Louisiana voters by a wide margin November 3 passed a measure declaring there is no state constitutional right to abortion, while Colorado voters defeated a proposal to ban abortion beginning at 22 weeks of pregnancy. Unofficial results show that the Louisiana measure, known as the Love Life Amendment, passed 62.1% to 37.9%. It will add…
Covid-19: Vatican Museums, Pontifical Villas close again to public A statement issued by the Holy See Press Office November 4 said the Vatican Museums will be closed to the public from November 5 to December 3, in compliance with the Italian government’s latest anti-Covid regulations. The statement also said that, due to the current health…
Two nuns and a priest are among the 14 people who are to receive the Presidential Distinguished Service Award for the Irish Abroad for 2020. Sr Patricia Murray and Fr Kevin O’Hara SMS are being recognised for their work for peace, reconciliation and development in Italy and Nigeria respectively. Sr Louise Horgan is being rewarded…
US Supreme Court looks for compromise in Catholic foster care case The Supreme Court, now with a full bench, seemed willing to find a compromise during November 4 arguments about a Catholic social service agency shut out from Philadelphia’s foster care program for not accepting same-sex couples as foster parents. In the case, which pits…
Students for Life Ireland have criticised famed soap Emmerdale’s storyline which “suggests that unborn babies with Down Syndrome should be aborted”, describing the message as both “ableist and unacceptable”. Down Syndrome The spokesperson for the group, Leanne Lynch, said, “We all know someone with Down’s Syndrome, and we all see the joy they bring to…
A shrine to venerable Matt Talbot has been erected in Ss Peter and Paul Cathedral in Ennis, Co. Clare. The shrine is to be accompanied by a specially commissioned painting done by parishioner and local artist Noreen Flynn. It details the transition points, highs and lows, in the life of venerable Matt Talbot. It depicts…
Cardinal Christian Tumi, who was kidnapped by gunmen on the evening of November 5 in Cameroon, has been freed. “Glory be to God. Cardinal Tumi has been freed by the Separatist fighters. He is fine and in good health,” Bishop George Nkuo of Kumbo diocese announced on the afternoon of November 6. The 90-year-old archbishop…
Irish entrepreneur Declan Ganley has begun a constitutional challenge to the ban on attending Mass and other religious ceremonies. Co. Galway-based Mr Ganley, who has been a vocal critic on social media of the ban on Mass, initiated judicial review proceedings against Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly and the State on Thursday and the matter…
As France begins its second lockdown this year, French bishops are filing an urgent appeal to continue public Masses, arguing that the most recent coronavirus restrictions “violate freedom of worship”. The French bishops’ conference announced Monday night that it would file a “référé liberté” with the Council of State regarding the lockdown decree issued last week. This…
Guatemala’s president has said he will block US abortion provider Planned Parenthood from setting up an office in the country. This week he denounced the group, saying it promoted abortion. “I am a faithful defender of life and I am emphatic in indicating that in my government I will not endorse the creation, registration or…
Michael Kelly