One morning after her accident, a woman I’ll call Kate awoke in a daze. She looked at the man next to her in bed. He resembled her husband, with the same coppery beard and freckles dusted across his shoulders. But this man was definitely not her husband. Panicked, she packed a small bag and headed to Read more
Italy’s singing nun, Sr Cristina Scuccia, has chosen Madonna’s controversial hit “Like a Virgin” as the first single in her debut album. Earlier this year, Sr Cristina achieved worldwide fame when she won Italy’s version of The Voice. Sister Cristina, 26, says her version of Madonna’s pop song is a “testimony of God’s capacity to turn Read more
Ireland’s legislators have been urged to exercise caution in preparing changes to the nation’s Constitution dealing with blasphemy as an offence. A Constitutional Convention has recommended removing the blasphemy provision, following overwhelming support for this in submissions. But a date for a referendum has yet to be decided. The Church of Ireland’s David Pierpont, Archdeacon Read more
More than 1000 cheating Northlanders have signed up to a dating website designed especially for married or attached people. The operators of European-based Victoria Milan claims it has 15,000 Kiwi members and 1020 registered as being from Northland. The founder, Norwegian Sigurd Vedal, claimed the cheater’s portal did not ruin marriages, but saved them. Continue Read more
We hear a lot about tolerance these days. Tolerance is a moral virtue best placed within the moral domain – but unfortunately it is often confounded with prejudice. Much of the psychological research about tolerance generally and about the development of children’s understanding of tolerance of others who are different from them has been examined Read more
You’ve probably heard the stereotype: Catholic colleges are in denial about their students’ sexual lives and alcohol use. Indeed, it’s true that many Catholic universities traditionally ended the conversations on sex and underage drinking with a simple, “just say no!” And yet, students attending Catholic colleges do not differ from students at other colleges, with Read more
Parliament’s health select committee has recommended that sex education in schools should include more than a narrow focus on the physical mechanics of sex and reproduction. A Herald-DigiPoll survey shows the there is support for this recommendation. Three-quarters believed that high-school pupils needed to be taught more than the mechanics of sex. The Prime Minister, Read more
3D-printed organs – quick explanation: this essentially entails filling an old inkjet printer with human tissue, which then gets ‘printed’, layer by layer, to form a 3D object. Last year, we implanted the first bioengineered blood vessel, and it won’t be long before we’ll be able to print a liver for anyone who needs one. Because Read more
As I was glancing at my Washington Post on Friday morning, I was dumbfounded by this headline: “Gay patient says Catholic chaplain refused him last rites.” The story focuses on Ronald Plishka, who was admitted to MedStar Washington Hospital Center after a heart attack and asked for a priest when — after 24 hours — Read more
Belgium has taken the shocking but unsurprising step of legalising euthanasia for children. The law stipulates that the child must be terminally ill, incurably suffering and possess complete understanding of what euthanasia means. Campaigners for “assisted dying” often point out that the majority of people would back an assisted suicide law in the UK. Possibly. Read more