Tag Archives: Global: Marriage and Family

Telegraph: A study by the Marriage Foundation calculates that cohabiting couples who have children are more than twice as likely to split up as those who had tied the knot beforehand.

Zero Hedge: As the NYT reports, in just the past two years, the numbers of Greeks engaging in prostitution as a last course source of income has more than doubled: according to the National Center for Social Research, the number of people selling sex has surged 150 percent in the last two years.

Voice of America: As the debate on same-sex marriage continues in Western nations, including the United States, Thailand could become the first country in Asia to legalize gay marriage. Thailand is known for its liberal acceptance of sexuality, but the draft same-sex marriage law is not without controversy.

Christian Institute: Former HM Inspector of Constabulary, Lord Dear, will lead a vote against the Government’s same-sex marriage Bill on 3 June.If he secures a majority, it will be the end of David Cameron’s controversial Bill to redefine marriage

Christian Institute: The Church of Scotland has voted to allow practising homosexual men and women to become ministers.

LifeSiteNews: As North America’s largest Catholic school board prepares to vote Thursday on a motion to ban homosexual activist groups in the schools, LifeSiteNews.com has learned that school officials tried to block the move when it was brought forward in April.

LifeSiteNews: An Estonian pro-family organization delivered over 38,000 signatures opposing same-sex “marriage” to the country’s parliament last week.

eNCA: A Methodist minister who was fired from her church for marrying her same-sex partner, has taken her fight to be reinstated to the courts.

ABC (AP): The legislation, backed by Prime Minister David Cameron, passed by a vote of 366 to 161 on Tuesday. The bill will now move to the House of Lords . . .

BBC: Plans to legalise gay marriage in England and Wales are to proceed unimpeded in Parliament after ministers reached agreement with Labour.

Piero Tozzi at Turtle Bay and Beyond: Ten years ago, the late, great American jurist Robert Bork wrote a short book entitled Coercing Virtue: The Worldwide Rule of Judges. He described how the “American disease” of judicial legislating—activists using constitutional courts “to outflank majorities and nullify their votes” on controversial social issues—was becoming a global phenomenon.

AP: Senior members of the Church of Scotland voted Monday to let some congregations choose ministers who are in same-sex relationships – an important compromise that must still pass further hurdles before it can become church law.

Christian Institute: In a letter to The Daily Telegraph, 17 ministers and one archbishop expressed their concern about the consequences if the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill is passed in its current state

Catholic Culture: Italian President Giorgio Napolitano called for a “firm and constant commitment” to battling prejudice against homosexuals, as Italy observed “Anti-Homopobia Day” on May 17.

Catholic Culture: Pro-family activists in Croatia have collected well over 200,000 signatures on a petition calling for a referendum to amend the country’s constitution and define marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

Telegraph: David Cameron will rely on Ed Miliband’s help to force gay marriage laws through Parliament and in return accept a Labour plan to consider civil partnerships for all.

Reuters: Up to half of Cameron’s 303 lawmakers in the lower house of parliament are expected to back an amendment that the government says would sabotage its efforts to legalize gay marriage.

AP: Czech President Milos Zeman is being criticized for refusing to grant a university professorship – the nation’s top academic title – to a critic of his, allegedly because the man is also a gay rights activist.

Religion Clause Blog: Today’s Deutsche Welle reports that in Afghanistan’s Parliament, lawmakers have withdrawn a bill that would have instituted a number of protections for women.  The action came after  religious parties complained that the proposed law was un-Islamic.

Daily Mail: Thousands of anti-gay protesters, including Orthodox priests, picketed a gay pride parade in Georgia today, with some threatening to lash homosexual activists with stinging nettles . . . In extraordinary scenes that saw chaos spread through the capital, those occupying the street held posters reading ‘We don’t need Sodom and Gomorrah!’ and ‘Democracy does not equal immorality!’

Christian Institute: The Government has said it will consider whether to allow heterosexual couples to have a civil partnership rather than a marriage, at a cost of up to £4bn. Equalities Minister Maria Miller hopes the promise of a review will buy off votes and give a smoother ride for the same-sex marriage Bill.

“Society should protect and strengthen marriage, not undermine it. That’s the belief of the people of France. This redefinition of marriage has been pushed through at great speed without their support. Millions have taken to the streets in protest, but the government has not responded by listening to the people. Instead, it has sought to silence them with police brutality.”

AP: The survey, released on the International Day against Homophobia, is important, she said, because “for the first time, we see how much fear there is still around.”

AP: Thousands of anti-gay protesters, including Orthodox priests, occupied a central street in Georgia’s capital Friday, with some threatening to lash with stinging nettles any participant in a gay pride parade which was to take place there.

AP: Portugal’s Parliament has passed a law allowing same-sex married couples to adopt their partners’ children, but lawmakers rejected legislation granting gay couples the same adoption rights as heterosexuals.

Turtle Bay and Beyond: According to the UNFPA, 100% of “unmet need” for contraceptives is attributable to lack of access. But is that really true? The facts say otherwise.

NPR: There’s growing pressure in Australia for the government to legalize gay marriage after New Zealand became the 13th country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage earlier this month.

Christian Concern: David Burrowes, Tim Loughton and Jim Shannon are amongst the MPs who have tabled an amendment to the Marriage (Same Sex) Couples Bill to allow a public vote to be held on the same day as the 2015 general election.

Catholic Culture: US embassies abroad are preparing to celebrate Gay Pride Month in June, even in countries where homosexual behavior is outlawed.

AP: Brazilian notary publics must register same-sex civil unions as marriages if the couple requests it, the country’s National Council of Justice said Tuesday.

Christian Institute: The Government is not going to offer armed forces chapels the same protections as the Church of England in its plans to redefine marriage.

Guardian: A group of Conservative MPs has proposed a referendum to allow the public to vote on gay marriage in one of several amendments aimed at watering down the bill to legitimise same-sex weddings. More than 100 MPs may support the call for a referendum, sources said.

CNSNews: Hong Kong’s top court granted a transgender woman the right to marry her boyfriend Monday in a watershed ruling that falls short of allowing same-sex marriage.

LifeSiteNews: Britain’s Royal College of Psychiatrists has been accused of bias and submitting “seriously flawed” and even “fraudulent” evidence to the government’s consultation on the gay “marriage” bill.

CNN: Zambian police rearrested two men this week on charges of engaging in homosexual acts “against the order of nature,” a rights group said.

Turtle Bay and Beyond: About one-third of the Human Rights Office’s overall expenditures is paid from its regular budget, she explained, while two-thirds comes from extra-budgetary sources. Nordic countries – especially Norway – are unabashedly aggressive in pushing abortion. Now they are outsourcing – or laundering – their promotion of homosexuality through a UN agency.

The Times: High Court judge Sir Paul Coleridge is unapologetic about his Marriage Foundation’s efforts to keep families together.

Christian Institute: The Government thinks supporters of traditional marriage are just “dinosaurs” who should be “frogmarched” towards a new concept of wedlock, Lord Carey says.

Norbert Blum at WorldCrunch: In a society designed around individual liberty, has marriage become little more than a temporary link-up of working people choosing to spend some free time together? And the kids?

Baptist Press: Alan Sears, president of Alliance Defending Freedom, noted that a key benefit of ADF’s involvement in helping defend religious freedom overseas is “the crucial perspective it gives us” for defending legal rights in America.”

Christian Institute: A pro-family group in New Zealand has been notified that it will lose its charitable status because it campaigned in support of traditional marriage.

LifeSiteNews: Last weekend a number of major French cities held new rallies against same-sex ‘marriage’ that, despite the Spring vacation, attracted many thousands of participants. Organizers of “La Manif pour tous” (Demonstration for all) claim 35,000 demonstrators in Paris, 20,000 in Lyons, 20,000 in Rennes, and thousands more in Lille, Toulouse, Strasbourg, Dijon and many smaller towns . . . Rumours suggest that the Court will announce it’s decision supporting the legislation on May 16th – the International Day against Homophobia.

Christian Concern: The local election results are showing massive losses for the Conservative party. This was by no means inevitable but David Cameron’s insistence on pursuing the same sex ‘marriage’ agenda has undoubtedly contributed to this dramatic result.

Christian Concern: According to The Times, the Prime Minister has been told that he must uphold traditional Conservative values to prevent core Conservatives from abandoning him for Nigel Farage.

One News Now: Roger Kiska, legal counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, explains the state’s point of view. “They’re absolutely oppressive with regard to parental rights. They believe that the only duty of the parents basically is to give birth and then the child belongs to the state,” he tells American Family News. “So we had known all along that this was going to be something that would have to be taken from Sweden and brought to the European level.” Kiska says the remaining option is to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, which has jurisdiction over Sweden. [more]

Christian Institute: A man’s sex change has been affirmed in a Church of England service, said to be the first of its kind. The transsexual man who is known as Susan Musgrove, 60, underwent surgery last year and has now been publicly blessed as a woman at St Andrew’s Church in Northumberland. The curate of his Church designed an affirmation liturgy for the service after they got the go-ahead from the Bishop of Newcastle.

Paul Coleman at Christian Post: Arguments offered in support of the British Government’s push to redefine marriage illustrate the illogical foundation on which the endeavor rests. In fact, the government’s own arguments show the true danger that marriage will face if those trying to redefine it are successful.

Piero Tozzi at Turtle Bay and Beyond: The Mexican Supreme Court yesterday upheld two state constitutional amendments from Oaxaca and Guanajuato that had protected life from “conception,” rejecting an attempt by two pro-abortion justices to reopen an issue that many had hoped was closed by a 2011 Supreme Court decision.

Christian Newswire: “This is a testament to the growth and vibrancy of the international pro-family movement,” Jacobs declared. World Congress of Families now has more than 40 Partners — pro-family, pro-marriage, and pro-life groups in the United States, Canada, Venezuela, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Belgium, Switzerland, Poland, Russia, Australia and South Africa. “These organizations — including groups in the U.S. like Focus on the Family, Concerned Women for America, Americans United for Life and Alliance Defending Freedom — representing millions of members, support us financially and promote our projects and activities,” Jacobs disclosed.

LifeSiteNews: Roger Kiska, the Alliance Defending Freedom’s senior legal counsel in Europe, was outraged by the court’s action. “It is beyond belief that a modern civilized country could allow such injustice to continue,” he said. “There is no evidence in the record that justifies the continued separation of this family. We will continue to fight for this family and on behalf of the principle that the European Convention condemns such acts.”

The Mexican Supreme Court did not allow pro-abortion ideologues to reopen a settled issue–that half of the states of Mexico can continue to declare in their state constitutions that life must be protected from the moment of conception.

First Post: The meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, saw ministers expressing differing views on the clause which seeks to provide a share to a woman in her husband’s residential property, including inherited and ‘inheritable’ premises, in case of divorce, sources said.

Robert Zaretsky at the NY Times: Tocqueville and Gay Marriage

But why does Catholicism wield such influence in a country where scarcely 5 percent of the population attends church? In their new book, “Le Mystère français,” Emmanuel Todd and Hervé Le Bras map out the persistence of a Catholic mentality in large parts of France despite the withering of religious practice. This “zombie Catholicism,” they observe, reveals itself in professional and domestic differences between husbands and wives, community and family activities, and the vitality of “free schools” (Catholic private schools).

CNSNews: The federal government is spending $355,825 in taxpayer dollars to develop a “culturally relevant stigma-reducing intervention” program for the transgender population in India.

Christian Institute: Yesterday, over 300 local voters protested outside David Cameron’s constituency office in Witney, Oxfordshire, against his plans to redefine marriage.

Christian Institute: The Conservative Party faces losing hundreds of seats at the local elections tomorrow because of the Prime Minister’s plans to redefine marriage, according to a new poll. The survey also shows that many voters are turning to UKIP over the issue.

The Guardian: Member of UN taskforce on population says for young people, sex is not as controversial as it is for governments.

One News Now: Alliance Defending Freedom attorney Roger Kiska contends that the state wants to be the parent of all students, indoctrinating them with the state’s ideology. “I’ve heard statements in Sweden and in France recently that the role of the parent is simply to give birth to a child, and then it’s the state’s duty to educate the child,” Kiska accounts. “That’s absolutely contrary to international law and morality.”

HSLDA: Roger Kiska, the Alliance Defending Freedom’s senior legal counsel in Europe, was outraged by the court’s action. “It is beyond belief that a modern civilized country could allow such injustice to continue,” he said. “There is no evidence in the record that justifies the continued separation of this family. We will continue to fight for this family and on behalf of the principle that the European Convention condemns such acts.”

AP: More women are initiating divorces in Uganda, a conservative East African country where women are becoming empowered to leave a bad marriage in a way their mothers could not, rights activists and legal experts say.

Anglican Ink: The Anglican bishops of the West Indies have urged their governments to hold fast and resist pressure from Britain and the United States to legalize gay rights and gay marriage.

BBC: A Sinn Fein motion calling on the Northern Ireland Executive to legislate to allow for same sex marriage has been defeated in the assembly by 53 votes to 42.

AP: A woman desperate for another child forced her 14-year-old daughter to get pregnant using syringes of donor sperm, a British judge said.

AP: Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk has fired his justice minister, who made comments alleging Germans may be experimenting on Polish embryos from in vitro fertilization procedures

Breitbart (also on the Drudge Report) : A woman in Spain recently gave birth to the first child born in the village of Los Giles in 45 years, causing a stir in the village.

Christian Institute: The Presbyterian Church in Ireland is calling on MLAs to vote against a motion supporting same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland on Monday.

LifeSiteNews: Homosexual couples are attempting to force the issue of gay “marriage” in Mexico by registering their marriages at the municipal level, sometimes with the connivance of sympathetic politicians, according to reports by the national media.

LifeSiteNews: In an astonshing display of gentleness in the face of a vile attack, the head of the Catholic Church in Belgium, Archbishop Andre-Joseph Leonard, remained calmly seated with eyes closed in prayer Tuesday as four topless women attacked him with shouts and curses and doused him with water.

HurriyetDailyNews: “If Atatürk did not establish this republic, would you occupy your position? What country’s citizen would you be? What number would you be among the wives of a sheik?” Genç told Şahin from his ranks April 25, Anatolia news agency reported.

RT.com: The head of the Upper Chamber, Valentina Matviyenko, told President Putin that the Russian Foreign Ministry was already working on changes to the adoption agreement with France.

LifeSiteNews: Responding to a groundswell of public opinion, the Supreme Court of India has asked the government to respond to a public interest litigation (PIL) petition that seeks to ban online pornography.

Washington Blade: Six Colombian LGBT rights advocates have visited D.C. and two other states this month as part of a State Department-sponsored trip to learn how activists, politicians and government officials in this country advance civil and human rights.

UNUSA: Today these young students begin a journey that will connect them with the United Nations and its work around the world for years to come,” said UNA-USA Executive Director Patrick Madden.

Breitbart.com: President Vladimir Putin on Friday said Russia could change its agreements for the adoption of Russian children with France and other Western states that are legalising gay marriage.

Austin Ruse at C-FAM: The proposed code also addresses the outsize influence of the UN bureaucracy and non-governmental organizations on treaty bodies. Over the past fifteen years, the commissions have succumbed to pressure to promote abortion on demand as well as special rights for homosexuals, though no human rights agreement mentions either. The nature of treaty bodies compounds the influence that the UN bureaucracy and nongovernmental organizations exert on human rights monitoring.