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Fertility in EU remains below replacement level, Eurostat confirms
~There has been a slight rise in the overall EU fertility rate, according to the latest report of Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. However, the figures reveal that that the total fertility rate (TFR), remains significantly below the level required to keep the population size constant in the absence of migration flows. Read more...
Euro court considers same-sex adoption appeal
~An appeal by the lesbian partner of a mother of a donor-conceived child against the refusal of the French courts to allow her to adopt the child was heard by the European Court of Human Rights (EHCR) earlier today. The case could have serious implications for adoption laws in Member States of the Council of Europe. Read more...
Easter cinema ad banned for mentioning name of Jesus
~A US church’s advert telling people about an Easter service has been banned from cinemas and branded “too controversial” because it mentions the name of Jesus. Compass Bible Church in California produced a short, mild cinema ad to invite people to its Easter event. . Read more...
Clergy and religious live longer than other professions says study
~Clergy and religious like Catholic priests and nuns or Protestant pastors longer than members of other professions, according to a Korean survey published this week. The findings tally with a number of earlier surveys showing that religious people tend to have better mental and physical health. Read more...
Bid to legalise same-sex civil unions blocked
~Attempts to legalise same-sex civil unions in the US state of Colorado have been blocked after a key committee allowed the legislation to die in the state's legislature. It is the latest setback for same-sex marriage advocates in the US. Read more...
Gender a ‘social construct’ says draft convention of Council of Europe
~A Council of Europe convention on combatting violence against women has become the first international treaty to describe gender as a social construct meaning the roles of men and women have no biological basis. The convention was agreed yesterday by the Council's Committee of Ministers. Read more...
John Bruton challenges Ruairi Quinn over religious education
~Former Taoiseach John Bruton has defended the teaching of the sacraments in primary schools. He was reacting to suggestions made by the Minister for Education Ruairi Quinn earlier this week that the teaching of First Communion and Confirmation took up too much class time. Read more...
Teach atheism to primary school children, Educate Together representative says
~Atheism should be taught in Educate Together primary schools, a leading member of the schools body has said. Fionnuala Ward, Primary Education Officer for the non-denominational patronage body said that those describing themselves as having no religion were the second biggest “religious” group in the last Census. Read more...
Children’s referendum still a priority says Minister
~Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald (pictured) has insisted that the proposed referendum on children's rights is still a “top priority” for the Government, despite its absence from the Government’s initial legislative programme. Ms Fitzgerald said yesterday the fact that the referendum was not part of the legislative programme did not mean that the proposed amendment had fallen down the Coalition’s list of priorities. Read more...
Church education chief envisages 10 percent of schools being transferred
~The head of the Church's new umbrella body for Catholic schools has said he believes that perhaps 10 per cent of primary schools currently under Church patronage will be transferred to alternative patrons. Fr Michael Drumm, chairman of the Catholic Schools Partnership (CSP), said that this figure would be more realistic than the 50 per cent that Education Minister Ruairi Quinn suggested last month, given the logistical difficulties involved. Read more...
Civil Partnerships "should not be used as stepping stone to same-sex marriage"
~Civil Partnerships should not be used as a stepping stone to same-sex marriage, The Iona Institute has said. It was reacting to the first public Civil Partnerships that took yesterday. Read more...
French teacher sacked for showing abortion video
~A French history teacher who was suspended last November for providing pro-life materials and showing images of aborted babies during a debate about abortion in his 10th grade class has been fired from the National Education system. Mr Philippe Isnard, 40, lost his position without salary, benefits or any right to financial compensation via the social welfare system. Read more...
27 children and young people die while involved in State care
~It has emerged that 27 children and young people in State care or known to the child protection services have died in the past 12 months. According to a report in The Irish Times, seven of the deaths were due to suicide, four were drug overdoses and two were homicides, the Health Service Executive (HSE) said yesterday. Read more...
Teaching sacraments takes up too much time, Minister says
~Teaching children the sacraments takes up too much class time, Education Minister Ruairi Quinn has said. The Minister, while attending the annual conference of the Association of Community and Comprehensive Schools (ACCS) said he would prefer schools to spend time on reading and maths skills rather than preparing pupils for First Communion and Confirmation. Read more...
Proposal to ask 11 year olds their sexual orientation
~A key equality body in the UK has said that children as young as eleven should be asked about their sexual orientation and parents need not know. The proposal emerged from research for the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). But a key Government backbencher has branded the contentious proposal, which is likely to alarm many parents, as “sinister”. Read more...
Parents could be given leaflet at birth of children to spell out responsibilities post-divorce
~The UK Government is considering proposals under which parents would be handed a leaflet at the birth of their child spelling out their responsibilities, in case they later get divorced. The proposal, announced yesterday, is that the pamphlet would be given when parents register a new birth so they consider “seriously from the start” what is best for their child if they split up. Read more...
Economy forcing more mothers into full-time work says expert
~Tougher economic conditions being blamed for increasing the number of UK mothers working full-time from less than a quarter to almost a third. According to new figures from the Office of National Statistics, 29pc of mothers worked 35 hours a week or more at the end of last year, up from 23pc in 1996. Read more...
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Secular education "far from neutral", says Church of Ireland bishop
~A secular education system would be “far from neutral”, the Church of Ireland Bishop of Cork, Paul Colton told the Annual Convention of Association of Community and Comprehensive Schools today. He said that he doubted that most parent would choose such a system. Bishop Colton also called on called on the Government to ensure the future of Protestant schools. Read more...
Academic who desecrated Host to address Irish atheist summit
~An American academic who desecrated a consecrated Host in 2008 by driving a rusty nail through it and photographing the result, is set to address a gathering of European atheists in Ireland in the summer. P Z Myers, biology professor at the University of Minnesota Morris, will address the European Atheist Conference, which is being hosted by Atheist Ireland in Dublin in June. Read more...
Catholic parents losing out as number of Catholic secondary schools decline
~The State must respect the rights of parents to choose to send their children to Catholic secondary schools, the president of the Association of Management of Catholic Secondary Schools (AMCSS/JMB) has said. Mr Noel Merrick told delegates at the organisation's annual conference in Killarney this week that the State need to play its part in ensuring a pluralist educational system. Read more...
Grandparents to be given legal access to grandchildren post-divorce
~Grandparents in the UK are to be given legal rights to enable them to have access to their grandchildren after divorce battles under new proposals. According to a report in the Daily Telegraph, the plan will mean that, for the first time, parents who separate will be expected to ensure grandparents continue to have a role in the lives of their children after they split up. Read more...
Group promoting ‘polyamory’ established in Ireland
~A group promoting ‘polyamory’, whereby people are in a sexual relationship with more than one person and all parties to the relationship know this has been set up in Ireland. The group, Polyamory Ireland, has set up a website which describes itself as “an informal discussion/support group for anyone interested in creative, respectful, loving, inclusive alternatives to society's dominant (exclusive / monogamous) relationship paradigm”. Read more...
Church ‘concerned’ at plan for hand-over of half of its schools
~Church leaders are believed to be concerned at plans announced yesterday by Education Minister Ruairi Quinn to transfer up to 50 per cent of its primary schools to other patrons. According to The Irish Independent, sources close to the Catholic bishops say that the Minister's target of beginning to transfer schools next January was too ambitious. Read more...
Minister wants children’s rights referendum before year end
~Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald has said she hopes a children's referendum will be held before the end of the year. Speaking at the launch of the new National Children's Strategy, Minister Fitzgerald said the Government will decide soon on the wording and clarification of the referendum. Read more...
ECHR asked to look into jailing of German parents over sex ed class
~Lawyers representing parents in Germany currently in jail for refusing to send their children to compulsory sex education classes, have sent letters to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) asking them to review appeals filed last year speedily. One of the fathers is currently serving his second prison term. Read more...
Aggressive secularism undermining UK’s Christian values says Anglican bishop
~Aggressive secularists are undermining the UK's Christian values, a leading Anglican bishop has warned. Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali warned that Britain was no longer a free society, and argued that “encroaching totalitarianism” was threatening respect for conscience. Read more...
Teacher suspended for showing abortion video
~A French history and geography teacher has been suspended for showing his students a video that includes footage of real late-term abortions performed at a Spanish facility. The teacher had also provided material arguing in favour of abortion. Mr Philippe Isnard, a civics instructor at Iscles High School in the city of Manosque, was suspended for four months last November. Read more...
California ban on same-sex marriage to stay pending appeal
~A US federal appeals court has refused to allow same-sex marriages to take place in California while it considers the constitutionality of Proposition 8, an amendment to the state's constitution which held that marriage can only be between a man and a woman. California has Civil Partnerships. Read more...
Ombudman for children calls for early children’s referendum
~The Ombudsman for Children, Emily Logan (pictured), has called on the Government to hold the proposed childrens' rights referendum as soon as possible. In a submission to the UN Human Rights' Council, to which Ireland will report in October, she said that the Government “should proceed at the earliest opportunity to hold a constitutional referendum on children’s rights”. Read more...
Northern Ireland church has ban on ad overturned
~A church in Northern Ireland, which had a newspaper ad banned for using the biblical word ‘sodomy’, has had the ban overturned in the High Court. The court ruled that the advertising regulator's decision in 2008 to ban the ad, sponsored by Sandown Free Presbyterian Church in Belfast, was a breach of the church’s rights to free speech. Read more...
Family structure a big predictor of unwed pregnancy
~Family structure and religion are factors that significantly influence whether or not a woman has an unwed pregnancy, according to a new report from the Family Research Council in the US. Drs Patrick Fagan and Scott Talkington of the FRC’s Marriage and Religion Research Institute (Marri) analysed data from the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey. Read more...
Religion heading for extinction in nine countries including Ireland says new study
~Religion is set for extinction in nine countries, including Ireland, if present trends continue, according to a new study. The study found a steady rise in those claiming no religious affiliation in those countries. However, the study is contradicted by demographers who say that religious groups are set to “inherit the earth”. Read more...
Bishop challenges Cameron to state whether he believes Christian morality is bigotry
~A leading Catholic bishop in Scotland has challenged UK Prime Minister David Cameron (pictured) to state publicly that he does not believe Christian sexual morality is bigotry and to launch an inquiry examining the effect of equality laws upon churchgoers. Read more...
Child banned from handing out Christmas invites by US school
~Local education officials in the US state of Pennsylvania have banned a schoolchild from handing out invitations to classmates for a Christmas party held in a church. The officials say allowing the invitations would breach its rules against promoting Christianity. However the same school has allowed flyers for St Valentine's Day dances and Halloween. Read more...
Long term health effects of divorce "devastating" for children: study
~The long-term health effects of broken families can often be devastating for children's health, according to a new book on how long people in the US live. 'The Longevity Project', which looks at the secret of long life, says that parental divorce during childhood is the single strongest predictor of early death in adulthood. Read more...
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