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Nick Clegg rows back after draft speech called gay marriage opponents ‘bigots’
~UK Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg (pictured) has sought to reassure Church leaders after a draft speech he was due to give described same-sex marriage opponents as “bigots”. The comment has landed Mr Clegg in trouble after it appeared in prepared remarks which he was due to give at an event this week. Mr Clegg wrote to senior clerics in both the Church of England and the Catholic Church to disown the remarks. Read more...
Teachers who oppose gay marriage may be sacked: expert
~Teachers who disagree same-sex marriage in the classroom could be fired under controversial UK Government reforms, according to a prominent lawyer. In a report on the legal implications of Government plans to introduce same-sex marriage, Aidan O’Neill, a senior QC and expert on religious freedom and human rights, also warned that the most serious impact of the new laws is likely to be felt in the church where vicars and priests conducting religious marriage ceremonies could be taken to court for refusing to carry out a gay wedding. Read more...
Hundreds protest new circumcision restrictions in Berlin
~Hundreds of Jewish, Muslim and Christian protesters demonstrated in the German capital of Berlin on Sunday for religious freedom and the decriminalisation of circumcision. Police officials said 300 demonstrators appeared at Bebelplatz in the Mitte district in eastern Berlin. The protest was in reaction to a new directive issued by Berlin's Justice Minister, Thomas Heilmann , which introduced strict new rules for circumcision, the Jerusalem Post reported. Read more...
No need for children's referendum, says former Supreme Court judge
~There is no need for the Government to hold a referendum to secure children's rights, a former Supreme Court judge has said. Writing in the Irish Independent, Hugh O'Flaherty said that the aims of the proposed referendum could be addressed by legislation. Mr O'Flaherty is the latest prominent legal figure to cast doubt on plans to hold a children's rights referendum. The Minister for Children, Frances Fitzgerald (pictured), has repeatedly insisted that the Government's promise to hold such a vote this year remain on course. Read more...
Government to introduce "transgender" legislation within weeks
~Legislation allowing people to change the sex registered on their birth certificates and other official documents without having to undergo “sex change” operations is set to come before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Social Protection in coming weeks. The Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton (pictured), made the announcement at the opening session of the fourth European Transgender Council meeting in Dublin yesterday. Ms Burton said enacting such legislation was a priority for her. Read more...
Grandparents denied access to grandchildren for last three years
~The grandparents of two children in Scotland adopted by a same-sex couple have been denied access to them for three years. The grandparents, who cannot be named for legal reasons, say they were prevented from continuing to care for the youngsters because they were deemed ‘too old’ to care for them. However the City of Edinburgh Council denies that this was the case. Read more...
Britain appoints its first Minister for Faith
~The British Government has appointed its first ever Minister for Faith. Prime Minister David Cameron appointed Baroness Sayeeda Warsi (pictured) Minister for Faith and Communities in a cabinet reshuffle earlier this week. Formerly co-chairman of the Conservative Party and Minister without Portfolio, Baroness Warsi becomes a Senior Minister of State and will attend cabinet, although not as a full member. Read more...
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Having sex early in a relationship can harm it long-term says study
~Having sex early in a relationship can lead to less emotionally satisfying relationships further down the road, according to a new study from New York’s Cornell University reported in The Daily Mail. According to the researchers delaying sex in a relationship is a better approach to building up a healthy relationship. Read more...
Social services had multiple chances to save toddler says review
~Social services in the UK failed on numerous occasions to intervene in the case of a toddler who ended up being killed by his father giving him methadone according to an independent review published on Tuesday. The report catalogued a series of failures by a range of professional bodies in the months before Jayden Lee Green died in his drug addict parents’ squalid flat in August last year, the Daily Telegraph says. Read more...
Church organisations must not lose their Christian identity says Archbishop Martin
~Church organisations must not lose their Christian identity when making their case in the public square, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin (pictured) has warned. Speaking at a meeting of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences (CCEE) Assembly currently underway in Nicosia, Cyprus Archbishop Martin warned that when Church bodies become simply lobbying organisations like other lobbying organisations, they lose their proper direction. Read more...
One in four women wish they had started their families sooner
~A quarter of women in the UK wish they had tried to start a family earlier, according to a new survey of women. The poll of more than 3,000 women aged 28 to 45 found 24pc regretted having waited so long, and 17 per cent were worried about being too old to conceive, the Daily Telegraph reports. In addition, almost one in 10 (nine per cent) had already resorted to fertility treatment because they had found it difficult to conceive naturally while 20pc wanted to have a child so much they said they would consider purposefully becoming a single mother, either through donor sperm or another route. Read more...
Christians should resign if their faith clashes with their work court told
~Christians should resign if their faith clashes with their work, lawyers for the UK government have told the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. The lawyers were making the argument in a landmark case involving four employees who claim that they have been the victims of religious discrimination in the workplace. They said that the rights of the four individuals to religious freedom was not infringed because they could still practice their faith “in private”. Read more...
Father seeks right to give schoolchildren atheist tracts
~A father in the Canadian province of Ontario is seeking to have atheist tracts distributed to children in the province’s schools along with Gideon bibles. The bibles are only given to children with the permission of the parents. Rene Chouinard, a father of two school-age children and an active secularist said he didn't think that “10-year-old kids should be expected to make decisions on which theological concept is correct”. Read more...
Landmark religious freedom case being heard today at ECHR
~A landmark case on religious freedom will be heard today at the European Court of Human Rights today as four workers challenge British judgements over their right to practice their religion in various ways. The British Government is opposing the four Christians who have taken the case. The four Christians include two workers forced out of their jobs after visibly wearing crosses, a Relate therapist sacked for saying he would not be comfortable giving sex counselling to homosexual couples, and a Christian registrar who does not wish to conduct civil partnership ceremonies for same-sex couples. Read more...
Church has the right to lobby says Gilmore
~Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore has conceded that the Church has the right to lobby politicians on abortion and other issues. Mr Gilmore was responding to journalists’ questions after his party colleague, Pat Rabbitte, told RTE last week that the Church should not ‘dictate’ to politicians and that this would be a retrograde step. Read more...
Gay marriage researcher cleared of scientific misconduct charge
~The University of Texas has cleared one of its academics of a ‘scientific misconduct’ charge after a complaint was lodged against him as a result of research he published comparing children raised by same-sex couples with children raised in other families. Read more...
Three-person civil union recognised in Brazil
~A notary in the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo has recognised a three person civil union between a man and two women. It is uncertain whether the move will withstand a legal challenge. The notary in question, Claudia do Nascimento Domingues has said the three individuals should be entitled to family rights, the BBC reports. Read more...
UK policies have failed to reduce teenage pregnancies says expert
~Government policies in the UK aimed at reducing teenage pregnancies have failed to have any impact, according to a new study. The study looked at the teenage pregnancy figures between 1969 and 2009. It found that despite the millions of pounds spent in government initiatives over the last four decades pregnancy rates among teenaged girls aged 13-16, have remained steady, while abortion rates have gone up. Read more...
Retired judge says he disagrees with children’s rights referendum
~A former district court judge has said that he disagrees with the Government's plan to bring in a children's rights referendum. Retired judge Michael Patwell said that, while he had previously believed there was a need for the Constitutional amendment, he had changed his mind. He has himself dealt with many family law cases including ones that resulted in the removal of children from their parents. Read more...
Row erupts over Pat Rabbitte comments on Church and State
~A major row over the relationship between Church and State has erupted after Pat Rabbitte appeared to suggest that the Catholic Church should not be permitted to lobby politicians. Mr Rabbitte, who is Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, was responding after Cardinal Sean Brady told RTE that the Church was prepared to lobby politicians on the abortion issue. Read more...
Proposal to ban State employees from wearing ‘overt religious symbols’
~The leading separatist party in the Canadian province of Quebec wants to everyone in the employ of the State from wearing or exposing ‘overt religious symbols’. In addition, the Parti Québécois (PQ) wants to introduce a secular charter aimed at removing religious symbols are removed from public institutions. PQ leader Pauline Marois said freedom of religion would be integrated in the charter. Read more...
Christian couple fined for stance on traditional marriage
~A Christian couple who were sued by the powerful US lobby group the American Civil Liberties Union for standing up for their belief in traditional marriage have been forced to pay $30,000 in an out of court settlement. The ACLU sued the couple, Jim and Mary O’Reilly, because they refused to host a lesbian wedding reception in 2011. The couple, the owners of the Wildflower Inn in the state of Vermont, said they “wanted to end this ordeal and the threat that the litigation” posed to their business. Read more...
Children's rights amendment will be based on O'Rourke wording, Minister says
~The Government's proposed children's rights referendum will be based on the wording proposed by an Oireachtas committee chaired by former Fianna Fáil TD, Mary O'Rourke. Speaking on Newstalk earlier today, the Minister for Children, Frances Fitzgerald (pictured), said that Government officials were working to ensure that the wording is based on the principles outlined by that Committee. The O’Rourke wording has been previously criticised for being too imprecise on what it means by a child’s ‘best interests’ and the circumstances in which the State will be permitted to override the judgement of parents in this regard. Read more...
Marriage debate intensifies in Britain
~The head of the Catholic Church in Scotland, Cardinal Keith O'Brien has set up a new body to support marriage and the family. The new Commission for Marriage and the Family will be led by a bishop and composed mostly of lay people. It will produce materials and organise events "which will support ordinary Catholic families in their daily lives". Read more...
FF attacks Government over delay in publishing children’s rights amendment
~Fianna Fáil has warned that the Government may not be able to rely on it support for its proposed children's rights referendum after spokesman for children Robert Troy said it is “totally unacceptable that the Government has allowed the summer to pass without publishing the wording of the referendum on children’s rights”. And he warned that while Fianna Fáil wanted to give its full support to the Government's referendum, it could not do so “blindly”. Read more...
Religion good for mental health says new study
~Religion and spirituality are good for your mental health, say a new study which recommends that health care professionals take this into account in their treatment programmes. According to the study, published in the Journal of Religion and Health, regardless of which particular religion people belong to, faith can improve a person's well-being. The findings confirm earlier research showing that religion can provide significant health benefits for believers. Read more...
Joan Burton to address major transsexual rights conference
~Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton is to address a major international transsexual rights conference in Dublin next month. The conference is sponsored by Transgender Equality Network Ireland (TENI) and TENI Director Broden Giambrone said that the event “provides an ideal platform for activists to share experiences, resources and best practice”. The conference will bring together groups belonging to Transgender Europe which is a network of campaigning organisations throughout Europe affiliated to the United Nations, the European Parliament and the World Health Organisation (WHO). Read more...
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Married men earn more than divorced men says study
~Married men earn more over their lifetime than either single men divorced men according to a new study. Using Census data on wage and income, Drs Pat Fagan and Henry Potrykus, of the Marriage and Religion Research Institute, looked at earnings for divorced men, married men and single men. According to their findings those men who stayed married made more money than those who had ever been divorced and those never married. Read more...
Catholic schools create sense of civic virtue, says leading cleric
~Claims that Catholic schools cannot create a sense of civic virtue run “completely contrary to the Catholic education tradition which is built on a respect for faith and reason” the head of a leading Catholic schools body has said. Fr Michael Drumm (pictured), the Chairman of the Catholic Schools Partnership, said that contemporary Irish discourse tended to “dismiss religious belief as inherently irrational, divisive, and anti-intellectual”. Read more...
Religious states in the US give most to charity
~The least religious states in the US also tend to give the least money to charity, a new study suggests. The study, published yesterday by the Chronicle of Philanthropy, found that residents in states where religious participation is higher than the rest of the nation, particularly in the South, gave the greatest percentage of their discretionary income to charity. Read more...
UN Human Rights Council argues over ‘traditional values’ document
~A United Nations document, initiated by Russia and intended to uphold traditional values has been hijacked by other countries, including the US and a number of European countries, according to C-Fam, which monitors family and life issues at the UN. According to C-Fam, a process was initiated on the Human Rights Council last year by Russia with the aim of working towards a resolution to find a positive link between traditional values and human rights generally. Read more...
Irish 'civil society' groups nominate experts to Constitutional Convention
~A series of pro-same-sex marriage advocates have been nominated to the Government's Constitutional Convention by a number of non-governmental organisations. The groups are part of an umbrella initiative by the Irish Council of Civil Liberties (ICCL) called Hear our Voices. According to a statement by the ICCL, the nominations are “the result of a call for nominations to over 900 organisations” through this initiative. Read more...
Fertility clinics breaching ethical standards on egg donations
~A significant number of US fertility clinics who recruit egg donors online are not adhering to the industry's own ethical guidelines, a new study says. Their ethical failures include not warning women of the risks of the procedure and offering extra payment for traits like good looks. Egg donation, like sperm donation is often criticized in itself for ‘commodifying’ the children that result and for deliberately breaking the link between children and their natural, biological parents. Read more...
Suicide rate rises among older teenagers
~Ireland has seen a rise in suicide among older teenagers, according to a new study. The research, published in the Irish Medical Journal, looked at the number of suicides carried out by those under 18 in the years between 1993 and 1998, and the years between 2003 and 2008. The figures showed a small reduction in the number of suicides among those aged between 5 and 14. Read more...
Gay rights worker held after shooting of guard at pro-marriage group HQ
~A gay rights worker is being held by police after the shooting of a security guard at the offices of the Family Research Council (FRC), a pro-family, pro-religion think tank in Washington D.C. The attack has been condemned by President Barack Obama and Republican party presidential candidate, Mitt Romney. Brian Brown, the President of the National Organisation for Marriage said that the shooting was "the clearest sign we've seen that labeling pro-marriage groups as 'hateful' must end". Read more...
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