Tag Archives: Country: Ireland

IrishCentral: An unaccountable European elite is ignoring the basic principles of democracy and betraying the founding vision of the EU.

News from The Associated Press: Life seemed to give Karla Zepeda a break when a woman came to her dusty neighborhood of cinderblock homes and dirt roads looking for babies to photograph in an anti-abortion ad campaign.

Catholic Culture: An Irish Labor Party leader told the Irish Catholic that “religious ethos has no place in the educational system of a modern republic.”

LifeSiteNews.com: The Irish coalition government has included in an “expert committee” on abortion the lawyer who acted in the notorious “X case,” the 1992 attempt to overturn the country’s constitutional amendment outlawing abortion.

The Christian Institute: A controversial attempt to allow homosexual couples in Northern Ireland to adopt children has been adjourned by the High Court until March.

Catholic Culture: The Irish government will create a blue-ribbon committee to review the country’s laws regarding abortion, in response to a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights questioning Ireland’s ban on abortion.

The Associated Press: European lawmakers narrowly rejected Ireland’s nominee to the European Court of Auditors on Wednesday after deeming him responsible for a €3.6 billion ($5 billion) error in calculating the Irish national debt.

LifeNews.com: More than two-thirds of Irish people want to see the right to life of the unborn child protected in law, according to a new poll commissioned by the Pro Life Campaign

Irishhealth.com: At the time, she explained that her partner was 11 years younger than her, so would be able to care for their daughter throughout her childhood. However, she has since split up with him and is now a single mother in her 60s.

News from The Associated Press: Human rights activist and poet Michael D. Higgins looked on course Friday to be elected Ireland’s president after his main rival suffered a last-minute collapse in support, according to senior politicians, electoral officials and an opinion poll.

News from The Associated Press: Voters are picking Ireland’s next president Thursday from a crowded field of seven candidates, among them a reality TV star, a former Irish Republican Army warlord and the country’s top gay-rights crusader.

ADF Attorney Piero A. Tozzi at Turtle Bay and Beyond – International Law, Policy, and Institutions: My colleague Susan Yoshihara recently posted on the browbeating Ireland has taken for its constitutional protection of unborn children during that country’s Universal Periodic Review. Norway – the “Pickled Herring” in the above caption – demanded that Ireland “bring its abortion laws in line with the [International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights].”

Catholic Culture: The Irish government has accepted UN recommendations that it should make contraceptive information available to adolescents, consider changing the legal definition of the family, and question the right of religious institutions to hire employees who accept the teachings of their faith.

LifeSiteNews.com: At the hearing, Minister Shatter reiterated the stance taken by the government in its National Report to the UN UPR Working Group, when he said that the European Court of Human Rights found that there was an absence of effective procedures to establish a right to termination in Ireland. He added that “Ireland is committed to ensuring that the judgment in this case is implemented expeditiously”.

The Christian Institute: Edwin Poots, Northern Ireland’s health minister, has decided to keep a lifetime blood safeguard which helps to protect against the risk of HIV contamination. His decision was met with a furious reaction by his political opponents and a homosexual lobby group.

The Irish Times: Ali Selim said yesterday that the centre had received “a great number of complaints” from Muslim parents in south Co Dublin “regarding a limited number of schools that will only accept Catholic children”. They are considering asking Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin to intervene, he said.

Center for Reproductive Rights: In May, the U.N. Committee against Torture reviewed the Republic of Ireland’s initial periodic report. The Committee’s concluding observations reiterated the European Court for Human Rights’ concerns expressed in its judgment in the case of A, B, and C v. Ireland , to which the Center for Reproductive Rights, and their partner, submitted a friend-of-the-court brief.

LifeSiteNews.com: The National University of Ireland (NUI) Maynooth has denied access to a series of “masterclasses” that include a course on the subject, “Termination of Pregnancy: a lawful choice,” to pro-life protesters who oppose the school’s promotion of a program that contradicts Irish law on abortion.

The Irish Times: embers of the Council of Europe’s committee of ministers from 47 member states are meeting this week to examine the Government’s measures to implement the court’s ruling. All court judgments are binding on the member state.

VirtueOnline: The big news this week comes from Ireland. A Church of Ireland cleric’s civil partnership could lead to the all-island church splitting along north-south lines, one of its most influential evangelical members has warned. Dermot O’Callaghan, who is seen as the leading evangelical layman in the Church of Ireland, stressed that no one in the church wants a split, but also said that the implications of the Rev. Tom Gordon’s gay partnership could be “fundamental”.

Catholic Culture: Legislation put forward by the Irish government to require mandatory reporting of sex-abuse allegations will not specifically mention the matter, but a justice department official says that the bill does not provide an exemption for sacramental confession.

Independent.ie: A few days ago, Cardinal Sean Brady delivered a talk in which he described the attack on the seal of confession as an attack on freedom of religion.

Independent.ie:
MANY children from broken homes are born “losers” and so deprived of love that they grow up to be dysfunctional adults, according to a Catholic bishop. Bishop of Elphin Christopher Jones said that during his 17 years working in social services in Sligo he had seen the damage wrought on children as a result of marriage breakdown.

AP: It’s a revolution of sorts in Ireland, a nation founded on a pillar of devotion to Roman Catholicism, where many now question the church’s role in a rapidly changing society.

Catholic Culture: The director of the Holy See Press Office has issued a statement in response to the recently published report on abuse in the Diocese of Cloyne.

AP: The Vatican encouraged Catholic bishops not to tell police about suspected pedophile priests and flouted Irish law, Ireland’s lawmakers declared Wednesday in an unprecedented denunciation of the Holy See’s influence in this predominantly Catholic country.

Catholic Culture: rish government leaders have insisted that they will not allow the secrecy of the confessional to limit the scope of new legislation that would require reporting of all complaints of child abuse.

Reuters: The credit ratings agencies are again angering governments, but this time they are taking on the big fish of the world economy.

CSMonitor.com: Mr. Shatter, who said that the findings of the 400-page report “could not be starker or more disturbing,” said there would be no “legal grey area” on reporting allegations – breaking the Catholic church’s “seal of confession.”

The Irish Times: Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton will publish legislation in the next year to provide for recognition of the acquired gender of transgender people.

The Iona Institute : Instead of accepting at face value that the interpretation of UN conventions by UN committees is authoritative either in international or in Irish law, Ireland should instead strongly challenge those committees where their interpretations depart from both the text and the spirit of the various treaties.

Catholic Culture: Ireland’s largest teachers’ union has called for government policies that would restrict the religious character of denominational schools.

Catholic League: For Religious and Civil Rights: The Irish government correctly notes that it cannot “rewrite its history or right the wrongs that were done.” It should have used stronger language: it is obscene for an international body to hold the women religious of one nation accountable for alleged abuses that took place nearly a century ago. If this is the new standard of justice, then no nation can claim innocence. What’s driving this initiative is more than revisionist history—it smacks of an agenda.

The Irish Times : The President added: “All conflict is about refusal to accept difference. The misery of that reality was visited on generations in Ireland and, in particular, Northern Ireland where the demonisation of neighbour by neighbour along sectarian lines was underpinned by a culture of non-acceptance of each other’s right to believe and behave differently . . .”

The Post.ie: The government has been told that it may be risking causing offence to Muslims living in Ireland who wish to engage in polygamous marriages.

LifeSiteNews: In their new report, The National Men’s Council of Ireland (NMCI) and the Family Rights and Responsibilities Institute of Ireland have taken the government to task for attempting to equate natural marriage with so-called gay “marriage” and civil unions, even though the Irish constitution specifically demands that marriage and the family be protected.

Irish Times: THE DEPARTMENT of Education should take all reasonable measures to ensure parents have a choice of school patron, according to a new report by an expert group.

Irish Times: A transsexual who was awarded more than €35,000 compensation for workplace discrimination has spoken of her relief that the case ended successfully.

LifeSiteNews: “In a powerful op-ed in today’s Irish Times, an Irish man with degenerative motor neurone disease (MND) has revealed how he was heavily pressured by the medical community to refuse the ventilator that is keeping him alive.”

Catholic Culture: “About 90% of Ireland’s primary schools are currently administered by the Church. The education minister, Ruairi Quinn, plans to cut that figure to below 50%. Quinn said that the recommendations of the new advisory panel could be put into practice by January 2012.”

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 today.”

AP: “Northern Ireland Secretary Owen Paterson said the affirmative action policy in force since 2001 can no longer be justified because today’s Police Service of Northern Ireland has risen to 29.76 percent Catholic. That contrasts with the 8.3 percent Catholic composition of the police force it replaced, the Royal Ulster Constabulary, in 2001.”

GayPolitics.com: “Irish Sen. David Norris, an Independent, has launched his campaign for the presidency of Ireland, according to the Irish Times . . . ”

National Catholic Register: “Ireland’s new governing coalition adopted a legislative agenda that looks likely to put it on a collision course with Catholic leaders and other faith groups on gay marriage and plans to reduce Church influence in schools.”

Irish Central: “Next week Dominic Hannigan and John Lyons will enter the newly elected Irish government as the first openly gay politicians elected as members of Parliament in Ireland.”

Pink News: “Ireland has elected its first openly gay Teachta Dála, the Irish equivalent of an MP.”

IONA Institute: The Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI) has confirmed to The Irish Catholic that under their Code of Conduct, pharmacists must stock the MAP or “take reasonable action to ensure that these medicines or services are provided”.

LifeSiteNews: “For the past week, the Irish Labour Party has become increasingly panicked, as it sees its support in the polls inexorably continue on a downward drift . . . Then the European Court of Human Rights ruled in the ABC case – and it said that Ireland would have to legalise abortion. Labour rushed out to support the ruling . . . three months later Labour ratings have sunk to just 17%.”

Iona Institute: “A new poll in The Irish Independent today shows a clear majority of the public are in favour of same-sex marriage. Sixty-one percent say they back ‘State recognition of same-sex marriages’, with 27 percent opposed. However, this support is likely to be very soft and would change rapidly in a referendum campaign.”

LifeSiteNews: “Pro Life Campaign commissioned a survey of 1,025 people over 18 and found that 68 percent support constitutional protection for the unborn, 26 percent oppose it and 5 percent don’t know or have no opinion.”

LifeNews: The Pro Life Campaign a leading pro-life group in Ireland, told LifeNews.com it welcomes the official statement from Fine Gael, the majority opposition party in Ireland and the party that will lead the next government, calling it a “very significant development.”

Zenit: The Irish bishops are underlining value of human dignity, urging people to promote this by their choices in the upcoming national elections and in other circumstances.

Irish Times: “Former independent MEPs Dana Rosemary Scallon and Kathy Sinnott and an alliance of 30 community groups have called on parties and candidates to give an election pledge not to legislate for abortion in the wake of the recent judgment of the European Court of Human Rights.”

Irish Times: “All political parties with the possible exception of Sinn Féin have “sold out to a European secular agenda”, according to the Christian Solidarity Party (CSP) which has unveiled its eight election candidates, seven men and one woman.”

Irish Central: “Islam has become the fastest-growing religion in Ireland, with the number of Muslims increasing nearly 70 percent between 2002 and 2006.”

The Iona Institute: “Labour’s manifesto also confirmed that the party will change Section 37 of the Employment Equality Act that it favours forcing schools to hire openly homosexual teachers, which would make it impossible for Catholic schools to teach Catholic sexual morality in full.”

Belfast Telegraph: “Martijn Leenheer said he was ‘shocked’ to accidentally discover five-year-old Finn had been reciting prayers several times a day at Drumlease Primary School in Dromahair, Co Leitrim, despite the fact that his parents had opted out of Catholic religious instruction for their child.”

LifeSiteNews: “Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore told Irish public radio earlier this month that the Irish parliament must ‘face up to its responsibilities’ and make abortion fully legal according to the English model. In Ireland the right to life of the unborn is included in the constitution, where it was placed by a popular referendum.”

RTE News: “RTÉ and the Sisters of Charity religious order have brought separate High Court challenges to Dublin City Council’s decision to impose what they say are restrictive conditions on the potential development of their lands.”

Irish Times: “Glenn Cunningham and Adriano Vilar have become the first gay couple in the State to have their civil partnership formally recognised by the State. The couple, who work at Argos, formed a civil partnership at a ceremony in Northern Ireland last year.”

Irish Times: “More than 80 same-sex couples have indicated to the General Registrar Office that they wish to enter into a civil partnership.”

RTE News: “A baby boy was given a life saving blood transfusion under court order after his parents, who are Jehovah’s Witnesses, objected on religious grounds. The order was made after a late night court sitting in the home of a High Court judge on 27 December. The written judgment was published today.”

LifeSiteNews: “Labour Party health spokesman Jan O’Sullivan said that legislation must now be introduced to provide for ‘the right to the termination of a pregnancy’ in the very limited circumstances specified in the judgment. O’Sullivan said the absence of legislation providing for abortion in circumstances where the mother’s life was at risk left those with crisis pregnancies and doctors in an ‘impossible position.’”

Irish Medical Times: “Following the recent European Court of Human Rights ruling, the Medical Council has clarified its position in relation to abortion. Doctors should undertake a full assess­ment of any ‘real and substantial risk to the life (as distinct from the health) of the mother. Under current legal precedent, this exception includes where there is a clear and substantial risk to the life of the mother arising from a threat of suicide,’ the Medical Council stated.”

Christian Science Monitor: “People’s retirement savings are a convenient source of revenue for governments that don’t want to reduce spending or make privatizations. As most pension schemes in Europe are organised by the state, European ministers of finance have a facilitated access to the savings accumulated there, and it is only logical that they try to get a hold of this money for their own ends. In recent weeks I have noted five such attempts: Three situations concern private personal savings; two others refer to national funds.”

Irish Times: “The next government should upgrade the Civil Partnership Act to bring it into line with same-sex legislation in Northern Ireland, the Church of Ireland Changing Attitude Ireland group has said.”

UKPA: “A new law legally recognising gay couples comes into effect on January 1, securing a range of rights over shared homes, maintenance payments and pensions.” | More from the Irish Times.

Irish Times: “The abortion issue should be dealt with by an all-party Oireachtas committee, according to Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny, who has ruled out giving any pre-election commitment to hold a referendum on the matter.”

Baptist Press: “[Roger Kiska], legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) in Europe, said in a written release, ‘[I]t’s regrettable that Ireland lost on the third count despite such a lack of judicial record, physician consultation, or recourse to Irish courts.’”

Maebh Harding, The Right to Marry in Irish Law: Three Different High Court Approaches (September 7, 2009). Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1729237

“Article 41.1.1 of the Irish Constitution gives constitutional protection to the institution of marriage in Irish law. In recent Irish High Court decisions this constitutional protection of the institution of marriage has been used to deny the right to marry to same sex couples and transsexual individuals. This paper will explore the interaction between the right to marry in Irish law and the constitutional protection of the institution of marriage. Three contemporaneous Irish High Court judgments will be examined to show the lack of consensus on the ambit of the right to marry and the force of Irish constitutional protection of the institution of marriage – O’Shea v. Ireland, Foy v. An t-Ard Chlaraitheoir (No.2) and Zappone v .Revenue Commissioners.

The paper will draw parallels between the Irish discourse and decisions of the European Court of Human Rights in cases such as Goodwin and Wena & Anita Parry v. UK to examine whether the goal of protecting a traditional definition of marriage is a valid justification for restricting the right to marry.”

Independent: “The evidence is clear. Legalisation increases abortion rates dramatically. Irish figures for abortion remain comparatively low because we have not legalised abortion in this country. We have an average rate of approximately 6,000 abortions per annum (4,422 performed last year in the UK).”

Times of Malta: “Malta’s strict anti-abortion laws will not be affected by the recent judgment of Europe’s supreme court relating to abortion in Ireland, according to a Maltese judge who sat on the case.”

Irish Central: “A woman who was terminally ill with cancer was refused an abortion at Cork University hospital and had to travel to Britain to have the procedure.”

The Sunday Business Post: “If, as seems certain, the next government is formed in the coming months by Fine Gael and Labour, the negotiations on the Programme for Government have just got a little more combustible . . . ‘Abortion becomes election issue,’ declared the front page of the Irish Times in the wake of the decision.”

Socialist Workers Party: “We call on the government to immediately legislate for abortion in line with X case judgement. There should be no question of a further referendum. There have been two referendums on the X case judgment and in both case the electorate rejected the government’s attempts to further restrict abortion.”