autonomy in Northern Iraq for Christians – Chaldeans, Syriacs, Assyrians – Yazidis and Turkmen indigenous populations.”

The Canadian state of Ontario is considering legislation that will set aside the terms ‘mother’ and ‘father’ while extending the number of legal parents in a family unit to four. Under Bill 28 – the All Families are Equal Act – a mothers is referred to as a ‘birth parent’, while a father is termed ‘parent’. The four-person element has been included to facilitate the adoption of children by gay couples who have no biological ties to a child. The language, described by supporters as “inclusive”, has been roundly condemned by opponents who view the bill (primarily aimed at the issue of surrogacy) as nothing short of a drive by activists to erase mothers’ and fathers’ official recognition. The bill passed its second reading at Committee stage in late October.

A bus-stop ad campaign by Carphone Warehouse which says, ‘We’re Pro-Choice’ has caused uproar on social media. The slogan appears to take the pro-choice side in the abortion debate. The campaign also asks, “What makes a family?” with the tick-box choices of ‘Mum and Mum’, ‘Mum and Dad’ or ‘Dad and Dad’. Carphone Warehouse has attempted to downplay the issue by stating that the ads “highlight the huge choice and selection on offer at Carphone Warehouse”.

Cases of euthanasia in Belgium hit a record high in 2015, latest figures show. Contained in a report from the Euthanasia Control Commission, there were 2,022 such deaths in 2015, the highest number on record and a hundredfold increase on the 24 cases recorded in the first year of legalised euthanasia in Belgium in 2002. Reacting to the numbers, the human rights groups, Alliance Defending Freedom said: “The seventh report on euthanasia in Belgium shows that once we open the doors to intentional killing, there is no logical stopping point. The slippery slope that Belgium embarked on in 2002 is becoming more and more visible. Today, euthanasia for a person who is perfectly healthy in a physical sense, but suffers from psychological illnesses, is accepted in Belgium.” To date, 12,762 people have been officially euthanised in Belgium.

Surrogacy should be banned in Ireland to protect children from ‘commodification’ and women from exploitation, a prominent campaigner has said. Speaking before an event organised by The Iona Institute in Dublin, Jennifer Lahl, of the California-based Centre Bioethics and Culture and the Stop Surrogacy Now campaign said that as well as making children into mere commodities, surrogacy exploits women and is damaging to their mental health. Many couples and individuals are “desperate” to have children, but she said, surrogacy is “not good medicine” and there should be “limits” on what people are allowed to buy and what risks vulnerable women are allowed to take. Surrogacy is not illegal in Ireland and is largely unregulated. The Government has indicated it intends to legislate on assisted human reproduction issues.