News Roundup

Irish media ‘aggressively hostile’ to the Irish Church – Nuala O’Loan

Baroness Nuala O’Loan has criticised the Irish media of being “aggressively hostile” to the Catholic Church and of having contributed to its decline in Ireland. Speaking at a conference in Boston, USA, Baroness O’Loan said “Papers like The Irish Times now run columns in which things are said about and imputed to Catholics which would not be tolerated in the context of Islam or Judaism, or of homosexuals or humanists”.

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Pope Francis calls for the family to be focus of post-Synod era

Pope Francis has once again spoken up in defence of the family, insisting that it should be a key focus for all following the Synod of the Family convoked last October. Answering journalists’ questions, the Pontiff moved past the media focus on Communion for remarried Catholics to state: “‘Do you not realise that that is not the important problem? Don’t you realise that instead the family throughout the world is in crisis? The family is the basis of society. Do you not realise that the young don’t want to marry? Don’t you realise that the falling birth rate in Europe is something to cry about?..These are the big problems.”

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Christian charities urge end to religion supervision proposal

Five Christian charities in Britain have called on the government to scrap its proposal to inspect church Sunday schools and other youth settings as part of its ‘British values’ campaign. The Christian Institute along with CARE, Christian Concern, Evangelical Alliance and Lawyers’ Christian Fellowship have called for the Government to scrap the controversial plan, claiming it threatens religious and other freedoms.

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Britain to vote on Islamic State genocide label

Britain’s Parliament is set to vote on whether to classify the actions of Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria and Iraq against Christians and other minority groups as genocide. The vote will take place after a debate on April 20. Parliament’s move comes as a poll conducted by the religious freedom group ADF International reveals that 63% of Britons want to see ISIS actions labelled as genocide, and 59% backing a formal inquiry by Britain into IS atrocities.
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Couples waiting a decade longer to wed new figures show

Couples in Ireland are delaying marriage by a decade longer than in the 1970s, latest figures reveal, and the average age for a person marrying is at the highest since records began. The average marriage age for a man today is 35.3 years and 33.2 for a woman. The figures also show there were 91 same-sex marriages since the Yes vote to same-sex marriage last year up to the end of the year. Many of these were previously Civic Partnerships.
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State of Kentucky compromises on same-sex marriage licences

The US state of Kentucky, which imprisoned county clerk Kim Davis for five days after her refusal to sign a same-sex marriage licence has passed legislation allowing for such refusal in the future. As a compromise on the issue, the new law sees all names and titles from the state’s marriage license forms removed entirely.
 
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Staff ‘fired for not meeting abortion quota’ – former manager

A former manager at a facility operated by America’s largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood, has alleged that staff were expected to meet quotas on terminations and were fired for failing to do so. Abby Johnson who worked with the organisation for eight years further stated that even though the group offers a range of services, each one is designed to lead customers back to Planned Parenthood for an abortion in the event of an unplanned pregnancy.
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One third of Irish children live in deprived households – UNICEF

Almost one third of Irish children are raised in materially deprived households, a new study published by UNICEF has revealed. Further, Ireland has the fourth worst income inequality in the EU ranked just below Britain, Belgium and Bulgaria.

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Call to end Dáil Prayer ‘nonsense’ – Mattie McGrath

Independent TD Mattie McGrath has described as “nonsense” calls to remove the traditional prayer before the commencement of Dáil business. Reacting to the call, made by Anti-Austerity Alliance-People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy as attempts to form a new government continue, Deputy McGrath said: “This is pure shenanigans for the sake of publicly I think. It’s a distraction from the real issue.”

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Campaigners urge ‘No’ to Canadian euthanasia Bill

As a Bill to legislate for physician-assisted suicide was placed before the Canadian Parliament, pro-life groups urged legislators to vote ‘No’ on a law they describe as “dangerous”. The long anticipated Bill C-14 will now be discussed by elected officials with a June 6 deadline for a final decision.

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