Notes: Friday, August 1-Wednesday, December 31, 2014 (part 1 of 2)

1. "Divorces are more costly for Australian women than for men, and for longer periods, too, new research reveals."

The quotation in that headline is the first line of the article "Divorce more costly for Australian women", no byline, dated August 1, 2014, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/national/divorce-more-costly-for-australian-women-20140801-zz7zc.html?skin=text-only

Labels: divorce, economics, marriage

2. A couple of recent articles on the importance of the father-child relationship

See the article "The Distinct, Positive Impact of a Good Dad", by W. Bradford Wilcox, dated June 14, 2013, downloaded from The Atlantic's website:

http://www.theatlantic.com/sexes/archive/2013/06/the-distinct-positive-impact-of-a-good-dad/276874/

(that article came to my attention via the "Recommended Reading" section of the July-August 2014 issue of The Archdiocese of Sydney's Life, Marriage & Family Centre's Life, Marriage and Family News) and the blog post "Daughters and Their Dads: The Vital Relationship", by Mr. Bill Muehlenberg, dated August 27, 2014, downloaded from his CultureWatch blog:

http://billmuehlenberg.com/2014/08/27/daughters-and-their-dads-the-vital-relationship/

Labels: families

3. Mr. Attard on H.M.A. Government's "wealth transfer from single-income to dual-income families"

See the article "Govt's wealth transfer from single-income to dual-income families", by Mr. Daniel Attard, dated August 30, 2014, downloaded from News Weekly's website:

http://newsweekly.com.au/article.php?id=56696

Labels: childcare, economics, families

4. "Malta legalizes same-sex civil unions as bill passes 37-0"

The quotation in that headline is the headline of an article by Hilary White, dated April 15, 2014, downloaded from LifeSiteNews.com:

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/malta-legalizes-same-sex-civil-unions-as-bill-passes-37-0

(That article came to my attention via its posting at AQ.)

Labels: G.L.B.T., civil unions, Malta

5. Mr. Muehlenberg on "Islam, Polygamy and Western Subsidies"

See the blog post "Islam, Polygamy and Western Subsidies", by Mr. Bill Muehlenberg, dated September 23, 2014, downloaded from his CultureWatch blog:

http://billmuehlenberg.com/2014/09/23/islam-polygamy-and-western-subsidies/

Labels: Islam, polyamory

6. Ms Armstrong on the relationship between religion and politics

See the article "The myth of religious violence", by Karen Armstrong, dated Thursday, September 25, 2014, downloaded from The Guardian's website:

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/25/-sp-karen-armstrong-religious-violence-myth-secular

See also the book review (especially its penultimate paragraph) "Karen Armstrong explores historical links between religion and violence", by Gerard Windsor, dated October 4, 2014, downloaded from The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/review/karen-armstrong-explores-historical-links-between-religion-and-violence/story-fn9n8gph-1227079238329

(That article came to my attention via the version printed under the headline "Faith's place in the battlefield", with the same author, on pp. 18 f. in the "BOOKS" pages of the "review" supplement of The Weekend Australian, October 4-5, 2014, Second Edition, No. 15498, ISSN 1038-8761, published by Nationwide News Pty. Limited.)

Labels: Church and State, Confessional State, liberalism

7. "On Saturday 11 October 2014, Pride Football Australia will host the 3rd annual PFA Football Tournament in Sydney. … For the first time in the tournaments[ sic] history David Gallop and Football Federation Australia have officially endorsed the event."

The quotation, including its bold type but excluding the ellipsis, in that headline comes from the webpage "ACON Is Proud To Be A Main Sponsor of the Pride Football Australia Tournament", no author credited, undated, downloaded from acon's website:

Warning: acon is a Gay lobby group, so beware of obscene text and images at its website:

http://www.acon.org.au/get-involved/events/pride-football-australia-tournament

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

8. "While anal cancer is relatively rare among the general population, gay men are 20 times more likely to contract it."

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "Boost to cancer funding", by Mr. Alex McKinnon, dated Match 7, 2013, downloaded from the Star Observer's website:

Warning: The Star Observer is a Gay medium, so beware of obscene text and images at its website:

http://www.starobserver.com.au/news/local-news/new-south-wales-news/boost-to-cancer-funding/99732

(That article came to my attention via the comment of 18.10.14 / 8pm by Trevor Grace in the combox at the blog post by Mr. Muehlenberg.)

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

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Day within the Octave of Christmas, and the feast of St. Sylvester I., Pope, Confessor, A.D. 2014

Notes: Tuesday, May 6-Thursday, July 31, 2014 (part 2 of 4)

5. "the OECD has found that paid parental leave beyond 20 weeks “appears to have a negative effect on female participation”"

The quotation in that headline comes from the opinion piece "Abbott has dug himself into a hole over paid parental leave", by Dr. Anne Summers A.O., dated May 5, 2014, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/comment/abbott-has-dug-himself-into-a-hole-over-paid-parental-leave-20140505-zr4r4.html?skin=text-only

(Originally, I was also going to quote Dr. Summers regarding her statement in that opinion piece that women who earn less than the minimum wage would be worse off under The Hon. Tony Abbott M.P.'s paid maternity leave plan compared to the current one (because the current one pays the minimum wage to those women, whereas Mr. Abbott's scheme would pay them, so Dr. Summers thought, only their pre-leave level of income) but it turns out that Dr. Summers was mistaken; see the letter published under the sub-heading "Low paid will benefit" on the Herald's letters page of May 6, 2014 ("Reconsider Bondi brawler's gaming licence") (and that letter has been appended to Dr. Summers' article, with her response to it below it.)

Labels: economics, P.P.L., work

6. A few recent items regarding divorce

6.1 The late Prof. Becker on no-fault divorce

See the opinion piece "Exposing the dangers of welfare", by Mr. Adam Creighton, dated May 9, 2014, downloaded from (behind the paywall at) The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/opinion/exposing-the-dangers-of-welfare/story-fnc2jivw-1226910947505

Labels: divorce, law, marriage

6.2 "DIVORCE and family breakdowns are costing the national economy more than $14 billion a year in government assistance payments and court costs"

The quotation, including the capitals and bold type, in that headline comes from the article "Divorce is costing the Australian economy $14 billion a year", by Lauren Wilson and Lisa Cornish, dated July 6, 2014, downloaded from the Herald Sun's website:

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/lifestyle/relationships/divorce-is-costing-the-australian-economy-14-billion-a-year/story-fni0dqfm-1226979027353

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

Labels: divorce, marriage

6.3 Mr. Creighton on no-fault divorce

See the opinion piece "Divorced wives deserve compensation for hardship", by Mr. Adam Creighton, dated July 11, 2014, downloaded from (behind the paywall at) The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/opinion/divorced-wives-deserve-compensation-for-hardship/story-fnc2jivw-1226984851502

Labels: divorce, law, marriage

7. A couple of recent Gay/sport items

7.1 In order "to send a clear message" about discrimination, the National Rubgy League penalised, with a two-match ban and a requirement "to attend an anti-vilification education and awareness program", a player "for breaching the League’s anti-vilification policy" by calling another player "Gay" (though the player called "Gay" isn't Gay)

The first two quotations in that headline come from the article "Mitchell Moses has been banned for two matches for breaking the NRL’s anti-­vilification policy", by Mr. Dean Ritchie, dated May 5, 2014, downloaded from the Sydney Daily Telegraph's website:

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/mitchell-moses-has-been-banned-for-two-matches-for-breaking-the-nrls-antivilification-policy/story-fni3fbgz-1226906300123

(That article came to my attention via the version printed under the headline "Young Wests Tiger's two-week ban for homophobic slur", by the same author, on p. 67 in the "NRL" pages of the "SPORT" section of The Daily Telegraph, Tuesday, May 6, 2014, ISSN 1038-8745, published by Nationwide News Pty. Ltd.) The third quotation comes from the press releases "NRL suspends player for homophobic remark" and "Moses banned for two games for homophobic comment", neither of which has a byline, both dated Monday, May 5, 2014, both downloaded from NRL.com:

http://www.nrl.com/nrl-suspends-player-for-homophobic-remark/tabid/10874/newsid/78159/default.aspx

http://www.nrl.com/moses-banned-for-two-games-for-homophobic-comment/tabid/10874/newsid/78160/default.aspx

See also the opinion piece "NRL bosses are totally gay", by Miranda Devine, p. 13, The Daily Telegraph, Wednesday, May 7, 2014, ISSN 1038-8745, published by Nationwide News Pty. Ltd., available online under the same headline, by the same author, but dated Tuesday, May 6, 2014, at Ms Devine's blog:

http://blogs.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/mirandadevine/index.php/dailytelegraph/comments/nrl_bosses_are_totally_gay/

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

7.2 "Our sponsorship of the Bingham Cup [a rugby union competition for gay players] has been a catalyst for change: we were able to use our leverage as a major advertiser to persuade the main sporting codes to sign up to an anti-homophobia policy, which they all did at the bank a few weeks ago."

The quotation, including the square-bracketed interpolation, in that headline comes from the appendix "SMASHING THE GLASS CLOSET" to the article "Don't ask, don't tell", by Jane Wheatley, dated June 7, 2014, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/dont-ask-dont-tell-20140602-39d0g.html?skin=text-only

(The sub-section (presumably minus any editorial interpolations) from which that quotation comes is attributed to Andrew Hall, "head of corporate affairs at the Commonwealth Bank", so the pronoun "we" and the possessives refer to the Commonwealth Bank.)

(That appendix and article came to my attention via the versions printed under the same respective headlines, with the same respective authors, on, respectively, p. 25 and pp. 22-25 of Good Weekend magazine, June 7, 2014, published by Fairfax Media Publications Pty. Ltd., inserted in The Sydney Morning Herald, Weekend Edition, June 7-8, 2014, Issue No. 55118, ISSN 0312-6315, published by Fairfax Media Publications Pty. Ltd.)

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

8. Some recent items regarding abortion

8.1 "UP to 23,000 abortions take place in Victoria each year", as at 2008, and "180 late-term abortions were carried out in 2005 on healthy fetuses for "psycho-social" reasons"

The quotations in that headline come from the article "Victoria is Australia's abortion 'capital'", by Laurie Nowell, dated June 1, 2008, downloaded from the Herald Sun website:

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/victoria-abortion-capital/story-e6frf7kx-1111116500184

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

Labels: abortion, Victoria

8.2 "In 2009 there were 154 stillbirths related to termination of pregnancy for congenital abnormality and 42 neonatal deaths where the parents decided to have labour induced early resulting in the early birth of their infant (Table 96)."

The quotation in that headline comes from p. 111 of the Annual report for the year 2009, by the Consultative Council on Obstetric and Paediatric Mortality and Morbidity, ISSN 1327-4473, authorised and published by H.M. Victorian Government, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, July 2012, © Copyright, State of Victoria, Department of Health 2012, downloaded from the "Document library" at the official website of the Department of Health, Victoria, Australia:

http://docs.health.vic.gov.au/docs/doc/Annual-Report-for-the-Year-2009-%28including-Births-in-Victoria%29--Full-Report

or go straight hither:

http://docs.health.vic.gov.au/docs/doc/C3F3B2341D9B4F99CA257A5C00099475/$FILE/1202025_CCOPMM_AR_2009_WEB.pdf

(That report came to my attention via this blog post by Mr. Gaynor.)

Labels: abortion, Victoria

8.3 "Of the 51 neonatal deaths[ in South Australia in 2008], 42 (82.4%) were lowbirthweight babies and 10 resulted from terminations of pregnancy."

The quotation, excluding the squate-bracketed interpolation, in that headline comes from p. 24 (p. 28 in your reader) of Maternal, Perinatal and Infant Mortality in South Australia 2008, by the Maternal, Perinatal and Infant Mortality Committee of the Pregnancy Outcome Unit of SA Health, H.M South Australian Government, ISSN 1032-4801, published by SA Health, H.M South Australian Government, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia, November 2009, © SA Health, downloaded from the official SA Health website:

http://www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/6f561300440868f38a40aa5fc19a2cbb/mortalityreport-operations-sahaelth-2008.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=6f561300440868f38a40aa5fc19a2cbb

(That report came to my attention via the comment by Heidi on May 10, 2014 at 6:52 pm in the combox of a blog post by Mr. Gaynor.)

Labels: abortion, S.A.

8.4 Some up-to-date figures on contraception and abortion in Australia

See pp. 149 ff. and 195 ff. (but add 18 to desired page numbers when typing them into your reader's page number field) of the report Reproductive and sexual health in Australia, no author credited, ISBN 978 1 877026 29 4, published by Family Planning NSW, Sydney, N.S.W., Australia, 2013, © Family Planning NSW 2013, downloaded from Family Planning NSW's website:

Warning: Given the subject matter, beware of potentially scandalous terminology:

http://www.fpnsw.org.au/688423_21_13559012.html

Or go straight hither:

http://www.fpnsw.org.au/rshinaust_book_webedition_1.pdf

(That report came to my attention via this or this Herald article.)

Labels: abortion, contraception

9. "the more children a family has, the less likely it is that both parents will remain in paid employment. Therefore, encouraging larger families will increase the number of future workers and taxpayers, including women."

The quotation, including its italics, in that headline comes from the article "CHILD CARE INQUIRY: Should parents or paid strangers raise children?", by Mr. John Ballantyne, dated May 10, 2014, downloaded from News Weekly's website:

http://newsweekly.com.au/article.php?id=56572

Labels: economics, families

10. "The early moderns wanted to get rid of formal and final causes as immanent features of nature, and thus replaced them with the notion of “laws of nature” conceived of as externally imposed divine decrees."

The quotation in that headline comes from the blog post "School’s out forever?", by Dr. Edward Feser, dated Friday, May 2, 2014, downloaded from his eponymous blog:

http://edwardfeser.blogspot.com/2014/05/schools-out-forever.html

Labels: philosophy, science

11. "a quarter of our students[, i.e., of pupils in nominally Catholic schools in New South Wales,] are not Catholic", and "[a]t 44 per cent, SA Catholic schools have the highest proportion of students from non-Catholic backgrounds of any mainland state" ("[t]he national average is 29 per cent")

The first quotation, excluding my square-bracketed interpolation, in that headline comes from the letter published under the heading "Not weeds, flowers", from Dr. Brian Croke ("executive director, Catholic Education Commission NSW"), on the May 22, 2014 letters page (headline: "Tony Abbott lacks John Howard's bravery in facing Deakin University protesters"), downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/comment/smh-letters/tony-abbott-lacks-john-howards-bravery-in-facing-deakin-university-protesters-20140521-zrjwl.html?skin=text-only

The last two quotations, excluding my square-bracketed replacement of capital letters with lower-case ones, in that headline come from the article "Big growth in number of non-Catholics attending Catholic schools in SA", no byline, dated June 1, 2014, downloaded from news.com.au:

http://www.news.com.au/national/south-australia/big-growth-in-number-of-noncatholics-attending-catholic-schools-in-sa/story-fnii5yv4-1226939166470

(That article came to my attention via this CathNews post.)

Labels: Catholic schools

12. "It is significant that at a time when the federal Coalition government is cutting support for single-income two-parent families by cutting Family Tax Benefit B and increasing costs of medical treatment and pharmaceuticals, it is increasing spending on institutionalised child care (primarily used by two-income families), on top of its paid parental leave scheme which is also a subsidy for two-income families."

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "CANBERRA OBSERVED: Single-income families bear the brunt of Budget pain", no byline, dated May 24, 2014, downloaded from News Weekly's website:

http://newsweekly.com.au/article.php?id=56587

Labels: childcare, economics, families, tax

13. Mr. Muehlenberg with some recent items regarding Gaiety

See the blog post "Truth-Telling and Homosexuality", by Mr. Bill Muehlenberg, dated June 9, 2014, downloaded from his CultureWatch blog:

http://billmuehlenberg.com/2014/06/09/truth-telling-and-homosexuality/

(And read the comments there, especially the one by Dr. van Gend.)

Labels: G.L.B.T., mental health

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Confessor, A.D. 2014

Notes: Tuesday, March 18-Monday, May 5, 2014 (part 1 of 2)

1. More from H.H. The Pope Emeritus (though gloriously reigning at the time of the pronouncement in question) on 'healthy secularity'

See §29 of Ecclesia in Medio Oriente (the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation on the Church in the Middle East), September 14, 2012, pp. 751 ff. (§29 is on p. 764 (p. 18 in your computer's reader)) of Acta Apostolicæ Sedis, Year and Vol. CIV, No. 10, October 5, 2012:

http://www.vatican.va/archive/aas/documents/2012/ottobre2012.pdf

Ecclesia in Medio Oriente is also available in French here:

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_ben-xvi_exh_20120914_ecclesia-in-medio-oriente_fr.html

and in English translation here:

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_ben-xvi_exh_20120914_ecclesia-in-medio-oriente_en.html

(That reference to 'secularity' came to my attention via the item "SUMMARY OF THE POST-SYNODAL APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION "ECCLESIA IN MEDIO ORIENTE"", dated September 15, 2012, in The Holy See Press Office's Vatican Information Service e-mail bulletin of September 15, 2012, Year XXII, No. 163, available online under the same headline, but undated, here:

http://www.news.va/en/news/summary-of-the-post-synodal-apostolic-exhortation)

Labels: Benedict XVI. Ratzinger, morals, politics, secularism

2. On March 10, 2014, H.M. The Queen gave the Royal Assent to the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Bill.

See Notice No. 2017122, Notice Type "Parliament & Assemblies", Sub-Type "Scottish Parliament" (Notice Code: 1208), The London Gazette, Issue No. 60808, p. 5424, March 17, 2014:

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/60808/page/5424

One can also find the text of that notice here:

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/notice/L-60808-2017122

(The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Bill came to my attention most recently via this CathNews post regarding this Catholic News Service article.)

Labels: Elizabeth II. Windsor, G.L.B.T., law, marriage, U.K.

3. Cardinal Turkson on recent African legislation against sodomy (and on Rome's reaction to that legislation)

See the article "Catholicism growing in heart of Muslim world", by Mr. John Allen, apparently undated, downloaded from The Boston Globe's website:

http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/world/2014/03/08/catholicism-growing-heart-muslim-world/LxIiUYwSlro7Zl6ugvVQJM/story.html

See also the article "Cardinal Turkson criticises Uganda’s anti-gay law", no author credited, dated Tuesday, March 4, 2014, downloaded from CatholicHerald.co.uk:

http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2014/03/04/cardinal-turkson-criticises-ugandas-anti-gay-law/

Labels: G.L.B.T., law, Peter Turkson, Roman Curia, vice

4. Prof. Baskerville on no-fault divorce

See the article "Five Myths about No-Fault Divorce", by Associate Professor Stephen Baskerville, apparently undated, downloaded from the Catholic News Agency's website:

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/resources/life-and-family/marriage/five-myths-about-no-fault-divorce/

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

Labels: divorce, law, marriage

5. "It takes about 20 hours a week to exclusively breastfeed - feeding a baby is by itself a part-time job."

The quotation in that headline comes from the opinion piece "Baby care needs nurturing", by Dr. Julie Smith, dated March 24, 2014, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/comment/baby-care-needs-nurturing-20140323-35bhp.html?skin=text-only

Labels: breastfeeding, economics

6. More aged care and disability care Gay propaganda

See the web page "LGBTI Aged Care Training", no author credited, undated, downloaded from ACON's website:

http://www.acon.org.au/ageing/training/lgbti-aged-care-training

(Note that that webpage is the same webpage to which the link in item 1 of this "Notes" post leads; the U.R.L. and content of that webpage have, however, clearly changed.)

Labels: aged care, disability, G.L.B.T.

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Pius V., Pope, Confessor, A.D. 2014

Notes: Tuesday, February 11-Monday, March 17, 2014 (part 1 of 2)

1. Fr. Unger on St. Irenaeus of Lyons's Adversus haereses, III, 3, 2 ("the locus on the importance of the Roman Church as a criterion of apostolic tradition")

See the article "St. Irenaeus and the Roman Primacy", by The Rev. Fr. Dominic J. Unger O.F.M. Cap., in Theological Studies, 13.3 (1952), pp. 359-418:

http://www.ts.mu.edu/readers/content/pdf/13/13.3/13.3.3.pdf

(That article came to my attention via the reference to it on p. 154 of The Church and Infallibility. A Reply to the Abridged "Salmon"., by The Rt. Rev. The (7th) Lord Abbot of Downside (B. C. Butler) O.S.B., published by The Catholic Book Club, undated (but sometime between September 1952 and 10.3.56, judging by, respectively, that article and the handwritten inscription in my second-hand copy of The Church and Infallibility.)

Labels: dogma, Papacy, St. Irenaeus of Lyons

2. Mr. Saletan on the opinions of nominal Catholics on matters of Faith and morals

See the article "The pope's Catholic problem", by Mr. William Saletan, dated February 12, 2014, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/comment/the-popes-catholic-problem-20140212-32gv5.html?skin=text-only

Labels: demography

3. For the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child's concluding observations on the most recent periodic reports of, respectively, the Holy See and the Russian Federation, see here:

http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CRC/Shared%20Documents/VAT/CRC_C_VAT_CO_2_16302_E.pdf

and here:

http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CRC/Shared%20Documents/RUS/CRC_C_RUS_CO_4-5_16305_E.pdf

Labels: U.N.O.

4. A couple of recent Gubernatorial (New South Wales) activities

4.1 On Friday, the 7th ult., Her Excellency The Governor of New South Wales "attended the Rainbow Flag Raising Ceremony celebrating the launch of the 2014 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival followed by a reception hosted by The Lord Mayor, at Sydney Town Hall."

The quotation in that headline comes from the webpage "Friday, 7 February 2014" at the official Governor of New South Wales website:

http://www.governor.nsw.gov.au/news/diary-of-engagements/friday-7-february-2014/

(That event came to my attention via the Vice-Regal notices on p. 31 in the classifieds section of the "Weekend Business" supplement of The Sydney Morning Herald, Weekend Edition, February 8-9, 2014, No. 55017, ISSN 0312-6315.)

Labels: G.L.B.T., N.S.W.

4.2 In the early evening of Friday, the 28th ult., Her Excellency The Governor of New South Wales "opened the “We Are Family”, photographic, video and installation works exhibition, as part of the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, at the Australian Centre for Photography, Paddington."

The quotation, including the italics, in that headline comes from the webpage "Friday, 28 February 2014" at the official Governor of New South Wales website:

http://www.governor.nsw.gov.au/news/diary-of-engagements/friday-28-february-2014/

(That event came to my attention via the Vice-Regal notices on p. 34 in the Classifieds section of the "BusinessDay[ sic]" supplement of The Sydney Morning Herald, Weekend Edition, March 1-2, 2014, Issue No. 55035, ISSN presumably 0312-6315.)

Labels: G.L.B.T., N.S.W.

5. Prof. Flannery's curriculum vitæ

See the article "Tim Flannery: a man for all climates", by Mr. Mark Dapin, dated February 8, 2014, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

Warning: The following article contains references which might scandalise some readers:

http://www.smh.com.au/national/tim-flannery-a-man-for-all-climates-20140207-3271c.html?skin=text-only

(That article came to my attention via the version printed as an installment in the Herald's "LUNCH WITH" series under the headline "Beefing up for a climate fight" ("LUNCH WITH TIM FLANNERY"), by the same author, on p. 6 of the "News Review" supplement of The Sydney Morning Herald, Weekend Edition, February 8-9, 2014, No. 55017, ISSN 0312-6315.)

Labels: Tim Flannery

6. Mr. Ban (the United Nations Secretary-General) on what he regards as proper and improper treatment of Gays & al. around the world

See the article "Ahead of Sochi Olympic Games, Ban praises power of sport to unite all people", no byline, dated February 6, 2014, downloaded from the United Nations website::

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=47094#.UxWXLmex5es

(One of Mr. Ban's remarks came to my attention via the article "Putin hypocrisy exposed", no byline (but the stated sources were The Times, A.F.P., and The Wall Street Journal), on p. 9 in the "WORLD" section of The Weekend Australian, February 8-9, 2014, First Edition, No. 15337, ISSN 1038-8761, published by Nationwide News Pty. Limited, and available online under the same headline, with the same stated sources, dated February 8, 2014, at The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/wall-street-journal/putin-hypocrisy-exposed/story-fnay3ubk-1226820990769)

Labels: G.L.B.T., U.N.O.

7. Uganda's President has assented to a Bill which strengthens Uganda's anti-sodomy law.

See the article "Ugandan president signs law to jail gays for life", by Grace Matsiko, dated February 25, 2014, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/world/ugandan-president-signs-law-to-jail-gays-for-life-20140225-hvdn7.html?skin=text-only

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

8. Dr. Zimmermann on no-fault divorce

See the article "The innocent victims of 'no-fault' divorce", by Dr. Augusto Zimmermann, dated March 1, 2014, downloaded from News Weekly's website:

http://newsweekly.com.au/article.php?id=56495

Labels: divorce, law, marriage

9. "It's thought that about 50 per cent of new [H.I.V. ]infections come from people who don't know they are infected"

The quotation, excluding my parenthesis, was attributed to Prof. Sharon Lewin ("a world-leading HIV researcher") in the article "HIV study lifts prevention hopes", by Julia Medew, dated March 7, 2014, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/national/hiv-study-lifts-prevention-hopes-20140306-34a9m.html?skin=text-only

Labels: H.I.V./A.I.D.S.

10. Some research on the hours of paid and unpaid work done by Australian men and women, respectively

See the paper "COOKING, CARING AND VOLUNTEERING: UNPAID WORK AROUND THE WORLD" (O.E.C.D. Social, Employment, and Migration Working Paper No. 116), by Dr. Veerle Miranda, dated September 20, 2011, downloaded from the O.E.C.D.'s website:

http://search.oecd.org/officialdocuments/displaydocumentpdf/?cote=DELSA/ELSA/WD/SEM(2011)1&doclanguage=en

(That research came to my attention via an article in the Sydney Daily Telegraph of Friday, March 7, 2014.) But see the opinion piece "Women struggle to escape drudgery", by Peter Martin, dated March 9, 2014, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/comment/women-struggle-to-escape-drudgery-20140308-34dvj.html?skin=text-only

Labels: economics, families, work

11. "Many people who oppose marriage equality do so, not out of homophobia, but out of sincerely held religious beliefs or views about the nature of marriage"

The quotation in that headline was attributed to "Australian Marriage Equality national director Rodney Croome" in the article "Mundine comes out fighting against Abbott race, gay slurs", by Mr. Rick Morton, dated March 8, 2014, downloaded from (behind the paywall at) The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/mundine-comes-out-fighting-against-abbott-race-gay-slurs/story-fn59niix-1226848483178

(That article came to my attention via the version printed under the same headline and with the same author on p. 8 in "THE NATION" section of The Weekend Australian, March 8-9, 2014, First Edition, No. 15361, ISSN 1038-8761, published by Nationwide News Pty. Limited.)

Labels: marriage, morals

12. A few recent Masonic activities by H.R.H. The Duke of Kent (Grand Master, United Grand Lodge of England)

12.1 In the evening of Wednesday, the 26th ult., H.R.H. The Duke of Kent "attended the Board of Grand Stewards Dinner at the Goring Hotel, … London", England

See the Court Circular—the source for the quotation (excluding the ellipsis symbol) in that headline—of that day.

Labels: Edward Kent, Freemasons

12.2 In the afternoon of Thursday, the 6th instant, H.R.H. The Duke of Kent visited Stroud Masonic Hall. Later in the same day, His Royal Highness "attended a Service in Gloucester Cathedral to mark the work of the local Freemasons".

See the Court Circular—the source for the quotation in that headline—of that day.

Labels: Anglicans, Edward Kent, Freemasons

Reginaldvs Cantvar
St. Patrick's Day, A.D. 2014

Notes: Wednesday, September 11-Tuesday, December 3, 2013

1. The N.S.W. Department of Family and Community Services funded ACON-delivered "workshops that explore[d] lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) sensitivity in service provision for people with disabilities."

See the "LGBTI Sensitivity and Disability Training" page at ACON's website:

http://www.acon.org.au/ageing/training/lgbti-sensitivity-and-disability-training

Labels: G.L.B.T., N.S.W.

2. "Rates of unintended pregnancies and abortion are relatively high in Australia (19.7 per 1,000 women aged 15-44) compared to northern Europe (17 per 1,000)", and "reports from the US found that almost half of all unintended pregnancies come about because, basically, women forgot to take the pill."

The quotations in that headline come from the article "OOPS. I'M PREGNANT.", by Gabrielle Jackson, dated September 10, 2013, downloaded from The Hoopla website:

http://thehoopla.com.au/oops-pregnant/

(Those figures came to my attention via the article "Preventing abortions", no byline, p. 11, the Sydney Daily Telegraph, Tuesday, September 3, 2013, ISSN 1038-8745, published by Nationwide News Pty. Ltd. (note that the Tele no longer gives volume and issue numbers), but "Preventing abortions" was very short so I have quoted from "OOPS. I'M PREGNANT." in order to avoid violating copyright. The Medical Journal of Australia paper to which both articles refer is presumably "Australian women need increased access to long-acting reversible contraception" by Dr. Kirsten I. Black et al., and is available online here:

https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2013/199/5/australian-women-need-increased-access-long-acting-reversible-contraception)

Labels: abortion, contraception

3. Three reasons why new mothers need at least six months off work: To recover from giving birth, to cope with sleep deprivation, and to breastfeed.

Those reasons were given by Prof. Hannah Dahlen (a Professor of Midwifery), as reported in the article "MEDICOS BACK LONGER LEAVE", no byline, p. 07, the Sydney Daily Telegraph, Tuesday, September 3, 2013, ISSN 1038-8745, published by Nationwide News Pty. Ltd., apparently not available online.

Labels: breastfeeding, economics, pregnancy

4. Mr. McDonald on "esoteric art"

See "Occult figures" (a review of the Windows to the Sacred: An Exploration of the Esoteric art exhibition at the S. H. Ervin Gallery), by Mr. John McDonald, dated September 14, 2013, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

Warning: Some readers might find the following material disturbing:

http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/occult-figures-20130912-2tla9.html?skin=text-only

(That review came to my attention via the version printed under the same headline, with the same byline, on pp. 14-15 of the "SPECTRUM" supplement of The Sydney Morning Herald, September 14-15, 2013, No. 54892, ISSN 0312-6315.)

Labels: Freemasonry

5. Cardinal Pell on, among other things, paid paternity leave

See the opinion piece "The importance of good fathers", by His Eminence The Most Rev. The Cardinal Archbishop of Sydney A.C., dated September 4, 2013, downloaded from the Sydney Catholic Weekly's website:

http://www.catholicweekly.com.au/article.php?classID=3&subclassID=7&articleID=12740&class=Copyright&subclass=Cardinal's Comment

(That opinion piece came to my attention via the version printed under the same headline, by the same author (it was that week's installment of His Eminence's "CARDINAL'S COMMENT" column), on p. 6 of The Catholic Weekly, Vol. 72, No. 4689, September 8, 2013, published by The Catholic Press Newspaper Company Pty. Ltd.)

Labels: George Pell, P.P.L.

6. Some recent items regarding socio-economic trends

6.1 "Today, of all male employees, just 9 per cent are the sole earner in a couple with children. (Four per cent are women.)"

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "More people are choosing to opt out of working full-time", by Clay Lucas, dated September 12, 2013, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/national/more-people-are-choosing-to-opt-out-of-working-fulltime-20130911-2tkrn.html?skin=text-only

Labels: economics, families, social trends, work

6.2 "women are now out-earning men in a quarter of double-income households"

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "Family finances shifting as women become the main breadwinners", by Mark Schliebs, dated October 23, 2013, downloaded from The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/family-finances-shifting-as-women-become-the-main-breadwinners/story-e6frg8zx-1226744873052

The AMP-National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling research (AMP.NATSEM Income and Wealth Report Issue 34 - Modern Family: The Changing Shape of Australian Families, by Ms Rebecca Cassells et al., published October 2013) to which that article refers is available here:

http://www.natsem.canberra.edu.au/publications/?publication=modern-family-the-changing-shape-of-australian-families

The media release there gives a lot of useful summary information relevant to the subject labels of this item.

Labels: economics, families, G.L.B.T., marriage, social trends, work

6.3 The latest Australian births figures

See the following "3301.0 - Births, Australia, 2012" pages at the Australian Bureau of Statistics's (A.B.S.'s) website:

"Births, Summary statistics for Australia"

"Number of teenage mothers lowest in a decade"

"BIRTHS"

"FERTILITY RATES"

See also the article "Baby boom for over-forties", no byline, p. 03, the Sydney Daily Telegraph, Friday, October 25, 2013, ISSN 1038-8745, published by Nationwide News Pty. Ltd., in which (article) Mr. Bjorn Jarvis, the A.B.S.'s Director of Demography, is reported as saying that the factors contributing to the number of births to women over forty now exceeding the number of births to women in their teens include "education, legislation, employment opportunities", and "economic conditions".

Labels: birth rates, social trends

6.4 "Women's incomes suffer more than men's after divorce, regardless of who decides to end the marriage, a study has found."

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "Wives' first move in divorce is costliest", by Daniella Miletic, dated September 27, 2013, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/national/wives-first-move-in-divorce-is-costliest-20130926-2uh2h.html?skin=text-only

Labels: divorce, economics, families, marriage

6.5 Mrs. Phillips on distributive injustice towards Australian families

See the letter "Home mums lose out", by Mrs. Roslyn Phillips, dated October 9, 2013, downloaded from The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/letters/home-mums-lose-out/story-fn558imw-1226735032305

Labels: economics, families, tax

6.6 "MORE than a third of mothers with children under 15 are not working, most saying they prefer to look after their children."

The quotation—including its bold type (it was an article's first paragraph)—in that headline comes from the article "Third of mums prefer minding kids to work", by Patricia Karvelas, dated November 20, 2013, downloaded from The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/third-of-mums-prefer-minding-kids-to-work/story-e6frg6nf-1226763803286

The research report—Australian mothers' participation in employment: Analyses of social, demographic and family characteristics using the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey (the Australian Institute of Family Studies Research Paper No. 52), by Dr. Jennifer Baxter, published September 2013 by the Australian Institute of Family Studies—to which that article refers is available here:

http://www.aifs.gov.au/institute/pubs/rp52/index.htmland its accompanying media release ("A third of Australian mothers not working", no author credited, dated November 20, 2013) is available here:

http://www.aifs.gov.au/institute/media/media131120.html

Labels: economics, families, social trends, work

6.7 Mrs. Shanahan on recent Australian social and economic trends

See the opinion piece "Case of wishful thinking as reality of family life is lost", by Mrs. Angela Shanahan, dated November 16, 2013, downloaded from The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/columnists/case-of-wishful-thinking-as-reality-of-family-life-is-lost/story-fn562txd-1226761292101

(That opinion piece came to my attention via the version printed under the headline "Case of wishful thinking as reality of family life is lost amid political and economic imagery", by the same author, on p. 19 in the "INQUIRER" section of The Weekend Australian, November 16-17, 2013, First Edition, No. 15268, ISSN 1038-8761, published by Nationwide News Pty. Limited.)

Labels: economics, families, G.L.B.T., marriage, social trends, work

7. The latest figures regarding attendance at nominally Catholic churches

See the article "A thinning flock of Catholics at all-time low", by Mr. Barney Zwartz, dated September 23, 2013, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/victoria/a-thinning-flock-of-catholics-at-alltime-low-20130922-2u81i.html?skin=text-only

Labels: Mass-going

8. "According to the latest Australian estimates, about 4.1 per cent of women who gave birth here in 2010 received some form of ART[, i.e., Assisted Reproductive Technology,] treatment"

The quotation in that headline comes from the feature article "Miracle or medical negligence?", by Sarah Elks and Sean Parnell, dated October 12, 2013, downloaded from The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/features/miracle-or-medical-negligence/story-e6frg6z6-1226738601481

The National Perinatal Epidemiology and Statistics Unit report to which that article refers is available here:

http://www.npesu.unsw.edu.au/surveillance/assisted-reproductive-technology-australia-new-zealand-2011

("Miracle or medical negligence?" came to my attention via the version printed under the same headline, with the same authors, on p. 13 in the "INQUIRER" section of The Weekend Australian, October 12-13, 2013, First Edition, No. 15238, ISSN 1038-8761, published by Nationwide News Pty. Limited.)

Labels: A.R.T.

9. "public hospitals in NSW carried out 119 medical abortions for women who had passed the 20th week of pregnancy"

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "Law on foetal rights 'will put many women at risk'", by Kirsty Needham, dated October 27, 2013, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/law-on-foetal-rights-will-put-many-women-at-risk-20131026-2w8i8.html?skin=text-only

Labels: abortion, N.S.W.

10. "In 2006-7, 25 per cent of Australians aged 18-34 had experienced the divorce or permanent separation of their parents before they were 18."

The quotation in that headline comes from the opinion piece "A family that prays together . . ." (ellipsis symbol in the original), by His Eminence The Most Rev. The Cardinal Archbishop of Sydney A.C., dated November 6, 2013, downloaded from the Sydney Catholic Weekly's website:

http://www.catholicweekly.com.au/article.php?classID=3&subclassID=7&articleID=12972&class=Copyright&subclass=Cardinal's Comment

(That opinion piece came to my attention via the version printed under the same headline, by the same author, as an installment in His Eminence's weekly "CARDINAL'S COMMENT" column, p. 6, The Catholic Weekly, November 10, 2013, Vol. 72, No. 4698, published by The Catholic Press Newspaper Company Pty. Ltd.)

Labels: divorce, families

11. The latest figures on divorce in Australia

See the media release "How long can we wait before tying the knot?", no author credited, dated November 27, 2013, downloaded from the A.B.S.'s website:

http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mediareleasesbyCatalogue/118F4A846EEB21F8CA2576200025DF55?Opendocument

(Those figures came to my attention via last Thursday's Sydney Daily Telegraph.)

Labels: divorce, marriage

12. "For the first time in the history of the world, a national sporting league will include a gay sporting trophy in its national trophy cupboard. Yes'm, the Australian Rugby Union has made the historic decision to include the Bingham Cup, the World Cup of gay rugby, in the same cupboard that has held other international trophies, including the World Cup of rugby. … The trophy itself will be handed over to the ARU by the Sydney Convicts, the holders of the Bingham Cup, on Wednesday, December 4," 2013.

The quotation—excluding the ellipsis symbol—in that headline comes from the article "Witty banter is OK, but threats just not cricket", by Mr. Peter FitzSimons A.M., dated November 30, 2013, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/sport/the-fitz-files/witty-banter-is-ok-but-threats-just-not-cricket-20131129-2ygs0.html?skin=text-only

(That article came to my attention via the version printed under the headline "Witty banter is OK, threats not so", by the same author (it was the latest installment of his "The Fitz Files" column), on p. 20 of the "Weekend Sport" supplement of The Sydney Morning Herald, Weekend Edition, November 30-December 1, 2013, No. 54958, ISSN 0312-6315.)

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

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Francis Xavier, Confessor, A.D. 2013

Notes: Tuesday, August 6-Tuesday, September 10, 2013 (part 2 of 2)

5. "CATHOLIC laws dating back to the church's inception no longer protect priests from civil and criminal law, a NSW inquiry has heard."

The quotation in that headline is the first paragraph of the very short (only three paragraphs) article "NO PRIEST SHIELD", no byline, p. 16, the Sydney Daily Telegraph, Thursday, August 1, 2013, Vol. 1, No. 2910, ISSN 1038-8745, published by Nationwide News Pty. Ltd. (The article seemed to have been a shortened version of the 9NEWS/AAP article "Church law no protection: inquiry", dated July 31, 2013, but "Church law no protection: inquiry" is no longer available, and nor is any version available at the Tele's website.)

The inquiry in question is the Special Commission of Inquiry into matters relating to the Police investigation of certain child sexual abuse allegations in the Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle, and the relevant portion of its transcripts is on pp. 64-127 here:

http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/lawlink/Special_Projects/ll_splprojects.nsf/vwFiles/Transcript_Day_20_-_TOR_2_-_31_July_2013.pdf/$file/Transcript_Day_20_-_TOR_2_-_31_July_2013.pdf

But the earliest chronological reference I can find there is to the Middle Ages.

Labels: benefit of clergy, Church law, Church and State, civil law, Divine law, law

6. Some recent information regarding childcare in Australia

See the articles "More than 1m Australian children now in childcare", by Rebecca Puddy, dated August 4, 2013, downloaded from (behind the paywall at) The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/education/more-than-1m-australian-children-now-in-childcare/story-fn59nlz9-1226690884914

and "Childcare splits parents, experts", by Justine Ferrari, dated August 3, 2013, downloaded from (behind the paywall at) The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/education/more-to-childcare-than-safety/story-fn59nlz9-1226690481586

and "Budgeting for a million childcare places", by Peter Martin and Elli Harvey, dated August 11, 2013, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/federal-election-2013/budgeting-for-a-million-childcare-places-20130810-2rp4t.html?skin=text-only

Labels: childcare, social trends

7. Dr. Zimmermann on divorce

See the article "Assessing the destructive impact of divorce", by Dr. Augusto Zimmermann, dated August 3, 2013, downloaded from News Weekly's website:

http://newsweekly.com.au/article.php?id=56299

Labels: divorce, marriage

8. Some recent information on social trends

See the article "We're older and working harder", by Rick Morton, dated August 9, 2013, downloaded from The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/were-older-and-working-harder/story-e6frg6nf-1226693852100

See also the Australian Government's Australian Institute of Health and Welfare's Australia's welfare 2013 (the report on which "We're older and working harder" was based):

http://www.aihw.gov.au/publication-detail/?id=60129543825

Labels: social trends

9. More from H.H. The Pope Emeritus (though at the time gloriously reigning) on a World State

See (a translation of) His Holiness's Address to Participants in the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Monday, December 3, 2012, downloaded from the Vatican's website:

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2012/december/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20121203_justpeace_en.html

See also the Catholic News Service (C.N.S.) article "Pope calls for world authority as 'moral force'", by Francis X. Rocca, dated December 3, 2013, downloaded from the C.N.S. website:

http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1205060.htm

(That Address came to my attention via this AQ post.)

Labels: Benedict XVI. Ratzinger, morals, politics

10. "In the evening[ of Friday, August 16, 2013], Her Excellency[ The Governor of New South Wales] delivered an Address and unveiled a commemorative plaque to mark the 125th Anniversary of The United Grand Lodge of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, at the Museum of Freemasonry, Sydney."

The quotation in that headline comes from the webpage "Friday, 16 August 2013" in the "Diary of Engagements" pages of the offical website of The Governor of New South Wales:

http://www.governor.nsw.gov.au/news/diary-of-engagements/friday-16-august-2013/

(That event came to my attention via the "VICE REGAL" notices section on p. 35 in the classifieds section in the "Weekend Business" supplement of The Sydney Morning Herald, Weekend Edition, August 17-18, 2013, No. 54868, ISSN 0312-6315.)

Labels: Freemasons, Marie Bashir

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Nicholas of Tolentino, Confessor, A.D. 2013

Notes: Wednesday, June 26-Monday, August 5, 2013 (part 2 of 2)

9. "Divorce can add 10 years to the working lives of Australians, as they battle to re-establish the wealth they had in married life, according to new research by Suncorp Superannuation."

The quotation in that headline is the first paragraph of the media release "The hidden super cost of divorce", no author credited, undated, downloaded from the Suncorp Group's website:

http://www.suncorpgroup.com.au/sites/default/files/pdf/news/Media%20Release_The%20Hidden%20Super%20Cost%20of%20Divorce_FINAL.pdf

(That media release came to my attention via the article "Divorce can cost 10 years of retirement", by Andrew Carswell, p. 24 in the "BUSINESS" pages of the Sydney Daily Telegraph, Tuesday, July 9, 2013, Vol. 1, No. 2894, ISSN 1038-8745, published by Nationwide News Pty. Ltd., available in a slightly shorter and differently-edited version under the headline "Nothing super about having to work to a ripe old age", by the same author, with the same date, downloaded from the Townsville Bulletin's website:

http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/article/2013/07/09/385156_news.html)

Labels: divorce, economics, marriage, work

10. "Across the same 10 years[ (beginning in 2002)] however, the percentage of women in professional roles increased while the proportion of women in ''home duties'' dropped from 17 per cent in 2002 to 11.7 per cent in 2012."

The quotation, excluding my square-bracketed interpolation, in that headline comes from the opinion piece "Unearned advantage allows men to dominate", by Mr. Ross Honeywill, dated July 16, 2013, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/comment/unearned-advantage-allows-men-to-dominate-20130715-2q021.html?skin=text-only

Labels: economics, families, marriage

11. "There is no glossing over the ugly facts: single parent families have hard and unstable lives. In the mid-80s, a child's chances of being caught in such disadvantageous circumstances was one in 10; today it is one in five."

The quotation in that headline comes from the opinion piece "The sins of our fathers may be less than our own on Struggle Street", by Mr. Nick Cater, dated July 16, 2013, downloaded from (behind the paywall at) The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/columnists/the-sins-of-our-fathers-may-be-less-than-our-own-on-struggle-street/story-fnhulhjj-1226679821579

Labels: families, marriage

12. Some figures regarding H.I.V. in Australia

See Australia's official Country Progress Report submitted, in April 2012, to the UNAIDS Secretariat for the monitoring of progress towards the targets set in the 2011 Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS, downloaded from the official UNAIDS (the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS) website:

http://www.unaids.org/en/dataanalysis/knowyourresponse/countryprogressreports/2012countries/ce_AU_Narrative_Report%5B1%5D.pdf

(That report came to my attention via the second comment at this blog post by Mr. Gaynor.)

Labels: G.L.B.T., H.I.V./A.I.D.S.

13. "international recidivism rates with treatment[ programmes for sex offenders] were 13.5 per cent - 27.2 per cent without", but "research has indicated predators convicted of assaulting one victim usually had between six and nine other victims nobody knew about"

The quotations, excluding my square-bracketed interpolation, in that headline come from the feature article "Granting the freedom to rape or kill again", by Mr. Rick Morton, dated July 20, 2013, downloaded from (behind the paywall at) The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/features/granting-the-freedom-to-rape-or-kill-again/story-e6frg6z6-1226682218109

(That article came to my attention via the version printed under the same headline, by the same author, on p. 20 in the "INQUIRER" section of The Weekend Australian, July 20-21, 2013, Second Edition, No. 15171, ISSN 1038-8761, published by Nationwide News Pty. Limited.)

Labels: crime

14. Fr. Donovan, among others, on the Novus Ordo Missæ

In the combox at this post at her Australia Incognita blog, the blogmistress, Miss Kate Edwards, and I were having a discussion about the legitimacy of the Novus Ordo Missæ, in the course of which I said that the New Order Mass replaces the Traditional Latin Mass's "structure of a true propitiatory sacrifice with that of Jewish table blessings". Some readers might have been surprised, even shocked, to read that, and though the S.S.P.X.'s The Problem of the Liturgical Reform—to which I linked in the same comment—deals with this, those readers might be unwilling to take a Traditionalist document as a reliable source. But by a fortunate coincidence (though one which, unfortunately, I didn't notice until I had bowed out of the discussion), The Rev. Fr. Daniel Donovan writes, in an article at Catholica, that, in the context of the N.O.M. (and in particular its Third Eucharistic Prayer),

The Liturgy of the Eucharist is part of the whole ecclesial action in which Jesus' actions, take, bless, break and give include the table actions of the father and mother in the Jewish meal. At Eucharist, Jesus combines the actions of the father and mother providing a unified structure for the liturgy from the Offertory to Communion.
[bold, italic, and red type in the original,
"Eucharistic Prayer III: Anaphora of God's People", Part 2, by The Rev. Fr. Daniel Donovan, undated (but submitted to Catholica on November 20, 2012, and I read it on, if I recall correctly, Wednesday, July 17, 2013 ), published by Mr. Brian Coyne at his Catholica website:
http://www.catholica.com.au/gc2/dd2/068_dd_170713.php]

Catholica is, of course, a Vatican II Progressive source, but if readers would prefer a Vatican II Conservative source then they can see the Zenit article "The Priest in the Offertory of the Mass", a translation, dated February 19, 2010, of a reflection by The Rev. Prof. Juan José Silvestre Valór, an Opus Dei priest, professor of liturgy at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, and consultor to the Office of the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff. And to bookend those two Vatican II sources between Traditionalist sources, see the Maurice Pinay blog post "Opus Judei Glosses on the Talmudic Novus Ordo "Offertory"", dated Sunday, February 21, 2010 (which (blog post) brought that Zenit article to my attention; the Catholica article came to my attention on my weekly visit to the Catholica website).

Labels: N.O.M.

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of The Dedication of Our Lady of the Snows', A.D. 2013

Notes: Wednesday, March 27-Tuesday, April 23, 2013 (part 2 of 2)

8. Some points of interest from "A Profile of the Catholic Community in Australia", March 2013, A.C.B.C. Pastoral Research Office, Australian Catholic University, Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia:

In the following bullet points, the smaller-type parts are quotations from that profile:

• In 2011, the total number of people at Mass in Australia on a typical weekend was about 680,000, only about 12.5 per cent, or one-eighth, of the total number of Catholics. Most of those who attend, about 85 per cent, are there every weekend, but the individuals who make up the other 15 per cent vary from week to week.
  p. 2

• Labels: The 2011 Census tells us that 272,542 Catholic children of primary school age attended Catholic schools, and 210,514 Catholic students of secondary school age attended Catholic schools. That means that 52.8 per cent of Catholic students attend Catholic schools – it’s the same percentage for primary and secondary students. But it also means that almost half of all Catholic students do not attend Catholic schools. Most of these go to Government schools, although six per cent of Catholic primary students and ten per cent of Catholic secondary students attend other non-Government schools.
  p. 3

• The Census also tells us that Catholic students account for 72.5 per cent of Catholic school enrolments.
  
  Another 14.9 per cent are from other Christian traditions, 2.6 per cent belong to a non-Christian religion and 7.8 per cent have no religion.
  p. 3

(The profile came to my attention via the blog post "Going to Mass this Sunday? If so, you are one of less than 12.5% Oz Catholics to do so... ", by Miss Kate Edwards, dated Sunday, April 7, 2013, posted at her Australia Incognita blog:

http://australiaincognita.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/going-to-mass-this-sunday-you-are-one.html)

Regarding the second point: See also the A.C.B.C. Pastoral Research Office's "E-NEWS BULLETIN", Issue No. 3, August 17, 2012, on "Students attending Catholic schools":

http://www.pro.catholic.org.au/pdf/ACBC%20PRO%20E-%20News%20Bulletin%203.pdf

Labels: Catholic schools, demography, social trends

9. "What happens to marriage and families when the law recognises “Same-Sex Marriage”?"

The quotation in that headline is the title of a submission, from the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, London, U.K., dated March 1, 2013, to the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill Committee of the British House of Commons. The submission is available here:

http://www.spuc.org.uk/campaigns/ssmsub20130301

(That submission came to my attention via the comment of 2.4.13 / 10am by Mr. Gerard Calilhanna in the comments section of Mr. Muehleberg's CultureWatch blog post "Conservatives and Homosexual Marriage", dated March 30, 2013.)

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

10. Fr. Zuhlsdorf responds to the question of "How should a bishop carry the crosier?"

See the blog post "QUAERITUR: How should a bishop carry the crosier?", by The Rev. Fr. John Zuhlsdorf, dated April 10, 2013, downloaded from Fr. Z's Blog (olim: What Does The Prayer Really Say?):

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2013/04/quaeritur-how-should-a-bishop-carry-the-crosier/

Labels: Hierarchy

11. "Data from the ABS 2006-07 Family Characteristics Survey reveal that around one in four (23%) young adults aged 18-34 years reported experiencing the divorce or permanent separation of their parents before they were 18 years old. In contrast, the same survey revealed that less than one in ten (8%) young adults who were aged 18-34 years in 1976 had experienced parental divorce or permanent separation before they were 18 years old."

The quotation in that headline comes from the "Young adults: Then and now" webpage of "4102.0 - Australian Social Trends, April 2013", downloaded from the website of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (A.B.S.):

http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4102.0Main+Features40April+2013

The relevant section of that webpage refers to the A.B.S.'s "Parental divorce or death in childhood" webpage of "4102.0 - Australian Social Trends, Sep 2010", which is available here:

http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4102.0Main+Features40Sep+2010

Labels: divorce, families, marriage

12. Some points of interest in connection with Rio+20—The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development

Rio+20 came to my attention via the article "$900,000 spent on failed Brazil talkfest", by Mr. Steve Lewis, under a page headline of "158 DAYS TO GO", p. 08, the Sydney Daily Telegraph, Tuesday, April 9, 2013, Vol. 1, No. 2818, ISSN 1038-8745, published by Nationwide News Pty. Ltd., a version of which article is available online under the headline "Julia Gillard's delegation to Brazil for climate change summit cost taxpayers $900,000", by the same author, on the same date, at The Daily Telegraph's website:

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/julia-gillards-delegation-to-brazil-for-climate-change-summit-cost-taxpayers-900000/story-fnho52jp-1226615165919

Here are some points of interest to me (the parts in small type are quotations):

• Rio+20 reaffirmed the world’s commitment to women’s equal rights, including in economic and political decision making, and committed to removing barriers to the equal participation of women in sustainable development. Rio+20 agreed to promote equal access by women and girls to education, health care services, and economic opportunities and to ensure universal access to safe, effective, affordable and acceptable modern methods of family planning.
  [p. 6, Rio+20 Outcomes for Australia, Australian Government, downloaded from the website of the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population, and Communities:
  http://www.environment.gov.au/about/international/rio-plus20/pubs/rio-outcomes-australia.pdf]

• … The National Women's Health Policy aims to improve the health and wellbeing of all women in Australia and the National Family Planning Program aims to coordinate national family planning efforts, which allow individuals and couples to anticipate and attain their desired number of children through the use of contraceptive methods and the prevention and treatment of involuntary infertility.
  [p. 8, ibid.]

• 145. We call for the full and effective implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action and the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development, and the outcomes of their review conferences, including the commitments leading to sexual and reproductive health and the promotion and protection of all human rights in this context. We emphasize the need for the provision of universal access to reproductive health, including family planning and sexual health, and the integration of reproductive health into national strategies and programmes.
  
  146. We commit to reduce maternal and child mortality and to improve the health of women, youth and children. We reaffirm our commitment to gender equality and to protect the rights of women, men and youth to have control over and decide freely and responsibly on matters related to their sexuality, including access to sexual and reproductive health, free from coercion, discrimination and violence. We will work actively to ensure that health systems provide the necessary information and health services addressing the sexual and reproductive health of women, including by working towards universal access to safe, effective, affordable and acceptable modern methods of family planning, as this is essential for women’s health and advancing gender equality.
  [p. 28, The future we want (annexed to the United Nations General Assembly resolution "66/288. The future we want", 123rd plenary meeting, July 27, 2012, downloaded from the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development website:
  http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N11/476/10/PDF/N1147610.pdf?OpenElement]

• 241. We are committed to promote the equal access of women and girls to education, basic services, economic opportunities and health-care services, including addressing women’s sexual and reproductive health, and ensuring universal access to safe, effective, affordable and acceptable modern methods of family planning. In this regard, we reaffirm our commitment to implement the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development and the key actions for the further implementation of the Programme of Action.
  [p. 46, ibid.]

• … nearly half of Australia´s aid expenditure in 2009-10 was in support of activities promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women.
  [from the "Address to the High Level Summit of the Women Leaders' Forum on Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment in Sustainable Development, Rio de Janeiro" by The Hon. Julia Gillard M.P., dated Thursday, June 21, 2013, downloaded from the "Press Office" section of the Prime Minister's website:
  http://www.pm.gov.au/press-office/address-high-level-summit-women-leaders-forum-gender-eqaulity-and-womens-empowerment-su
  According to the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID),
  Nearly half of the overall aid program is invested in activities that have either a primary or secondary objective of promoting gender equality and empowering women. …
  [p. 17, Promoting opportunities for all: Gender equality and women’s empowerment[; ]Thematic Strategy November 2011, published by AusAID, Canberra, A.C.T., Australia, December 2011, © Commonwealth of Australia 2011, downloaded from AusAID's website:
  http://www.ausaid.gov.au/aidissues/Documents/thematic-strategies/gender-equality-strategy.pdf]]

• Today[, Friday, June 22, 2012,] the plenary adopted the Rio+20 outcomes document - with Australia’s priorities well reflected. …
  [p. 1, Australia at Rio+20, downloaded from the website of the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population, and Communities:
  http://www.environment.gov.au/about/international/rio-plus20/pubs/rio-daily-updates.pdf]

For more on Australian Government foreign-affairs activity regarding Feminism, abortion, and contraception, see item 1 of this Notes post and item 7 of this Notes post.

Labels: abortion, contraception, feminism, U.N.O.

13. According to New Zealand's "Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Act 2013", "marriage means the union of 2 people, regardless of their sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity".

The second quotation, including the bold type, in that headline comes from p. 2 of the PDF document which you can download from this webpage at the New Zealand Legislation website:

http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2013/0020/latest/DLM4505003.html

Labels: G.L.B.T., marriage, New Zealand

14. "As well as the changes to succession, the bill would limit those who needed the monarch's consent to marry to only the first six in line to the throne."

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "Queensland warned for dragging heels on royal succession changes", by Judith Ireland, dated April 18, 2013, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/queensland-warned-for-dragging-heels-on-royal-succession-changes-20130417-2i0lb.html?skin=text-only

Labels: monarchy

Reginaldvs Cantvar
St. George's Day, A.D. 2013

Notes: Tuesday, May 22-Monday, June 25, 2012 (part 1 of 2)

1. "Twenty-two US states after the Second World War supported past motions that supported world Government."

The quotation in that headline comes from Dr. (at the time, Senator) Bob Brown as recorded in the transcript for the Monday, April 23, 2012 episode of ABC TV's Q&A programme, which (transcript) is available here:

http://www.abc.net.au/tv/qanda/txt/s3478779.htm

It came to my attention via the opinion piece "Brown displays special version of free speech", by Andrew Bolt, p. 13, the Sydney Daily Telegraph, Thursday, April 26, 2012, Vol. 1, No. 2525, available on-line here:

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/brown-displays-special-version-of-free-speech/story-e6frezz0-1226338208014

Labels: U.S.A.

2. The text of the questions to, and answers from, Msgr. Coleridge at a press conference on April 4, 2012:

http://www.catholicleader.com.au/news.php/features/leading-a-missionary-church_79228

Labels: Mark Coleridge

3. More from Prof. Feser in relation to A Universe from Nothing:

http://edwardfeser.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/steng-operation.html

http://www.firstthings.com/article/2012/05/not-understanding-nothing

(The last of those came to my attention via this blog post by Prof. Feser.)

Labels: atheism, God's Existence, philosophy, theology

4. "I[ , Dr. Robert Brown,] have little use for the theology (and its method) that dominated the Church from 1500 to 1950"

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2012/05/hans-kung-wont-celebrate-50th-of-vatican-ii-prefers-funeral-service/#comment-341431

Labels: Robert Brown

5. How heterosexual degeneration is a precondition for the implementation of the Gay agenda

5.1 A "child, born in April, 2010, now has [a Gay couple] as parents, with the birth mother agreeing to no longer be recognised on the birth certificate"

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/sydney-news/two-dads-and-a-surrogate-create-legal-landmark/story-e6freuzi-1226377828528

(That came to my attention via the version of it which was published as "Two dads and a surrogate create legal landmark", by Amy Dale, p. 04, the Sydney Daily Telegraph, Friday, June 1, 2012, Vol. 1, No. 2555.)

Presumably, birth certificates for I.V.F.-conceived and surrogate-carried babies record, and have recorded for some time, as parents the opposite-sex couple which commissioned the surrogacy and the I.V.F. conception rather than recording the surrogate mother and the respective sperm and ovum donors as parents, so there would have been, from a legal positivist perspective, no great logical, legal, or practical difficulty in doing likewise for a same-sex couple.

Labels: birth certificates, G.L.B.T., law

5.2 The legalisation of divorce as a precondition for so-called Gay marriage:

[John ]Pilger's same-sex marriage blind spot is not uncommon among left-wingers his age. Many older lefties retain an outdated view of marriage as an instrument of male domination over women, the middle class's domination over workers, and God's domination over us all.

They refuse to see that the institution has been reformed, at least in the West, so that women, workers and non-believers now have much more autonomy to decide how, when and if they wed, how they conduct their marriage (including whether or not they have kids), and if and when their marriage will end.

They refuse to acknowledge that it is precisely this change which has made same-sex marriage an issue: now that marriage is a choice for the majority, it makes sense to ask why it isn't a choice for the minority.
[http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/4023802.html]

(That article came to my attention via this Australian article.)

See also the letter by one John Challis here.

Labels: divorce, G.L.B.T., marriage

5.3 "Only when husbands and wives have legal equality and are approaching economic parity does it make sense for there to be a household made up of two husbands or two wives."

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/opinion/defenders-of-marriage-risk-jumping-at-shadows/story-e6frgd0x-1226368648235

Labels: economics, G.L.B.T., law, marriage

5.4 Prof. Bouma on the recent history of marriage

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/churchs-fight-to-control-marriage-20120618-20k81.html?skin=text-only

Labels: divorce, G.L.B.T., history, law, marriage

6. Ms Bryce summarises the victories of Feminism:

AS the first female Governor-General and former federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner, you've been a trailblazer for women. What do you regard as the biggest steps forward for women during your lifetime?

The most important steps have been in education - girls completing secondary education and going on to tertiary education and training in every field. Family planning advice, maternity leave, the Sex Discrimination Act and childcare have been the others.
[http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/features/quentin-bryce-governor-general-69/story-e6frg8h6-1226362579263]

(That came to my attention via the version of it which was published as "10 Questions", Greg Callaghan interviewing "Quentin Bryce, Governor-General, 69", in the "Foreword" ("People & Observations") section, p. 8, The Weekend Australian Magazine, May 26-27, 2012, The Weekend Australian, May 26-27, 2012, Second Edition, No. 14819, ISSN 1038-8761.)

Labels: feminism

7. "the federal Attorney-General, Nicola Roxon, is holding an inquiry into consolidating the Commonwealth's four separate anti-discrimination laws. Her Department's position paper says that there will be exemptions for churches, schools and other oganisations. Yet, numerous GLBTI and radical human rights groups have told the Attorney General's inquiry that there must be no such exemptions."

http://www.ad2000.com.au/articles/2012/jun2012p3_3790.html

Labels: discrimination

8. Dr. Wiker on 'Gay marriage' in ancient Rome

http://www.catholicworldreport.com/Item/1367/gay_marriagenothing_new_under_the_sun.aspx

(That came to my attention via this AQ post.)

Labels: G.L.B.T., history, marriage, Roman Empire

9. Some recent releases from the Australian Bureau of Statistics

9.1 Some figures regarding childcare

http://www.smh.com.au/national/grandparents-bear-greater-share-of-childcare-duties-20120516-1yr9w.html

Labels: childcare

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. William, Abbot, A.D. 2012