Thousands of protesters took to the streets in Paris on Sunday. They were opposing a bill allowing single women and lesbian couples under the age of 43 access to in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment. In France, IVF is currently restricted to heterosexual couples who are married or have cohabited at least two years. Besides broadening Read more
Doctors have been ordered to resume life support for a quadriplegic Frenchman whose case is central to the right-to-die debate in France. The doctors had stopped the nutrition and hydration Vincent Lambert receives, following an earlier judicial ruling in accordance with the wishes of his wife and other relatives. The new order to resume life Read more
As fire devastates the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, the building is as much a symbol of the recent history of the Catholic Church in Europe as it once was a symbol of the Church’s power and cultural supremacy. The church had been in disrepair for decades. Calls for its restoration went mostly ignored Read more
Swastikas, religious attacks and anti-Semitic behaviour is on the rise in France. France’s political leaders called for French people to join protest marches after a video surfaced of one of a series of anti-Semitic rallies. In the video, the crowd turned on French philosopher Alain Finkielkraut who happens to be a Jew, calling him a Read more
Proposals to offer fertility treatment to lesbian couples and single women would harm society by removing fatherhood from the lives of children say French bishops. France’s highest bioethics body, the National Consultative Ethics Committee (CCNE), sees the issue differently. Under the current law, technologies such as in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and artificial insemination are restricted Read more
Almost a million euros has been seized from a French congregation. Prosecutors in France have charged the legal body managing the Missionary Workers of the Immaculate congregation with underpaying employees and has ordered 950,000 euros to be seized from its bank accounts. Read more
Located in the Tarn region of southern France, the Archdiocese of Albi has been divided into 503 parishes since the Middle Ages. Over the Pentecost weekend, however, Archbishop Jean Legrez, (pictured) completely re-organized them into 21 new parishes. It is an impressive change. In coming to this decision, the Archdiocese of Albi has followed a Read more
France’s President Emmanuel Macron has been given an honorary title by Pope Francis. Macron visited the Vatican to accept an inherited title of the “First and Only Honorary Canon” of the Basilica of St. John Lateran. St John Lateran is the pope’s cathedral in his capacity as bishop of Rome. Under a tradition that began Read more
The French church has launched a programme to combat anti-migrant and anti-Muslim attitudes. Reports of tensions among Catholics have prompted the programme. “It is to resist the rise of tensions and hostilities within the Christian community that our movements have decided to work” with the French bishops’ conference. The groups say they hope to find Read more
Antisemitism isn’t the business of Jews, it’s everyone’s business. So says a manifesto denouncing “a new antisemitism marked by Islamist radicalisation.” The manifesto has been signed by over 300 French dignitaries and stars. The manifesto was drafted by Philippe Val, a former editor at Charlie Hebdo, after a number of Jewish murders. It says the Read more