A same-sex couple’s son born in the UK under a surrogacy arrangement does not derive Irish citizenship from his non-biological father, the Supreme Court has found.

In a ruling that overturns a High Court decision, the court held that the non-biological father, who secured a post-birth parental order in an English family court, is not classified as the boy’s “parent” under the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act of 1956.

In a judgment on behalf of the five-judge court, Mr Justice Brian Murray held that the term “parent” in the 1956 Act refers to the boy’s genetic father and the surrogate birth mother.

The boy’s UK birth certificate initially recorded the birth mother, who was not engaged in a commercial capacity, and his biological father, who is British.

The first UK baby created with DNA from three people has been born after doctors performed an experimental IVF procedure that aims to prevent children from inheriting incurable diseases.

The technique, known as mitochondrial donation treatment (MDT), uses tissue from the eggs of healthy female donors to create IVF embryos that are free from harmful mutations their mothers carry and are likely to pass on to their children.

Because the embryos combine sperm and egg from the biological parents with tiny battery-like structures called mitochondria from the donor’s egg, the resulting baby has DNA from the mother and father as usual, plus a small amount of genetic material – about 37 genes – from the donor.

While the process has led to the phrase “three-parent babies”, more than 99.8% of the DNA in the babies comes from the mother and father, not the donor.

The Guardian further reported that the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) confirmed “less than five” babies have been born in the UK so far after such treatment.

Amid the escalating violence currently wracking Sudan, priests and religious in violent hotspots have continued to keep church doors open and minister to people.

“I want to stay until the last minute, I do not want to leave the people here alone,” one missionary priest told Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). “A lot of our Catholics came [to the church]. You know, here, the Church is their hope. But we face the same problems as the rest of the people.”

At least 600 people have been killed since the conflict began on April 15, when fighting broke out between military units loyal to General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support (RSF) headed by Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. According to the UN, the number of displaced people inside Sudan has more than doubled this past week, now reaching more than 700,000.

ACN was told that a church in Bahri, northern Khartoum, was hit by a bomb, “but those on site managed to put out the fire after it took hold of the roof. Armed fighters also forced their way into the cathedral in Khartoum, and a chapel belonging to a religious congregation was bombed.”

One project partner told ACN: “Will the conflict end soon? It is our prayer. But neither side is ready. Internationally, people push for dialogue, but there is still shooting.”

Prior warnings to pro-life people in abortion exclusion zones should be recorded by Gardai, although the implementation of such a system will be difficult for the force, according to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health.

The recommendation is made following its pre-legislative scrutiny of the general scheme of the Health (Termination of Pregnancy Services (Safe Access Zones) Bill 2022, which seeks to crack down on pro-life activities near centres that provide abortions.

Committee chairman TD Sean Crowe said: “The committee has recommended that a clear, practical and effective system of recording prior warnings be included in the Bill.

Their report says that the “recording of warnings would prevent multiple incidents of protests being organised by the same individuals”.

It pointed out however that, in practice, this will provide challenges as it appears that An Garda Síochána do not currently have the facility to record such warnings.

The laws will ban the presence of pro-life people within 100m of facilities that provide abortion if their actions are judged to either ‘intentionally’ or “reasonably” seek to influence someone seeking to have an abortion.

A new Canadian survey has shown a growing minority  of Canadians believe poverty and homelessness should qualify someone for euthanasia.

In the online survey of a representative national sample, 27% think people should have access to euthanasia because of poverty, 28% for homelessness, 43% for mental illness, and 50% for being disabled.

The figures for younger people were even more striking with 41% of 18-34 year-olds believing people should qualify for euthanasia due to poverty while 60% of the same cohort think it should be available for a disability.

More generally, one-in-five Canadians (20%) believe medical assistance in dying should always be allowed, regardless of who requests it, while 12% believe it should never be permitted.

A major new report highlights the worsening situation for religious freedom around the world.

The newly released 2023 report by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), echoes the concerns of UK-based Release International, that Nigeria and India should be designated countries of particular concern.

Release International said it welcomes the report but urges USCIRF to further investigate the rising tide of violence in Nigeria by Fulani militia, often aimed at Christian communities.

The USCIRF report, ‘sounds the alarm regarding the deterioration of religious freedom conditions in a range of countries.’

It adds five countries to its list of the world’s worst offenders and presses the influential US State Department to declare them countries of particular concern (CPCs).

Those five additional countries are Nigeria, India, Afghanistan, Syria, and Vietnam.

Nations already on the US State Department’s list of CPCs are Burma, China, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, Nicaragua, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.

The dropping of religious education from the Junior Cycle Guidelines for Well-being is a real loss for students, according to a DCU academic.

In episode 5, Dr Meehan said when the Guidelines for Well-being were published in 2015, it made room for the subject of religious education as a legitimate contributor towards student wellbeing. “Things like learning, about inspirational figures, religious figures from the past, concepts like stewardship of the environment, communities of faith, they were all legitimate subject areas for well-being”, she said.

However, in the revised guidelines, published last year, “there was no mention of religious education as a subject which might contribute towards the well-being of the child, despite the clause in that definition I shared earlier about the sense of purpose and belonging to a wider community and there is a real loss in that because the majority of scientific studies show that religious involvement correlates with a whole slew of indicators of good health”.

A bill to remove virtually all remaining restrictions on abortion has been proposed by People Before Profit TD, Brid Smith. It aligns with the recommendations of the abortion law review which has been sharply criticised by pro-life groups.

The bill, which they are calling the Pro-Choice Bill, will be given its second stage reading in the Dáil on Thursday 25th May, the 5th Anniversary of the repeal of the right to life of the unborn.

The draft text would abolish the 3-day waiting period, which they call “patronising and unnecessary”.

It would also remove the 12 week time limit for accessing an abortion on request; it would extend the 28-day mortality limit in cases of a serious life-limiting condition to one year; and it would remove the criminal penalties for illegal abortions.

In an email to supporters, Deputy Smith said the current legislation creates a two-tier system where only those who can afford to travel for healthcare can access terminations that are otherwise denied to them.

A Christian hybrid school provider, based in Laichingen, Germany, is challenging the German state’s restrictive educational system with European Court of Human Rights after it had its accreditation denied.

After the initial application in 2014, the Association for Decentralized Learning was denied approval to offer primary and secondary education by German authorities, despite fulfilling all state-mandated criteria and curricula. The school run by the Association is based on an innovative and increasingly popular model of hybrid education with both in school and at home learning.

“The right to education includes the right to embrace innovative approaches like hybrid schooling. By restricting this educational model, the state is violating the right of German citizens to pursue education that conforms with their convictions,” stated German lawyer Dr. Felix Böllmann, Director of European Advocacy for ADF International, who filed the case at the ECtHR.

“When it comes to the requirement of physical presence, Germany has one of the most restrictive educational systems in the world. The fact that an innovative school based on Christian values has been denied recognition is a serious development worthy of scrutiny by the Court. The case brings to light the egregious issues with educational freedom in the country,”

Clare TD Michael McNamara has said that he sees how Ireland’s proposed hate speech laws “could be open to abuse”.

The controversial legislation currently making its way through the Oireachtas would make it an offence for a person to “prepare or possess” material on their computer that could incite ‘hatred’ against a person of protected characteristics.

Speaking to The Irish Catholic newspaper, Mr McNamara said “If it was just a diary, or you’re noting down your own thoughts, if they are directed at one of the groups that are protected by this act, it could be considered hate speech and then you could be prosecuted under it.

“I have a problem with that…I don’t necessarily agree with the views that people might have, but I think prosecuting them for merely having the views is a step that I would be uncomfortable with and it seems to me from having listened to the debate that that is a possibility, albeit perhaps an unintended possibility, but nevertheless a possibility and that’s indicative to me of how broadly drafted it is and that’s why I’m concerned,” he said.