Sexual differentiation is intrinsic to the sacrament of marriage, the Catholic bishops reiterated in a statement this week.

Government plans to legislate for civil unions between same-sex couples are unlikely to be published before the Dáil's summer recess, according to reports.

A Muslim teenager has been awarded £4,000 by a UK employment tribunal after a the owner of a hair salon refused to employ her because she was wearing a headscarf.

A Christian pastor in Canada who described the homosexual agenda as wicked has been found guilty of “hate speech” and banned from ever speaking or writing about homosexuality again by the Alberta Human Rights Commission (AHRC).

Children as young as five have been given books with gay characters to read in class. And sixth class pupils at the same Dublin school have received detailed lessons on gay rights. Pupils at Griffith Barracks Multi-denominational School have are thought to be the first in the country given gay literature such as 'The Sissy Duckling' and 'King and King' at school.

The UK's Labour Government needs to start taking notice of the Church of England, according to the Archbishop of Canterbury. Speaking at the launch of a report which outlined how the Government treats different religions, he said there was a "depressing" level of misunderstanding about the important contribution played by the clergy and churchgoers to the economy and society.

Prohibiting the wearing of the hijab or other religious symbols which are important to minorities is "likely to result in tension with those communities where no tension existed before", according to the director of the State's advisory body on intercultural affairs, Philip Watt.

The family is a bulwark “against the fragmentation of society in which violence thrives,” according to the according to the Irish bishops Commission for Justice and Social Affairs (ICJSA). In a document published last week, the Commission said that family bonds provide “a sense of belonging and self-esteem that is essential for healthy living”.

Senator Ronan Mullen has called for the removal of the restriction prohibiting religious publications from advertising on television or radio. He was speaking in the Seanad in a debate on the Government's proposed Broadcasting Bill.

The heavy restrictions prohibiting religious publications from advertising on television or radio should be removed, according to Senator Ronan Mullen. He was speaking in the Seanad in a debate on the Government's proposed Broadcasting Bill.

Speaking in the Seanad on Wednesday, he proposed an amendment to current broadcasting legislation, which bans religious advertising. He said that, in light of what could now be advertised on television, it was “ bizarre that we should still have such a ban”.

The ban on religious advertising has recently been applied to an ad referring to the word "crib" during Christmas, and in 1999 it was used to prevent The Irish Catholic newspaper advertising on radio.

He said that in the past, when Ireland was more predominantly Catholic, a ban on religious advertising on television made some sense. However, nowadays while a book slamming religion, like Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion, could be advertised, an order like the Franciscans, “who promote a communitarian-based vision of society, may not advertise their way of life”.

Given the State's recognition, through the structured dialogue process, set up by former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, of the value of religious groups, the ban was even more incongruous, Senator Mullen argued.

“There is a recognition of the public value of religious adherence,” he continued. Few would deny, he said, “the enormous contribution made, not just within the Catholic tradition but in all the traditions, by committed people of faith”.

“I refer to the role of religious orders in the provision of education, health and other services in the State,” Senator Mullen went on. The service of religiously motivated people “to Irish society has been phenomenal,” he pointed out.

In the place of the religious advertising ban, the Senator said that ads promoting tarot card phone lines ought to be prohibited on national television.

He said it was an “astonishing anomaly” that there was no proposed ban in the proposed legislation on such phone lines, while religious orders could not advertise. Those who “purport to tell you what will happen in your life tomorrow or next week and they prey on the gullible” were still allowed to promote their profit seeking enterprises.

“We have heard in recent times just how much these psychic services and these supposed tarot card operators and various such tellers of the future prey on gullible, vulnerable people,” Senator Mullen pointed out.

A number of Senators also spoke in favour of removing the ban on religious advertising. Fine Gael Senator Joe O'Reilly said that he agreed with Senator Mullen that religious orders such as the Franciscans ought to be allowed to advertise for vocations. Labour Senator Alex White agreed that a blanket ban on religious advertising was “somewhat excessive”.

Senator David Norris also acknowledged that the ban on religious advertising had operated unjustly. He recalled that “perfectly reasonable advertisements, some of which were religious, were refused on RTE”.

Speaking on another amendment to the Broadcasting Bill concerning the issue of balance in public broadcasting, Senator Jim Walsh said that he was concerned that “in many cases broadcasters do not need to display prejudice on air as they can promote their personal bias and prejudice in editorial and topic selection”.

He went on to say that it was “unacceptable that broadcasters can peddle personal prejudice in their programmes”. He continued: “There is a justifiable expectation that comment will be fair and reasonable and programmes impartial.”

Children whose grandparents are involved in their upbringing tend to grow up happier, according to a new study.

New UK legislation is set to require fathers to sign their baby’s birth certificate. The change in the law is designed to ensure that both parents are involved in a child’s life.

The interests of children produced through donor conception have been silenced in the debate over Assisted Human Reproduction (AHR), according to Joanna Rose (35), who was herself conceived via donor sperm.

The Spanish organisation, Educacion y Persona, has denounced a new textbook which is part of a controversial government-sponsored course in Spanish schools called ‘Education for Citizenship for aggressively attacking the Church and supporting abortion.

The Catholic bishop of Lancaster, Rt Rev Patrick O'Donoghue, has suggested a solution to the Catholic adoption agency in his diocese in response to the threat of the Sexual Orientation Regulations forcing it to close.

Representatives from Irish financial institutions have been told that there is an “urgent need” for Sharia-compliant financial services to be made available in Ireland so that Muslims living here do not infringe on their own religious teachings. Sharia is the legal code of Islam.

Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair has said that religious faith “will be of the same significance to the 21st century as political ideology was to the 20th century”. He added that, in an era of globalisation “there is nothing more important than getting people of different faiths and cultures to understand each other better”.

A UK mother of a 10 year old girl has frozen her eggs to allow her infertile daughter a chance of her own baby. The girl has a rare condition which will prevent her from ever conceiving naturally, and the mother wants to offer her own eggs to the girl because waiting lists for "stranger" donors are so long. A baby born to the girl using these eggs would be her half sibling.

Despite figures indicating a steady fall in the numbers of people getting married in the UK, marriage is still hugely popular in Britain, according to a new poll. Defying the idea that marriage is dead, a Ipsos Mori survey of 1,560 young people, conducted on behalf of UK think tank Civitas, reveals that the overwhelming majority want to get married. However, the report which contained the poll showed that marriage remained beyond the reach of lower income people.

A proposal to remove a crucifix from above the speaker's chair in the parliament has been rejected by the Canadian province of Quebec. The Prime Minister of Quebec, Jean Charest, said the crucifix was related to 350 years of history that could not be erased.

The House of Commons voted last night to remove the requirement that fertility clinics must consider a child’s need for a father.