German bishops are concerned that a decision guaranteeing German health insurers will pay for pregnant women’s blood tests to detect Down syndrome will lead to abortion. Matthias Kopp, spokesman for the German bishops, said that already about 90% of cases in which an embryo has an extra chromosome result in termination of pregnancy, reported news agency KNA.…
Dublin archdiocese yesterday launched the ‘Families walking together in hope’ initiative, which provides “simple” and “achievable” ideas for families and parishes in support of the Faith in the home and parish. “The ‘family of families’ (parish) will be encouraged to reconnect the ‘holy’ to the home by suggesting rituals of faith in the home with…
While some studies associate religiosity with conspiracy theories, organised religion is a bulwark for reason, writes Ruadhán Jones The continuing prevalence of, even rise in, belief in conspiracy theories causes some incredulity in the intellectual elite and scientific communities. How could it be, that the age of reason has given way to an age of…
There is room to improve when it comes to pregnancy reactions in Ireland, writes Jason Osborne Crisis pregnancy organisation Gianna Care is looking to raise awareness about positive pregnancy reactions with a new campaign, after Director Carolyn O’Meara noticed an overwhelming tendency towards negativity in today’s Ireland. “This is something that’s actually come to my…
The Church has highlighted the importance of playing a responsible role in the complex web of creation in recent years, writes Jason Osborne The recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) made for sober reading, warning that unless there are immediate, grand reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, it won’t be possible to limit global warming…
Pope Francis accepted the resignation of the Bishop of São José do Rio Preto last Wednesday, five days after a sexually explicit video of the bishop was shared on the internet. Bishop Tomé Ferreira da Silva, 60, led the Diocese of São José do Rio Preto from November 16, 2012, until August 18. His resignation…
We failed to nourish Catholics with ongoing adult catechesis at the parish level and we’re paying the price today, writes Fr Seán Smith All this public attention the sacraments are getting was rolling about in my head, for a different reason, as I prepared my homily for the liturgy on the Sunday of the Year.…
Letter from London Jonathan Luxmoore In a gallery of The British Museum, light plays on an array of medieval crosses, reliquaries and manuscripts, as an audiovisual display reenacts one of English history’s most notorious crimes. At the centre, three stained-glass windows, painstakingly transferred from Canterbury Cathedral, convey images from the fabled afterlife of St Thomas…
Medical Matters Reducing alcohol consumption in Ireland has become an important public health policy that has received much recent attention. A report conducted by the Health Research Board in 2013 showed that more than half (54.3%) of drinkers aged 18-75 in Ireland were classified as harmful drinkers, with approximately two fifths (37.3%) practising binge drinking…
Personal Profile When Helen Vysotska entered University College Dublin, she knew she wasn’t happy – she just wasn’t sure why. Practically in the first week, however, Ms Vysotska was drawn to the Newman Catholic society. Within a few years, the shallow faith of her youth took root and flourished and Ms Vysotska is now the…
Ruadhán Jones
Dr Kevin McCarroll