We need to be civilised in our arguments

Decades old tensions within the Church are showing themselves in a new and ugly fashion, writes Fr Bill Dailey CSC In the seminary, I had a moral theology professor who took a liberal, revisionist approach to Church teaching. They had a course packed with standard issue critiques of teachings I agreed with, and to my…

Unplanned actress to address Dublin event

Ashley Bratcher, lead actress in the box office hit Unplanned will be the keynote speaker at the Pro Life Campaign National Conference in the RDS, Dublin, this Saturday, November 2. The movie about Abby Johnson’s journey from Planned Parenthood abortion clinic director to one of America’s most effective pro-life voices reached No.4 in box office sales across…

Pro-lifers target SDLP over abortion move

Pro-life voters in the North are targeting the SDLP for the party’s refusal to intervene over Westminster’s imposition of abortion on the region. As part of their ‘Fight Back’ campaign Precious Life held protests outside the constituency offices of SDLP leader Colum Eastwood and Mark H Durkin. Organisers say the protests are in response to…

Faith leaders sign declaration opposing end-of-life procedures

Leaders of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam presented a signed declaration to Pope Francis on Monday expressing their total opposition to euthanasia and any form of physician-assisted suicide, as well as voicing their support of palliative end-of-life care. The document was signed at the Vatican on October 28 by Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, head of the Pontifical Academy…

Lebanese Church tells protestors: ‘We hear you cry’

Amid an unprecedented, massive uprising of the Lebanese population demanding a sweeping overhaul of the country’s political system, leaders of Catholic, Orthodox and evangelical churches in Lebanon assured the people: “We hear your cry.” In a statement following their emergency meeting last week led by Cardinal Bechara Rai, Maronite patriarch, the Christian leaders said of…

Armagh to mark ‘Red Wednesday’

Catholics are being urged to mark the Aid to the Church in Need ‘week of witness’ by praying for those persecuted for their faith. Wednesday, November 27 – known as Red Wednesday – will see many churches and other buildings illuminated in red to recall Christian martyrs and those who have died for their faith.…

Haiti in turmoil after protests to oust President Jovenel Moise

The political and economic protests roiling Haiti are causing unprecedented lawlessness and impunity, compounding the suffering of Haitians, said the head of an Italian foundation working there. “I know there are other situations around the world that are difficult and appealing for our attention, but here this is really a potential catastrophic situation,” said Fiammetta…

Homelessness worsens ‘by every measure’ says MQI

Ireland’s homeless crisis continues to worsen as Merchant’s Quay Ireland (MQI) has revealed new annual figures showing a 9% increase people accessing their services last year. MQI’s 2018 annual review saw a record number of 11,301 service users. Over 2,000 people availed of the charity’s emergency shelter and they provided 102,658 meals to the homeless…

Parents granted joint decision in son’s gender change

A Texas judge granted Jeffrey Younger and Dr Anne Georgulas joint managing conservatorship of their son, James Younger, over whose gender identity his parents have argued in court. The decision, given by Judge Kim Cooks of a Texas Family District Court, means that both parents have equal decision-making power in their child’s medical, dental and…

Ghanaian girls still face education obstacles

A Ghanaian government official used a Catholic girls’ school celebration to emphasise the need to educate girls as well as boys. “The education of boys has always taken precedence over that of girls, and we normally use social and cultural misconceptions to discriminate against girls in terms of educational access,” Benedicta Tenni Seidu, director of…