US emissions in 2020 in biggest fall since World War II The BBC has reported that US greenhouse gas emissions have dropped below their 1990 level for this first time as a result of the response to the coronavirus pandemic. Research group Rhodium said that overall emissions are down over 10%, which is the largest…
Chai Brady and Jason Osborne An RTÉ sketch which depicted a man described as God being arrested for sexual assault received a record number of complaints, rising to 7,000 this week. The sketch was created by satirical website Waterford Whispers and was broadcast on New Year’s Eve. Last week RTÉ announced that it did not…
Australia’s financial crime watchdog said Thursday that it is conducting a “detailed review” of Vatican-linked transfers worth $2.3 billion Australian dollars (€1.5 billion). The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC), a government agency, said January 7 that it was seeking to shed light on the mystery transfers in cooperation with the Vatican. “AUSTRAC…
The number of babies with Down syndrome who were born in Europe fell by half between 2011 and 2015 – confirming the fears of pro-life campaigners in the UK, who have long argued that increased prenatal testing for Down syndrome has led many women to abort their children. Down syndrome A study published during December…
Bishop Denis Nulty, president of Accord Catholic Marriage Care Service CLG (Accord), has urged domestic abuse victims to seek help as the pandemic continues to affect relationships. “I feel in the lockdown in this highly restrictive area that issues like domestic abuse come to the fore even stronger,” Bishop Nulty told The Irish Catholic. “All…
Of the more than 76,000 people known to have died of Covid-19 in Italy the past 11 months, more than 200 were priests, according to the Catholic newspaper, Avvenire. Already four priests have died since the start of 2021, the newspaper said January 6, adding that the cumulative toll amounts to about one death every…
No Complaints: A Memoir of Life in Rural Ireland and in the Irish Public Service by Maurice O’Connell; edited by J. Anthony Gaughan (Kingdom Books, €15.00) Ciaran Casey Former ministers for finance have demonstrated a welcome readiness to publish memoirs in recent years. We now have offerings from five of the seven office-holders from the period…
A spokeswoman for Denmark’s Catholic Church said draft legislation requiring all sermons and homilies to be translated into Danish will fuel ill-feeling and damage religious freedom. “This law is directed primarily at Muslims – its proponents say they want to prevent parallel societies and things being preached which no one else understands and could be…
Snow, a Novel by John Banville (Faber &Faber,£14.99/€17.50) Derek Hand Abandoning the nom de plume of Benjamin Black – the name under which appeared a highly successful series of crime novels – John Banville has finally embraced as his own the thriller genre with this murder mystery Snow. The creation of this mask and the sleight of hand it entailed,…
Fr Michael Pfleger, a popular Chicago priest and outspoken advocate against gun violence, gangs, poverty and racism, has stepped aside from his ministry after the Chicago Archdiocese said it received an allegation that the priest had sexually abused a minor more than 40 years ago. Chicago Cardinal Blase J. Cupich announced the move in a…