The country’s leading court for the implementation of sharia law has called on the government to impose the death penalty as the only recourse in law for the crime of blasphemy. The Federal Court for the Sharia has stated that alternative sentences for those guilty of insulting Islam are unacceptable as such an offence is…

Pope Francis has accused those considering women as cardinals within the Catholic Church as suffering from “clericalism”.

The Catholic bishops’ conference has described a lawsuit against it brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) as “misguided”. Last week, The Irish Catholic reported on the legal action, alleging negligence against the bishops, under whose tenure, Catholic hospitals do not offer abortion as a medical option for women suffering complications during pregnancy. Responding…

Diocesan youth centre opened in St Malachy’s parish, Belfast

The head of the country’s episcopal conference has condemned legal moves to criminalise homosexuals. Following a Supreme Court ruling last week which overturned a 2009 High Court decision decriminalising of homosexuality under British colonial legislation, Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Mumbai decried the move as “unjust discrimination”. “As Christians,” Cardinal Gracias said, “we express our full…