Dublin archdiocese is banning photographs being taken during religious ceremonies, in order to protect children from potential abusers. Each diocese in Ireland has been directed to have guidelines governing the filming and photography of children while they are on church grounds. The move derives from standards issued by the National Board for Safeguarding Children in Read more
The kidnapper sounded polite, even deferential, when she called on a Tuesday afternoon last May. Melida Lemus and Alfredo Godoy had left their clapboard house in Trenton, New Jersey, to pick up their two daughters from school. Godoy, who works in construction, was late to meet a client for whom he was building a home Read more
We have forgotten just how deep a cultural revolution Christianity wrought. In fact, we forget about it precisely because of how deep it was: There are many ideas that we simply take for granted as natural and obvious, when in fact they didn’t exist until the arrival of Christianity changed things completely. Take, for instance, Read more
Pope Francis is widely believed to be a cool Pope—a huggable, Upworthyish, meme-ready, self-deprecating leader for a new generation of worshippers. “He has described himself as a sinner,” writes Archbishop Desmond Tutu in Pope Francis’ entry on Time’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world, “and his nonjudgmental views on … issues such Read more
Having your child bullied at school is one of the greatest fears of parents – and research shows this fear is well founded. School bullying has been described as the single most important threat to the mental health of children and adolescents. Well-controlled studies show that being bullied in primary school increases the risk of serious mental health problems into adolescence and ongoing depression leading Read more
The head of a papal commission to protect minors has warned Catholics not to behave as if the clergy sex abuse crisis is over. Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston told a press conference in Rome that some prelates were still reluctant to deal with the problem openly. “It would be perilous for us, as leaders Read more
Pope Francis has said that families that choose not to have children are making a selfish choice. The Pope said this in his general audience at St Peter’s Square on February 11, during which he continued a series of reflections on the various roles in the family. A society that “views children above all as Read more
A new study published in the February 2015 issue of the British Journal of Education, Society, and Behavioural Science appears to be the largest yet on the matter of same-sex households and children’s emotional outcomes. It analyzed 512 children of same-sex parents, drawn from a pool of over 207,000 respondents who participated in the (US) Read more
One good thing has come out of the fuss over the pope’s comments about it being ok to smack your children (so long as their dignity is maintained); it has flushed out the former Irish president, Mary McAleese, as tiresomely conventional in much the same way as her predecessor, Mary Robinson – the very incarnation of PC. Read more
Pope Francis has seemed to back parents who smack their children, providing the child’s “dignity” is maintained. He made the remarks during his weekly general audience at the Vatican on February 4, which was devoted to the role of fathers in the family. The Pope outlined the traits of a good father, as someone who Read more