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Families face double "couple penalty": report
~A report by a leading UK think tank has shown the British families face ‘couple penalties’ of up to double what they incurred in 1997. The report, compiled by the widely respected Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) shows that the size of couple penalties have increased since 1997-98. Read more...
Preacher arrested over beliefs on homosexuality
~Police in the UK have arrested and charged a Christian street preacher for expressing his religious beliefs about homosexual conduct. Dale Mcalpine, of Workington in Cumbria, appeared before a court last Friday and pleaded not guilty to breaching section 5 of the Public Order Act. Read more...
Conscience rights of doctors must be protected, says article
~An article in a leading Irish medical journal has hit out at the decision of the Fitness to Practice committee of the Medical Council to charge fertility expert Dr Phil Boyle of professional misconduct. Dr Boyle, who operates a fertility practice in the Galway Clinic, was accused with the charge because he refused to treat an unmarried couple, in line with his Catholic beliefs. He was acquitted on a technicality. Read more...
Evangelical leaders call on Ahern to protect freedom of conscience
~The Government's Civil Partnership Bill is “a direct attack upon freedom of conscience and religion”, Ireland's top evangelical leaders have said. In a letter in yesterday's Irish Times, 19 evangelical leaders across the country expressed profound concern about the Bill. Read more...
New tax on stay-at-home mothers planned
~The Government is planning to target stay-at-home mothers with a new Revenue charge that has been condemned as being like 'a tax on mothers', according to a report in the Irish Independent. This is on top of tax individualisation, which can cost single income families up to €6,240 more than a family with two incomes taking in the same amount of money. Read more...
Lawyers file second lawsuit for US nurse
~Lawyers for a Catholic nurse in New York who was forced to participate in an abortion under threat of disciplinary action filed a second lawsuit against the hospital on Friday. The lawyers, funded by the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), a US group which assists in cases where religious freedom is threatened, filed the lawsuit against Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York state court. Read more...
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Radical gay rights report passed by Council of Europe
~A radical gay rights motion was passed on Thursday by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). However, the motion was moderated somewhat by a number of amendments tabled by pro-religion groups and parliamentarians. Read more...
Banks and politicians more mistrusted than Church says survey
~The percentage of people who no longer have any trust in the Catholic Church has risen from 13 per cent in 2004 to 32 per cent, a new survey says. However, the survey found that even fewer people have any trust in the Government or the banks. Read more...
UK judge blasts religious freedom
~A UK judge has launched an assault on attempts to protect the conscience rights of religious people in law as “irrational” and “capricious” and attacked religious belief dismissing it as “subjective” with no basis in fact. Lord Justice Laws said that laws aimed at protecting people of faith could turn Britain into “theocracy”. His critics say he is imposing secularism. Read more...
Unmarried father loses bid to stop children being moved to UK
~A challenge by a father to the legality of the removal of his three children to the UK by his former partner has been rejected by the High Court because he did not have guardianship status over the child. Read more...
Ogra Fianna Fail backs gay adoption
~Ogra Fianna Fail has come out in support of adoption by gay and lesbian couples in a new policy document called ‘Equality for same-sex couples and their families’. The document praises the Government’s Civil Partnership Bill but notes that no allowance is made in the Bill for adoption. It “calls on the Minister for Health and Children to introduce legislation to allow registered same-sex couples to be considered for adoption.” Read more...
Church has right to preach its message, Pope says
~The Church has a right to proclaim its teaching and message publicly, Pope Benedict has said. In an audience with the new Belgian ambassador to the Holy See, Benedict said that the Church finds it necessary "to stress that it has, as an institution, the right to express itself publicly." Read more...
Argentinian bishops defend marriage
~Marriage is a “gift of creation” which lawmakers should not tamper with, the Catholic bishops of Argentina have said. Speaking during their 99th plenary assembly last week which, they said that a bill currently being discussed in Argentina's parliament would contradict natural law. Read more...
Senator Mullen rejects ‘one-size-fits-all’ schools
~Education reform should stress genuine pluralism over a ‘one size fits all’ model of religious education , Independent NUI Senator Rónán Mullen has said today. Read more...
Scottish children given sex ed lessons by 14 year olds
~Critics have attacked as “flawed” a new scheme in which Scottish children as young as eleven receive sex education from 14-year-olds. The Health Buddies pilot project, which is taking place in Dundee, involves pupils as young as 14 teaching younger children about issues such as contraception and puberty in a bid to cut teen pregnancy rates. Read more...
Parties condemned after ban on candidates signing Christian document
~The decision of the three main UK political parties to ban their candidates from signing up to a declaration of their Christian beliefs has been condemned by the Scottish Catholic Church. Read more...
Anti-prayer day ruling attacked
~A ruling last week by a federal judge which held that the US National Day of Prayer was unconstitutional, has been attacked by a politicians and legal experts. President Barack Obama supports the national prayer day. U.S. Federal Judge Barbara Crabb ruled in favor of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, which argued that the government setting aside a day of prayer violates the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution, saying the government cannot call for religious action. Read more...
Union wants end to compulsory religion courses for teachers
~The union representing university lecturers, the Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT) is to discuss a motion to remove compulsory religious courses on teacher education programmes at their annual delegate conference in Dublin this weekend. Read more...
Catholic bishop attacks Lib Dems over schools policy
~A leading Catholic bishop in the UK has said that Catholics should “think very carefully” before deciding to vote Liberal Deomcrat in next month’s election. He attacked a key election pledge of the Lib Dems, suggesting it would damage the right of parents “to bring up their children according to their consciences”. Read more...
Lesbian couple named on birth cert as child’s parents
~A lesbian couple has become the first gay parents in Britain to use a controversial new provision which allows same-sex couples to jointly sign a child’s birth certificate. Natalie Woods and Betty Knowles countersigned the document after the birth of Lily-May Betty Woods. The father is not named. The biological mother is Miss Woods. Read more...
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