A group of 62 doctors, scientists, and bioethicists have issued an open letter urging a global moratorium on experiments that alter human genes that can be passed on to subsequent generations, a practice known as ‘germline editing’. “Although we recognise the great scientific advancement represented by gene editing technologies and their potential value for an…
Helping children who lost their parents when a pair of cyclones hit Mozambique is among the most difficult work in the aftermath, an aid worker has said. “It’s not easy to find the links” to these children’s relatives, said Martina Zavagli, country representative for the Association of Volunteers in International Service Foundation, or AVSI. “Many…
Increasing severity in the persecution of Christians in different parts of the world is reaching “genocidal” levels, according to a new report commissioned by the British government. An interim report issued by an Independent Review set up at the request of the UK foreign secretary said that Christians are overwhelmingly the most targeted religious group…
The PLC can help Catholics find and support pro-life candidates, writes Eilís Mulroy All of the main political parties and indeed all of those at the national political level pay detailed and close attention to the local elections. The reason they do so is because they provide a significant window of opportunity in which…
Pope Francis is praying for the victims of the recent attack on a Catholic church in Burkina Faso, the interim head of the Holy See press office has said. “The Holy Father learned with sorrow the news of the attack on the church in Dablo, in #BurkinaFaso. He prays for the victims, for their families…
The commission Pope Francis appointed to study the history and identity of women deacons did not reach a unanimous conclusion about whether deaconesses in the early church were “ordained” or formally “blessed”, the Pope has said. “What is fundamental is that there was no certainty that there was an ordination with the same form and…
Ireland’s very own ‘Rosary priest’ has died, aged 97. Fr Gabriel Harty OP, the senior member of Ireland’s Dominican province, passed away on Thursday in Drogheda’s Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital. Known as ‘the Rosary Priest of Ireland’, Fr Harty was known for his decades of promoting the Rosary through preaching, missions and publication of…
Pro-life campaigners from across Canada gathered on Ottawa’s Parliament Hill last week for the country’s annual National March for Life. Carrying a variety of handmade and pre-printed signs in a variety of languages, pro-life advocates, school groups, families, and clergy turned out to mark the 50th year of legal abortion in the country. Police declined…
Hannah Harn discusses summer holiday options for kids of all ages Now that young people are at the cusp of surviving another school year, they’ll have three months off to relax and recharge before kicking back into gear in autumn. However, nobody wants to run out of things to do after a week, and…
Fr Tony Coote describes how he was first diagnosed with motor neurone disease I woke in my house in Mount Merrion, Dublin around 6.30am. I hadn’t had much sleep. I had an appointment that morning in the Beacon hospital. I went to the window; the whole area was covered in snow. Normally on a Wednesday…