Tag Archives: Country: Ireland

BBC: “A Belfast church has won the right to legally challenge a decision to ban a newspaper advertisement which described sodomy as an abomination.”

EurActiv: “Accusations that a Catholic charity is distorting the contents of the Lisbon Treaty highlight serious confusion among Irish voters about the text and the absence of a fact-based debate in Ireland.”

Euronews: “Ireland’s Foreign Minister today admitted his government faces a tough task getting the EU’s Lisbon Treaty ratified next month.”

BBC: “Dr Brady said marriage between a man and a woman would always remain the ideal environment in which to raise children. He said any government which undermines such an environment could hardly be said to be promoting the common good. Cardinal Brady also said those who refuse to officiate at a same sex wedding would be guilty of an offence and described this as ‘an alarming attack on the fundamental principle of freedom of religion and conscience’.”

LifeSiteNews: “Under heavy pressure from EU leadership, the Irish government agreed to hold a second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty on October 2nd this year. Pro-life and pro-democracy campaigners have warned that acceptance of Lisbon will strip EU member states of the right to retain or pass laws on abortion and a host of other widely disparate issues.”

LifeSiteNews: “The Irish government’s broadcasting regulator has told ‘No’ campaigners on the upcoming Lisbon Treaty referendum that there will be no equal time for both sides of the debate.”

LifeSiteNews: “Ireland’s health minister and the government-sponsored abortion referral service she helped to create have attacked pro-life crisis pregnancy centers, despite the country’s constitutional guarantee of legal protection for the unborn. Calling the pro-life groups ‘disingenuous,’ the Crisis Pregnancy Agency (CPA) accused them of manipulating vulnerable pregnant women into making a decision against abortion.”

The Irish Times reports: “President Mary McAleese has this morning signed the Defamation Bill 2006 and the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009 into law.” Text of the statute is here.

BBC: “Figures released by the Crisis Pregnancy Agency show that last year 4,600 women attending abortion clinics in Britain gave an Irish address. That was 86 fewer than in 2007, and 2,000 fewer than when the agency was established in 2001.”

LifeSiteNews reports: “One of the Republic of Ireland’s leading pro-life lobby groups has warned Irish voters that a vote for the Lisbon Treaty will be a vote against the country’s constitutional protections for the unborn.”

C-FAM reports: “Late night negotiations carried on in Geneva as delegations continued to battle it out over the ‘reproductive rights’ language in the draft text. While the US delegation remained quiet on the reproductive health provisions, the EU remained divided as Poland, Malta and Ireland continued opposing the controversial language despite pressure from their colleagues.”

Jimmy Walsh reports in the Irish Times: “The Defamation Bill was passed by a single vote after the Government nearly suffered a defeat on an amendment by Fine Gael’s Eugene Regan which would have deleted the offence of blasphemy from the Bill.”

“ADF attorneys defending legal protections for pre-born children in Ireland at the European Court of Human Rights say the importance of the case has grown exponentially . . . ”

The Christian Institute: “Belfast High Court has given a pro-life group permission to challenge Northern Ireland’s health chiefs over abortion guidelines it says are ‘misleading’.”

LifeSiteNews: “The row started last year when Mrs. Robinson, who has described herself as a ‘born again and again’ Christian, told the BBC Radio Ulster’s Stephen Nolan Show that homosexuals who so desired could benefit from counselling to discontinue the homosexual lifestyle. She said, “I have a very lovely psychiatrist who works with me in my offices and his Christian background is that he tries to help homosexuals – trying to turn away from what they are engaged in.”

The BBC reports: “Liam Gibson of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children said the law in Northern Ireland ‘not only safeguards the lives of unborn children but also protects women from the terrible damage which abortion can cause. By issuing guidance that distorts the law, the department of health has created a grave threat to unborn children, to the safety of women and to the rights of medical professionals.’”

Reuters: “Ireland recognized the legal rights of same-sex couples for the first time Friday in a civil partnership bill that gave people in long-term relationships many of the statutory rights of married couples. But it stopped short of recognizing civil marriage.”

Irish Times: “The Catholic near monopoly over schooling is ‘not tenable’ and does not reflect current realities, Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin said last night.”

Cahir O’Doherty reports in the Irish Voice: “An estimated 1,200 Irish-born men and women – roughly a third of all Ireland’s gay couples — are living with a same-sex partner in the United States, according to a new study based on U.S. Census data.”

Andrew Alderson reports in the Telegraph: “However, within 24 hours of the birth of their daughter on Thursday, weighing 7 lbs 10 ozs at Wexford General Hospital, the baby was instead seized by Irish social workers in the town. Tomorrow her parents must begin what is likely to be a lengthy legal battle in Ireland for their right to bring up the child. It is understood that social workers may seek to have her adopted.”

Police have launched raids across the UK to rescue women they believe were being forced to work in the sex industry.

AP: “Irish leaders declared Wednesday that the secretive Catholic orders responsible for abusing children in workhouse-style schools must pay a greater share of compensation for victims and reveal the true scope of their assets.”

AP: “The Irish government expects to dole out more than euro1.1 billion ($1.6 billion) in legal costs and compensation to 14,000 people molested, beaten or terrorized while under church care from the 1930s to 1990s – a long-buried scandal brought into full light this week with the publication of a 2,600-page investigation.”

The allegations set forth in this AP report are so broad based and wide ranging it is difficult not to question it. But, Alert readers should be aware of its existence. No doubt, we will be hearing more about it and getting more details in the future.

Wikipedia summary: Ireland’s Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse

The report is available for download on the Commission’s website.

The Religion Clause Blog: “Irish Times reports today that the country’s Minister of Justice plans to introduce an amendment to a pending Defamation Bill to create a new crime of blasphemous libel.”

LifeSiteNews: “Three anonymous women who filed a challenge in the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg against the Irish government’s ban on abortion, may soon have their day in court. The human rights court is reportedly poised to make a judgment on the admissibility and merits of the case . . . The Irish Times reports that groups which are supporting the Irish government’s restrictions on abortion at the Strasbourg hearings include the Pro-Life Campaign, the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, the European Centre for Law and Justice – on behalf of Kathy Sinnott MEP – and the Alliance Defense Fund.”

Religion Clause Blog provides this update on the latest efforts at the UN to pass a “Defamation of Religion” measure: “However, another issue of concern leading up to the conference has been efforts by Islamic states to get language into the final document barring ‘defamation of religion.’”

LifeNews reports: “The government of Ireland has filed legal papers with the European Court of Human Rights in defense of it ban on most abortions . . . In November, the Family Research Council, represented by the Alliance Defense Fund pro-life law firm, filed papers supporting the ban with the court.”

Irish Times: “Groups which have sent in observations defending restrictions on abortion include the Pro-Life Campaign, the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children and the European Centre for Law and Justice – on behalf of Kathy Sinnott MEP – and the Alliance Defense Fund.”

The Irish Times: “SAME SEX marriage rights, not civil partnership was the call to the Government by over 600 members of the gay and lesbian community and their supporters at a rally held in Dublin city centre yesterday.”

Becket Fund International Freed News: Ireland is set to relax broadcasting legislation on religious advertising in order to avoid further bans on religious promotion, the London Times reported on March 8.

Children can access hardcore pornography on some mobile phones, Barnardos chief executive Fergus Finlay has warned.

An embryo created as a result of fertility treatment has no legal status here, is not entitled to constitutional protection unless it is implanted in a woman’s womb, and may be legally destroyed prior to any such implantation, lawyers for the State have told the Supreme Court.

GayNZ.com reports: “New research into LGBT Irish citizens has suggested that over 80% have experiences homophobic abuse, and one in five have attempted suicide . . . 25% of the over 1,100 online respondents said they had been punched, kicked …

The new Libertas Party, which aims to run candidates in all 27 European Union states for the European Parliament elections in June 2009, says it wants to democratise the European institutions, with an elected commission and a president.

Religion Clause Blog reports: “The Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) General Advertising Code, Sec. 9, as well as Section 10(e) of Ireland’s Radio and Television Act of 1988 and Section 65 of the Broadcasting Act 2001, ban the broadcast in Ireland of ads ‘directed towards a …

Three pro-life organizations filed a brief Friday with the European Court of Human Rights in defense of Ireland’s ban on abortion. In September, the court granted the Family Research Council, represented by Alliance Defense Fund attorneys, the opportunity to defend the ban jointly with two other pro-life organizations.

The Irish Times reports: “The Government is to contest a legal challenge in the European Court of Human Rights by three women in Ireland against the State’s abortion laws.  The defence to the challenge will be advanced on the basis that …

Catholic Culture reports: “Ireland’s health minister, Mary Harney, has temporarily set aside plans to vaccinate 12-year-old girls against the human papilloma virus (HPV) virus that is linked to cervical cancer. Haney explained that government budget problems forced the change in …

Independent.ie: “AT THIS stage the Government needs all the support it can get and from whatever quarter. Here’s how it can win some support from the still significant bloc of pro-life voters in this country: pass a law banning embryo …

The TimesOnline reports: THE government is coming under increasing pressure to legislate on stem cell research as two more Irish colleges are expected to follow University College Cork (UCC) and carry out trials. Scientists in NUI Galway (NUIG) say they …

LifeNews.com reports: “Thirteen members of the British parliament have filed a motion saying that the 1967 law that legalizes abortion in the rest of the U.K. should be extended to Northern Ireland. Labour Party MP Diane Abbott is leading the …

CatholicCulture.org reports: “University College- Cork has become the first Irish institution to authorize embryonic stem-cell research, with a narrow faculty vote that has drawn sharp criticism from Bishop Dermot Clifford of Cashel.”

The Irish Times reports: THE GOVERNING body of University College Cork will today consider whether or not to allow the use of embryonic stem cells for research purposes on its campus. If it gives the go-ahead to the proposal, which …

LifeNews.com reports: “Thousands of pro-life advocates rallied in Northern Ireland over the weekend against a measure in a bill in the England parliament that would legalize abortion there. The high turnout at the Rally for Life made it clear that …

The Telegraph reports: Pro-choice Labour MPs had been preparing to table an amendment to the Embryology Bill that would allow terminations in Northern Ireland, the only part of Britain where the procedure remains illegal. They have scrapped the move after …

LifeSiteNews.com reports: Attempts by Westminster to force legalised abortion onto the province of Northern Ireland could spark a constitutional crisis, say MLAs. Assembly Member, Pat Ramsey (SDLP), called it “outrageous that British MPs are attempting to impose abortion against the …

The Irish Times reports: “FORTY MEMBERS of the Alliance for Choice group from Northern Ireland are to travel to London tomorrow to lobby MPs and peers for the extension of the 1967 British Abortion Act to Northern Ireland . . …

CBN reports: Currently, abortion in Ireland is illegal in most cases. But three Irish women who traveled out of the country to get abortions are hoping to overturn the law. The case could impact abortion laws throughout the entire European …

ADF Chief Counsel Benjamin Bull: “This case is not only pivotal to Europe; it’s pivotal to America . . . This case could be the Roe v. Wade of Europe.”

The Religion Clause Blog reports: ‘Ireland’s Catholic Church leader, Cardinal Sean Brady, said in a speech last Sunday that one reason Irish voters in June refused to approve the EU Lisbon Treaty is Europe’s culture that tends to keep religion …

LifeNews.com reports: “In advance of a debate in the British Parliament on whether or not to extend the 1967 legalizing abortion in Britain to Northern Ireland, a Un panel has weighed in. The Committee on the Elimination for Discrimination Against …

The European Court of Human Rights has agreed to hear a challenge by three Irish women to the Government’s ban on abortion on the basis that their rights were denied by being forced to terminate their pregnancies outside the State.

LifeSiteNews.com reports: “Homosexuality is ‘natural’ for homosexuals and must be accepted by the Church, the Anglican Primate of Ireland said this week.”

This paper examines the legal consequences of the Irish ‘no’ vote in the 12 June, 2008 referendum on a Constitutional amendment permitting ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon.

Gay and lesbian couples will have legal recognition of their relationships within a year, according to the Minister for Justice.

LifeSiteNews.com reports: ‘French and German officials of the European Union are pressuring Ireland to have another vote on the Lisbon Treaty after the country’s citizenry resoundingly rejected the Treaty several weeks ago in the only referendum held on the document …

Time reports: Officials in Brussels and other European capitals appeared shell-shocked as they absorbed the news they had dreaded to hear on Friday the 13th: Irish voters had rejected the Lisbon Treaty aimed at updating the European Union’s creaking institutions. …

David Kopel comments on The Volokh Conspiracy. She writes: Treaty proponents lamented that Ireland, with only 1% of the EU population, could derail a 27-nation treaty. But the very fact that only 1% of the EU’s population was allowed to …

The Christian Institute reports: An MP from Northern Ireland has been reported to the police for expressing her religious beliefs on homosexual practice. Iris Robinson, DUP MP for Strangford, was speaking on BBC Radio Ulster’s Nolan Show on Friday. She …

The Irish Examiner reports: “This means Ireland’s constitutional position on abortion would not be affected by the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty.” The commission also explained that, if the treaty were passed, Ireland would still retain total control over the …

Some Catholics fear the treaty will create loopholes allowing the EU to force Ireland to relax its strict abortion laws, permit same sex marriages and erode what they regard as traditional religious values.

The leading human rights watchdog in Europe is blasting Ireland today for not having legalized abortion. The new 58-page report on the human rights conditions in Ireland from the Council of Europe comes after a visit to the nation in November by Thomas Hammarberg.

“There is no evidence that a totally ‘religiously neutral secularist society’ is the best space in which to foster dialogue between cultures and religions.”

The Religion Clause blog reports that the EU won’t challenge Ireland’s religious organizations exemption from its equal opportunity laws at least for now.  “Apparently the EUs decision not to proceed with enforcement is an attempt to assuage Irish feelings before …

Most people in Ireland have not yet made up their minds on a new common European Union (EU) treaty, according to a poll by Red C published in the Irish Sun. 60 per cent of respondents do not know how they will vote in an upcoming referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.

CWNews reports: The Irish government will soon introduce legislation giving same-sex couples most of the legal benefits of marriage, the Irish Times reports. The government is completing preparation of a Civil Partnership bill that will give homosexual couples the rights …

LifeSiteNews reports: Pro-life groups in Northern Ireland warn that attempts to force Britain’s Human Fertilisation and Embryology (HFE) bill into the country could result in a constitutional crisis. Northern Ireland’s pro-life group, Precious Life, said the bill could be used …

William J. Federer has this worthy commentary on WorldNetDaily.