The Archbishop of Suva Peter Loy Chong said that in some places parishes rather than schools will have to teach religion to the young. He said the inclusion of religious education in schools continues to raise debates in certain quarters within the education system. Chong was speaking during his recent visit to a Napuka Secondary Read more
In two US dioceses, the parents of children attending Catholic schools are being told they must have their children vaccinated, regardless of moral qualms. But critics say such compulsion is contrary to moral advice given by a pontifical academy. The Church has moral difficulties with certain vaccines, the cell lines for which were originally derived Read more
The more speaking engagements I do, the more convinced I am of the important role parents play in their teenagers sexual education…in fact, every part of their lives. As a parent of teenagers myself, I feel ‘in the thick’ of it every day; the emotions of their stage of life, the joy and pain, the Read more
An Irish bishop has expressed regret about comments he made about gay people as parents in the lead up to Ireland’s referendum on same-sex marriage. Bishop Kevin Doran of Elphin said in a media interview that a redefinition of marriage was also a redefinition of parenthood. When asked about gay people who are already parents, Read more
Catholic schools in Suva archdiocese celebrated Catholic Education over a week in February, instead of on one day as in previous years. Archdiocese Catholic education director Pio Bosco said Archbishop Peter Loy Chong changed the duration of the celebration. Instead of having it in July, the timing of the celebration was also changed to be 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
A judge has stopped two children, whose parents have separated, from attending Jehovah’s Witness meetings or church activities. After their separation in 2010, the mother became an adherent of the Jehovah Witness faith. Without the father’s knowledge, she introduced the children, then aged 4 and 6, to the religion. Justice Brendan Brown said his ruling Read more
My mum had superhuman powers when I was a kid. When I was about eight, a friend and I would play spies on our council estate. We’d use the poorly designed walkways as our lookout posts, and the labyrinth of corridors were the motorways for our high-speed chases. The fun we were having was obviously Read more
Priests in England and Wales have been told to put up with noisy children at Mass, as Church leaders encourage more families to go to church on Sundays. Bishop Kieran Conroy, who chairs the England and Wales bishops’ evangelisation committee, said he “strongly discouraged” priests from intervening to prevent children talking during Mass. Bishop Conry, the Read more
Parents are one of the most influential factors when talking about bullying – in that they are the most likely to be able to prevent it. The way parents model appropriate interactions and communication to their children (for example, resolve disagreements, be assertive when appropriate) will impact on how their children interact with others – Read more