U.K. health secretary Matt Hancock US Supreme Court looks for compromise in Catholic foster care case
The Supreme Court, now with a full bench, seemed willing to find a compromise during November 4 arguments about a Catholic social service agency shut out from Philadelphia’s foster care program for not accepting same-sex couples as foster parents.
In the case, which pits the rights of religious groups against state discrimination laws, the justices looked for middle ground.
Justice Neil Gorsuch said he was concerned that the city of Philadelphia could “effectively take over a service that had been provided privately for some time and take it over so much so that it regulates it pervasively” preventing the free exercise of religion.
The case, Fulton v. Philadelphia, centres on Philadelphia’s 2018 exclusion of the foster program of Catholic Social Services of the Philadelphia Archdiocese because of the agency’s policy of not placing children with same-sex couples or unmarried couples because these unions go against Church teaching on traditional marriage.
UK health secretary permits travelling abroad for assisted suicide during lockdown
U.K. health secretary Matt Hancock said that people traveling abroad for assisted suicide would not be breaking strict new coronavirus lockdown rules in England.
Mr Hancock told MPs November 5 that the authorities would consider going to another country for assisted suicide a “reasonable excuse” for leaving home under new lockdown regulations.
He said: “Under the current law, based on the Suicide Act 1961, it is an offense to encourage or assist the death of another person. However, it is legal to travel abroad for the purpose of assisted dying where it is allowed in that jurisdiction.
“The new coronavirus regulations, which come into force today, place restrictions on leaving the home without a reasonable excuse; travelling abroad for the purpose of assisted dying is a reasonable excuse, so anyone doing so would not be breaking the law.”
Pope Francis offers Mass for souls of 169 deceased bishops, cardinals
Pope Francis encouraged Catholics to pray for the dead and remember Christ’s promise of the resurrection at a Mass offered for the souls of cardinals and bishops who died in the past year.
“Prayers for the faithful departed, offered in confident trust that they now live with God, also greatly benefit ourselves on this, our earthly pilgrimage,” Pope Francis said November 5.
The Mass, celebrated at the Altar of the Chair, was offered for the repose of the souls of six cardinals and 163 bishops who died between October 2019 and October 2020.
Kenya’s internet service frustrates students as learning goes online
Kenyan college students are frustrated that their studies have been interrupted because the country’s internet infrastructure is too inadequate to maintain an online learning environment during the coronavirus pandemic.
They have complained of disruptions in service and slow speeds that cause long delays in communication. They also said the high cost of connecting online has prohibited their full participation in college coursework.
“Many a times, you would need a technician next to you to ensure all is smooth-going,” said Reagan Kocholo, a Sudanese student studying journalism at Catholic-run Tangaza University College in Nairobi.
Online, or e-learning as it is known in Kenya, has become the primary educational alternative during government-mandated lockdowns because of the pandemic.