Notes: Wednesday, January 1-Monday, February 10, 2014 (part 1 of 2)

1. "Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law banning abortion advertising"

The quotation in that headline comes from the blog post "Russia Chooses Life", by Steven W. Mosher, undated (though posted some time in 2013), downloaded from the Population Research Institute's website:

http://www.pop.org/content/russia-chooses-life

(That blog post came to my attention via this True Catholic
thread.)

Labels: abortion, Russia, Vladimir Putin

2. According to Sir Paul Coleridge, in the U.K. "cohabiting parents account for only 19 per cent of all couples — but the separation of cohabiting parents makes up 48 per cent of all family breakdowns", and "a child born today has only a 50% chance of living with both parents by the time they are 15"

The quotations, including the bold type, in that headline come respectively from the opinion piece "What does it say about our values when a judge is rebuked for speaking up for marriage?", by Stephen Glover, dated December 18, 2013, downloaded from the MailOnline:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2526082/What-does-say-values-judge-rebuked-speaking-marriage.html

and from the text of the Welcome and Introduction (for the Marriage Foundation Conference "For the Sake of the Kids — Relationships Education: the problem, policy and practice"), by The Hon. Mr. Justice Paul Coleridge Q.C. (the English High Court's family division judge), downloaded from The Marriage Foundation's website:

http://www.marriagefoundation.org.uk/Web/Content/Default.aspx?Content=452

(The latter came to my attention via the article "Teach married couples about monogamy for sake of the children, says High Court judge", by John Bingham, dated December 5, 2013, downloaded from the London Daily Telegraph's website:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/sex/divorce/10497368/Teach-married-couples-about-monogamy-for-sake-of-the-children-says-High-Court-judge.html)

Labels: cohabitation, demography, families, vice

3. Some figures on abortion in Australia

See the inset "Abortion statistics in Australia" in the article "Liberal Senator Cory Bernardi hits out at 'pro-death' abortion, step-families, IR laws", by Latika Bourke, dated (or, at least, last updated) Monday, January 6, 2014, downloaded from the A.B.C.'s website:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-01-06/cory-bernardi-says-pro-choice-is-pro-death/5183852

Labels: abortion

4. "Update on 'Justice Equality Defense and Immigration Minister' of Ireland, Israeli Nationalist, Alan Shatter"

The quotation in that headline is the headline of a blog post by Maurice Pinay, dated Thursday, January 2, 2014, downloaded from his eponymous blog:

http://mauricepinay.blogspot.com/2014/01/update-on-justice-equality-defense-and.html

Labels: Alan Shatter, Ireland

5. "Husbands living in a "harem" with multiple wives have been cleared to claim state benefits for all their different partners."

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "Muslim husbands with more than one wife to get extra benefits as ministers recognise polygamy", no byline, dated February 3, 2008, downloaded from the MailOnline:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-512043/Muslim-husbands-wife-extra-benefits-ministers-recognise-polygamy.html

(That article came to my attention via this blog post by Mr. Muehlenberg.)

Labels: families, law, marriage, polyamory, U.K.

6. "The lesbian couple are the girl's legal parents because they were in a defacto relationship when she was born and therefore the "father" is not considered a parent under the law"

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "Gay man fights to be recognised as father of child to lesbian couple", by Janet Fife-Yeomans, dated January 8, 2014, downloaded from the Sydney Daily Telegraph's website:

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/gay-man-fights-to-be-recognised-as-father-of-child-to-lesbian-couple/story-fni0cx12-1226797386537

(That article came to my attention via the version printed in Thursday, January 9, 2014's issue of The Tele.)

Labels: families, G.L.B.T., law

7. Dr. Oriel on scientific findings regarding fetal pain (and on the implications of those findings for abortion law)

See the opinion piece "Abortion laws must recognise scientific changes", by Dr. Jennifer Oriel, dated January 11, 2014, downloaded from (behind the paywall at) The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/abortion-laws-must-recognise-scientific-changes/story-e6frg6zo-1226799220817

(That opinion piece came to my attention via the version printed under the same headline, with the same author, on p. 17 of the "INQUIRER" section of The Weekend Australian, January 11-12, 2014, First Edition, No. 15313, ISSN 1038-8761, published by Nationwide News Pty. Limited.)

Labels: abortion, pregnancy

8. "Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan signed a bill that criminalises same-sex relationships"

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "Nigeria criminalises same-sex relationships", by Felix Onuah, dated January 14, 2014, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/world/nigeria-criminalises-samesex-relationships-20140114-30raz.html?skin=text-only

Labels: G.L.B.T., law, Nigeria, vice

9. A couple of recent items regarding the risk factors for sexual abuse of children

9.1 Prof. Goodman-Delahunty on sexual abuse of children by their respective parents

See "Profiling parental child sex abuse" ("Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice no. 465"), by Prof. Jane Goodman-Delahunty, Australian Institute of Criminology (A.I.C.), Canberra, A.C.T., Australia, January 2014, ISSN 1836-2206, downloaded from the A.I.C.'s website:

http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/current%20series/tandi/461-480/tandi465.html

According to that paper, "non-biological fathers (55%) predominated"; the natural question to ask, then, is something along the lines of What percentage of fathers are non-biological? The paper seems neither to ask nor to answer such a question, but my best guess at an answer would be Significantly less than 55%.

(That paper came to my attention via the article "Sex abuse dads not victims of molesters", by John Ferguson, dated January 14, 2014, downloaded from (behind the paywall at) The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/in-depth/sex-abuse-dads-not-victims-of-molesters/story-fngburq5-1226801004198)

Labels: crime, families, sexual abuse

9.2 Dr. Sammut on non-traditional family structure as a risk factor for child sexual abuse

See the paper "The New Silence: Family Breakdown and Child Sexual Abuse" (Issue Analysis (ISSN 1440 6306) No. 142), by Dr. Jeremy Sammut, dated January 30, 2014, published by The Centre for Independent Studies, St. Leonards, N.S.W., Australia, downloaded from that Centre's website:

http://www.cis.org.au/publications/issue-analysis/article/5043-the-new-silence-family-breakdown-and-child-sexual-abuse

See also the article "Political correctness dooms kids to abuse" by Rick Morton (which brought Dr. Sammut's paper to my attention) and the opinion piece "Abuse a bigger danger in non-traditional families" by Dr. Sammut, both dated January 30, 2014, both downloaded from The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/political-correctness-dooms-kids-to-abuse/story-e6frg6nf-1226813368985

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/abuse-a-bigger-danger-in-nontraditional-families/story-e6frg6zo-1226813360929

Labels: crime, families, G.L.B.T., sexual abuse

10. "Russians attack EU stance on gay rights"

The quotation in that headline is the headline of an article by Ben Hoyle, dated January 17, 2014, downloaded from The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/russians-attack-eu-stance-on-gay-rights/story-fnb64oi6-1226803500883

Labels: E.U., G.L.B.T., Russia, Vladimir Putin

11. The latest figures on the number of Catholics in England and Wales

See the article "Roman Catholics decline in England, Wales", by Trevor Grundy, dated January 7, 2014, downloaded from the Religion News Service's website:

http://www.religionnews.com/2014/01/07/roman-catholics-decline-england-wales/

(That article came to my attention via CathNews.)

Labels: demography, social trends, U.K.

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Scholastica, Virgin, A.D. 2014

Notes: Wednesday, December 7-Tuesday, December 20, 2011

1. "If present trends continue, Europe and Japan will lose half their population by the end of the century"

http://www.catholicweekly.com.au/article.php?classID=3&subclassID=7&articleID=9327&class=Features&subclass=Cardinal's Comment

Labels: demography

2. Several web-pages on or relating to a recent development in U.S. foreign policy

2.1 "US ready to push for gay rights abroad"

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/obama-warns-world-against-gay-and-lesbian-discrimination/story-e6frg6so-1226215897814

http://www.smh.com.au/world/us-ready-to-push-for-gay-rights-abroad-20111207-1ojak.html?skin=text-only

http://www.smh.com.au/world/rights-of-gays-to-figure-in-us-foreign-aid-20111207-1oj4l.html?skin=text-only

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=40020

http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2011/12/09/obama-the-real-ugly-american/

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/12/06/presidential-memorandum-international-initiatives-advance-human-rights-l

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=40069

http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2011/12/14/yet-another-ugly-american/

Labels: G.L.B.T., human rights, U.S.A.

2.2 "Nigeria’s bishops praise ban on public expression of homosexuality"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=40081

Labels: G.L.B.T., Hierarchy, Nigeria

2.3 "[U.S.] Senate blocks El Salvador ambassador over homosexual-rights advocacy"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=40099

Labels: G.L.B.T., U.S.A.

3. On two recent court cases involving polyamory:

Two court cases, one in Canada last month and one in Australia earlier in the year, show that while British-based law remains resolute against multiple partner marriage, it accepts that a common law threesome is not illegal or even necessarily family-unfriendly.

In the Canadian case, British Columbia Chief Justice Robert Bauman upheld Canada's anti-polygamy law, but left polyamorous families free from sanction if they do not commit an overt act of multiple marriage.

The Australian case involved a man whose wife had left him for another man and a woman, and taken the children. When the trio set up house together, mingled their respective offspring, and shared the same bedroom, the jilted husband applied to the court seeking an urgent order that the children be removed from the "immoral" household.

But magistrate Philip Burchardt rejected the application, saying the threesome seemed to be "thoroughly decent and honest people" and "I do not regard the relationship . . . as being damaging to the children."
[ellipsis in the original,
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/features/three-in-marriage-bed-more-of-a-good-thing/story-e6frg6z6-1226218569577]

(See here for Mr. Muehlenberg's reaction to that Weekend Australian article.)

Labels: families, marriage, polyamory

4. "Under a new policy approved by Pope Benedict XVI, the heads of other Roman dicasteries who wish to apply to the Pontiff for "special faculties" to handle problems outside the normal processes of canon law must apply through the Secretary of State, rather than appealing directly to the Pope"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=40051

You can read the relevant Rescript, in its original Italian, on pp. 127-128 (pp. 41-42 of your browser) of the Acta Apostolicae Sedis, here.

Labels: Roman Curia

5. "[Catholic] School forced to take same-sex couple's daughter"

http://www.smh.com.au/national/school-forced-to-take-samesex-daughter-20111214-1ou92.html?skin=text-only

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/senior-bishop-orders-school-to-reverse-ban/story-e6frg6so-1226221684482

Related coverage:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/school-rejects-daughter-of-same-sex-couple/story-e6frg6nf-1226221339567

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=40072

http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=29441

http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=29456

http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=29483

http://coo-eesfromthecloister.blogspot.com/2011/12/bishop-lesbians-and-poor-little-child.html

http://australiaincognita.blogspot.com/2011/12/holy-father-please-terminate-mandate-of.html

http://australiaincognita.blogspot.com/2011/12/campaign-to-abolish-religious.html

Labels: Catholic schools, G.L.B.T.

6. Dr. Arndt on the inadequacies of research findings which purport to show that children in the custody of same-sex couples do at least as well as those of opposite-sex ones:

It has never made sense that gay parents complain of prejudice and exclusion and in the same breath propose their children are suffering no adverse consequences. In fact, in recent years the research allegedly supporting these rosy claims has come under scrutiny and found to be sorely lacking.

"The methods are so flawed that these studies prove nothing," say Robert Lerner and Althea Nagai, experts in qualitative analysis.

"Not a single one of these studies was conducted according to generally accepted standards of scientific research," concludes sociology professor Steven Nock.

Most of the scholarship on gay parenting is conducted by researchers sympathetic to gay concerns and fails to include proper controls, relies on very small samples and uses unreliable or invalid measures.

The reality is that while resilient children may do well despite the prejudice many encounter, others have a hard time.
[http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/opinion/prejudice-can-make-life-miserable-for-children-with-same-sex-parents/story-e6frgd0x-1226223351222]

I include the first and last sentences of that quotation in order not to seem to suggest that Dr. Arndt questions the findings because she thinks that same-sex 'parenting' is innately inferior to opposite-sex parenting; apparently, Dr. Arndt would attribute disadvantage experienced by children in the custody of same-sex couples relative to those of opposite-sex ones to 'discrimination', 'prejudice', 'homophobia', 'exclusion', the usual buzzwords.

Labels: families, G.L.B.T.

7. "JAY Weatherill[, the South Australian Premier,] has backed a push by a gay MP on his frontbench to allow same-sex couples to access IVF in South Australia"

And a "new law will at last give de facto lesbian couples in South Australia the same rights as others to be formally recognised as co-parents and ensure their child has two legal parents":

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/state-politics/weatherill-backs-ivf-for-gays/story-e6frgczx-1226223400827

Labels: birth certificates, G.L.B.T., I.V.F., S.A.

8. "The Irish Government is now issuing the certificates to applicants who can prove their Irish ancestry"

http://www.catholicweekly.com.au/article.php?classID=1&subclassID=3&articleID=9314&class=News&subclass=CW World

This is the website of that initiative:

http://www.heritagecertificate.ie/

Labels: Ireland

9. The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference's (A.C.B.C.'s) Media Blog has, apparently, been officially launched

Here is its U.R.L.:

http://www.catholic.org.au/mediablog/

I say "apparently", judging by a recent article in the Sydney Catholic Weekly which provided a round-up of the acts of the recent A.C.B.C. plenary but which does not seem to be available on-line; the Media Blog has been on-line for some time now, so I presume that what occured at the plenary was its official launch.

Labels: A.C.B.C., blogs

10. Mr. DeLano has a blog:

http://magisterialfundies.blogspot.com/

(That came to my attention via this comment at Fr. Zuhlsdorf's blog.)

Labels: blogs

Reginaldvs Cantvar
20.XII.2011