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, 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: Friday, June 21-Tuesday, June 25, 2013

1. On Garter Day (the Monday in Royal Ascot week) 2013 (in 2013, Garter Day was the seventeenth of June), H.M. The Queen held a Chapter of the Order of the Garter in Windsor Castle's Throne Room, during which Her Majesty invested Lord Stirrup with the Insignia of a Knight Companion of that Order. In the afternoon of that day, in St. George's Chapel, The Queen installed His Lordship in the same Order.

See the Court Circular of that day.

Labels: Graham Stirrup, Order of the Garter

2. In "a recent petition by the Polyamory[ sic] Action Lobby[,] … the group said: "We demand nothing less than the full recognition of polyamorous families"."

That quotation, excluding my ellipsis symbol and square-bracketed interpolations, comes from the article "Bernardi: I was right on gay marriage and polygamy", by Jonathan Swan, dated June 18, 2013, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/bernardi-i-was-right-on-gay-marriage-and-polygamy-20130618-2offe.html?skin=text-only

See also the Poly Action Lobby's (sic—the group's name seems to be, as of March 1, 2013, "Poly Action Lobby", not "Polyamory Action Lobby") submission (No. 1224) in relation to the Parliamentary "Inquiry into Same sex marriage law in NSW", which (submission) "was received on 1/3/2013 by the Social Issues Committee":

http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/committee.nsf/0/7773A58712584B87CA257B2B0004EE96

Labels: polyamory

3. "there are still almost 80 countries around the world which criminalise same-sex relations"

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "Does Australia deserve a place at the world's top human rights table?", by Mr. Phil Lynch, dated June 20, 2013, downloaded from The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/world-commentary/does-australia-deserve-a-place-at-the-worlds-top-human-rights-table/story-e6frg6ux-1226667020964

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

4. Prof. Williams on anti-death-penalty legislative victories in Australia

See the opinion piece "Chances of return to death penalty remain almost nil", by Prof. George Williams, dated June 18, 2013, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/comment/chances-of-return-to-death-penalty-remain-almost-nil-20130617-2oeie.html?skin=text-only

Labels: death penalty, law

5. "About 60 per cent of those in custody in Australia have been imprisoned before."

The quotation, including its hyperlink, in that headline comes from the webpage "Recidivism" at the website of the Australian Government's Australian Institute of Criminology:

http://www.aic.gov.au/crime_community/communitycrime/recidivism.html

(That figure came to my attention via the opinion piece "Why we shouldn't call Adrian Bayley a Monster", by Alecia Simmonds, dated June 19, 2013, downloaded from Fairfax's Daily Life website:

http://www.dailylife.com.au/news-and-views/dl-opinion/why-we-shouldnt-call-adrian-bayley-a-monster-20130618-2og5v.html?skin=text-only

Labels: crime

6. Ms Maley on Coalition-Labor co-operation to end legislative discrimination against sodomite-catamite couples and to prevent capital punishment in Australia:

[The Hon. Robert ]McClelland[ M.P.], for instance, gave a shout-out to his opposition shadow[ Federal Attorney-General] Senator[ The Hon.] George Brandis[ Q.C.], who came across to the House of Representatives to watch McClelland's valedictory. He thanked Brandis for his ''vital'' co-operation in amending some 80 pieces of legislation to remove discrimination for same-sex couples, and in legislating to prohibit capital punishment from ever being reintroduced in Australia.

These legislative results were achieved ''in substantial part as a result of [Brandis'] support and decency'', McClelland said …
[my ellipsis symbol and square-bracketed interpolations, except for "[Brandis']",
"Now they tell us …[ sic] pollies hide virtues till the end", by Ms Jacqueline Maley, dated June 22, 2013, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/now-they-tell-us-8230-pollies-hide-virtues-till-the-end-20130621-2onu5.html?skin=text-only]

(That opinion piece came to my attention via the version printed under the same headline, with the same byline, on p. 11 of the "News Review" supplement of The Sydney Morning Herald, Weekend Edition, June 22-23, 2013, No. 54820, ISSN 0312-6315.)

Labels: A.L., death penalty, discrimination, G.L.B.T., L.P.A., law, Nationals

7. "A new study published in the journal Psychological Science found some crucial, fascinating insights into how extremists can shift their positions to more moderate stances. The researchers, from the University of Colorado Boulder, Harvard Kennedy School, UCLA and Brown University, found that people's positions became less severe once they were asked to actually spell out their policies, and once they realised they did not know as much as they thought they did on the subject."

The quotation in that headline comes from the opinion piece "The silence of the moderates", by Dr. Julia Baird, dated June 22, 2013, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/the-silence-of-the-moderates-20130621-2onnp.html?skin=text-only

(That opinion piece came to my attention via the version printed under the same headline, with the same byline, on p. 12 of the "News Review" supplement of The Sydney Morning Herald, Weekend Edition, June 22-23, 2013, No. 54820, ISSN 0312-6315.)

Presumably Dr. Baird was referring to the article "Political Extremism Is Supported by an Illusion of Understanding", by Assistant Professor Philip M. Fernbach et al., the abstract of which is available here:

http://pss.sagepub.com/content/24/6/939.abstract

Labels: extremism

8. "The ACTU has provided evidence that one in three women leave the workforce permanently while pregnant or after having a child."

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "Gillard launches gender inquiry", by Mr. Michael Gordon, dated June 22, 2013, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/gillard-launches-gender-inquiry-20130621-2oo81.html?skin=text-only

(That article came to my attention via the version printed on p. 1 of the "NEWS" section of The Sydney Morning Herald, Weekend Edition, June 22-23, 2013, No. 54820, ISSN 0312-6315.)

See also the article "HRC to look at leave discrimination", no byline (though its source is the A.A.P.), downloaded from the Sydney Daily Telegraph's website, which (article) says that the A.C.T.U.'s president, Ms Ged Kearney,

said Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed almost one third of working women with a child under two left the workforce permanently while pregnant or after having a child.
[http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/breaking-news/hrc-to-look-at-leave-discrimination/story-fni0xqi3-1226667945055]

(For more on the inquiry in question, see the media release "Inquiry into parental leave discrimination: Fairer workplace practices to benefit families and the economy", issued jointly by The Hon. Mark Dreyfus Q.C. M.P., The Hon. Jenny Macklin M.P., and The Hon. Bill Shorten M.P. (respectively the Federal Attorney-General, the Federal Minister for Families, Community Services, and Indigenous Affairs, and for Disability Reform, and the Federal Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations), dated June 22, 2013, downloaded from the Federal Attorney-General's website:

http://www.attorneygeneral.gov.au/Mediareleases/Pages/2013/Second%20quarter/22-June-2013---Inquiry-into-parental-leave-discrimination-Fairer-workplace-practices-to-benefit-familes-and-the-economy.aspx

See also the webpages "Pregnancy and return to work research begins" and "Prevalence of experiences of discrimination relating to pregnancy at work and return to work after parental leave" at the Australian Human Rights Commission's website.)

Labels: discrimination, families, P.P.L., pregnancy

9. "BOYS as young as five will be encouraged to envisage becoming nurses and girls soldiers under a French primary school program designed to break down age-old stereotypes", which (programme)", called the ABCD of Equality, will be introduced into 500 primary schools from September before being made part of the national curriculum a year later."

The quotations, including the bold and capitals, in that headline come from the article "French gender-bender blue", no byline (its source is The Times of London), dated June 22, 2013, downloaded from (behind the paywall at) The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/french-gender-bender-blue/story-fnb64oi6-1226667762224

(That article came to my attention via the version printed under the same headline on p. 10 in the "WORLD" section of The Weekend Australian, June 22-23, 2013, First Edition, No. 15147, ISSN 1038-8761, published by Nationwide News Pty. Limited.)

Labels: feminism

10. "100,000[ Australians] ceased calling themselves Catholic between 2006–2011"

The quotation in that headline comes from the installment of His Eminence The Most Rev. The Cardinal Archbishop of Sydney A.C.'s "Cardinal's Comment" column titled "Numbers up, percentage down", dated June 16, 2013 (sic—presumably that was the date of its printing in the Sydney Sunday Telegraph), downloaded from the Sydney Catholic Weekly's website:

http://www.catholicweekly.com.au/article.php?classID=3&subclassID=7&articleID=12307&class=Features&subclass=Cardinal's Comment

(That article came to my attention via the version printed on p. 8 under the same headline in the same "CARDINAL'S COMMENT" column in The Catholic Weekly, June 23, 2013, Vo. 72, No. 4678, published by The Catholic Press Newspaper Company.)

Labels: demography, social trends

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. William, Abbot, A.D. 2013

Notes: Tuesday, October 9-Monday, December 31, 2012 (part 1 of 2)

1. A couple of recent items regarding the death penalty

1.1 "The secular power can, without mortal sin, exercise judgment of blood, provided that it punishes with justice, not out of hatred, with prudence, not precipitation."

The quotation in that headline is an alternative translation to the one found in Denzinger (see the Systematic Index). My proximate source for it is this B.B.C. web-page (which came to my attention via the September 22, 2012 9:54 PM comment by Papalinton in the combox at this blog post by Prof. Feser):

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/christianethics/capitalpunishment_1.shtml

and its ultimate source, at least on-line, seems to be Cardinal Dulles's April 2001 First Things article "Catholicism & Capital Punishment":

http://www.firstthings.com/article/2008/08/catholicism-amp-capital-punishment-21

Labels: death penalty

1.2 "The Mosaic Law specifies 36 offences which carry the death penalty with provision for execution by a variety of means: stoning, burning, decapitation and strangulation."

The quotation in that headline comes from the paper "Reflections on the death penalty on the tenth anniversary of the Bali Bombings", by The Rev. Fr. Frank Brennan S.J. A.O.:

http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/preview.aspx?aeid=33646

Interestingly, Fr. Brennan goes on to mention something which Catholic opponents of the death penalty tend to fail to take into account:

Jesus accepted that the State may impose capital punishment; he himself was subject to such penalty, without his questioning the right of the State to impose such punishment.

(That paper came to my attention via this Catholica thread-starter.)

Labels: death penalty

2. Victoria's abortion laws "are classed as the second worst in the world after China's one baby per family policy."

The quotation in that headline comes from the letter printed under the heading "Abortion", by Robert Bom, on p. 8 (the "Editorial and Letters" page) of the Sydney Catholic Weekly, October 7, 2012, Vol. 71, No. 4642, published by The Catholic Press Newspaper Company Pty. Ltd., available on-line here:

http://www.catholicweekly.com.au/article.php?classID=2&subclassID=5&articleID=10908&class=Comment&subclass=Letters

Labels: abortion, Victoria

3. Fr. Flader on, among other things, Paul VI.'s Apostolic Exhortation Petrum et Paulum Apostolos of February 22, 1967:

http://www.catholicweekly.com.au/article.php?classID=3&subclassID=59&articleID=10892&class=Features&subclass=Question Time

(That article came to my attention via its printing on p. 10, same column, same headline, same author, the Sydney Catholic Weekly, October 7, 2012, Vol. 71, No. 4642, published by The Catholic Press Newspaper Company Pty. Ltd.)

Labels: Paul VI. Montini

4. "The results of the research of recent years, and of the conference, "will be a preliminary inventory of the Council Fathers' archives. This will be fed into an online database which may be consulted free of charge on the website of the Pontifical Council"."

http://www.news.va/en/news/studying-vatican-council-ii-from-the-archives

Labels: Vatican II

5. "THE Bodleian Library has put more than 300,000 rare books online"

Find them here:

http://solo.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/primo_library/libweb/action/search.do?dscnt=0&fromLogin=true&dstmp=1349937982316&vid=OXVU1&fromLogin=true&fromLogin=true

(The quotation in that headline comes from the article "Precious Bodleian manuscripts now just a click away", by Nicola Woolcock, dated October 10, 2012, downloaded from (behind the paywall at) The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/precious-bodleian-manuscripts-now-just-a-click-away/story-fnb64oi6-1226492687379)

Labels: books

6. Ms Devine on the Proud Schools programme

See

• the article "HETEROSEXIST HIGH[: ]Schoolkids told straight isn't 'norm'", by Miranda Devine, on the front page of the Sydney Daily Telegraph, Wednesday, October 17, 2012, Vol. 1, No. 2671, ISSN 1038-8745, published by Nationwide News Pty. Ltd., apparently not available on-line

• the article "Being straight no longer normal, students taught", by Miranda Devine, p. 02, ibid., the updated on-line version of which has a new first paragraph (the old one was "STUDENTS at 12 NSW high schools are being taught it is wrong and "heterosexist" to regard heterosexuality as the norm for human relationships.") but the rest of which is, judging by a cursory inspection, the same as the old version and which is available here:
  
  http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/sydney-news/being-straight-no-longer-normal-students-taught/story-e6freuzi-1226497360980

• the opinion piece "The thought police telling kids heterosexuality's not the norm", by Miranda Devine, p. 13, ibid., available on-line here:
  
  http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/the-thought-police-telling-kids-heterosexualitys-not-the-norm/story-e6frezz0-1226497311742
  
  or at Ms Devine's blog here:
  
  http://blogs.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/mirandadevine/index.php/dailytelegraph/comments/the_thought_police_telling_kids_heterosexualitys_not_the_norm/

Related material:

• the editorial "Is this tolerance or propaganda?", Editor: Paul Whittaker, p. 24, ibid., available on-line here:
  
  http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/is-this-tolerance-or-propaganda/story-e6frezz0-1226497251221

• the Warren (Brown) cartoon, p. 25, ibid.

• the article "Piccoli won't ditch Proud Schools trial", by Alicia Wood, p. 02, the Sydney Daily Telegraph, Thursday, October 18, 2012, Vol. 1, No. 2672, ISSN 1038-8745, published by Nationwide News Pty. Ltd., available on-line here:
  
  http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/sydney-news/adrian-piccoli-wont-ditch-proud-schools-trial/story-e6freuzi-1226498118748

• the letters "Foster tolerance not differences", "A valuable program to prevent school thugs", "Time for a reminder to departmental heads", and "We need a broader approach to bullies", p. 56, ibid., and two S.M.S.s in the "TXTTHEEDITOR" column, p. 57, ibid.; neither the letters nor the S.M.S.s are available on-line

• the letters "Proud Schools goes a step too far for some", "A sense of pride in controversial program", and one in the "SHORTANDSHARP" section with no heading of its own, pp. 104-5, the Sydney Daily Telegraph, Friday, October 19, 2012, Vol. 1, No. 2673, ISSN 1038-8745, published by Nationwide News Pty. Ltd., not available on-line

• the opinion piece "Left uses schools as recruiting grounds for its gender war", by Kevin Donnelly, p. 16 of the "INQUIRER" section of The Weekend Australian, October 20-21, 2012, First Edition, No. 14943, ISSN 1038-8761, published by Nationwide News Pty. Limited, available on-line, but behind a paywall, here:
  
  http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/opinion/left-uses-schools-as-recruiting-grounds-for-its-gender-war/story-e6frgd0x-1226499523400

• the article "Pilot schools program 'denigrates marriage'", no by-line, p. 5, the Sydney Catholic Weekly, October 28, 2012, Vol. 71, No. 4645, published by The Catholic Press Newspaper Company Pty. Ltd., available on-line here:
  
  http://www.catholicweekly.com.au/article.php?classID=1&subclassID=2&articleID=11065&class=Latest News&subclass=CW National

• the letter "'Brainwashed'", by Henk Verhoeven, p. 8 ("Editorial and Letters" page), ibid., available on-line here:
  
  http://www.catholicweekly.com.au/article.php?classID=2&subclassID=5&articleID=11072&class=Comment&subclass=Letters
  

• the blog post "And Even More of the Tolerance Brigade", by Bill Muehlenberg, dated October 17, 2012, available here:
  
  http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2012/10/17/and-even-more-of-the-tolerance-brigade/

The following links lead to web-pages which I found using Google:

http://www.mercatornet.com/family_edge/view/11380

http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/children-to-be-taught-39heterosexuality-not-the-norm39-in-australian-school/

http://catefaehrmann.org/2012/10/devines-fear-mongering-out-of-touch-greens/

http://gaynewsnetwork.com.au/news/national/9200-proud-schools-trial-here-to-stay.html

http://www.samesame.com.au/news/local/9044/Fear-mongering-over-not-so-straight-school-program.htm

Labels: education, G.L.B.T., Proud Schools

7. "On the Security Council we'll be working for the rights of women and girls - to education, training and jobs, and to maternal and reproductive healthcare. Its what we're already doing in Myanmar, Indonesia and elsewhere in the Asia Pacific."

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "Our rightful place at the table of world powers", by Sen. The Hon. Bob Carr, dated October 22, 2012, downloaded from the Sydney Daily Telegraph's website:

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/our-rightful-place-at-the-table-of-world-powers/story-e6frezz0-1226500165396

(That article came to my attention via its printing with the same headline and author on p. 13 of the Sydney Daily Telegraph of Monday, October 22, 2012, Vol. 1, No. 2675, ISSN 1038-8745, published by Nationwide News Pty. Ltd.)

Labels: abortion, contraception, feminism

8. Some recent items regarding the G.L.B.T. proportion of the population

8.1 "Massive study finds only 3.4% of American adults identify as LGBT"

The quotation in that headline is the headline of an article by Andrew Malcolm, dated October 18, 2012, published at INVESTORS.com:

http://news.investors.com/politics-andrew-malcolm/101812-629809-tiny-fraction-of-americans-publicly-identify-as-lesbian-gay-bisexual-or-transgender-lgbt.htm#ixzz29lG9hrAI

(That article came to my attention via the blog post "Study shows self-identifying homosexuals are actually a very small percent of US population", by The Rev. Fr. John Zuhlsdorf, downloaded from his blog:

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2012/10/study-shows-self-identifying-homosexuals-are-actually-a-very-small-percent-of-population/)

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

8.2 "One in 66 Britons is gay or bisexual - NOT one in ten, as previously thought"

The quotation in that headline is the headline of an article by Steve Doughty, dated September 29, 2012, downloaded from the British Daily Mail's website:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2210310/One-66-Britons-gay-bisexual--NOT-previously-thought.html#ixzz283ZfWAIw

and brought to my attention by this True Catholic post:

http://members7.boardhost.com/TrueCatholic/msg/1350435583.html

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

9. Some recent items regarding economics and families

9.1 "ABOUT 87,000 families a year will receive a baby bonus worth $3000 instead of $5000 for their second or subsequent children, prompting warnings from welfare groups that the poor would suffer and criticism from the Coalition that it was an attack on larger families. "

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "'Mean, nasty' cut an attack on poor and bigger families", by Patricia Karvelas, dated October 23, 2012, downloaded from The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/treasury/mean-nasty-cut-an-attack-on-poor-and-bigger-families/story-fn59nsif-1226501034300

Labels: economics, families

9.2 Mrs. Shanahan on the Federal Government's agenda to "[f]orce more women into the workforce by skewing all family benefits to working women who put their children in institutional childcare"

See the opinion piece "Baby bonus cut a slap at stay-at-home mums", by Angela Shanahan, dated October 27, 2012, downloaded from The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/baby-bonus-cut-a-slap-at-stay-at-home-mums/story-e6frg6zo-1226504051315

(That came to my attention via the version printed under the same headline, by the same author, on p. 18, "INQUIRER" section, The Weekend Australian, October 27-28, 2012, Second Edition, No. 14949, ISSN 1038-8761, published by Nationwide News Pty. Limited.)

Labels: economics, families

9.3 "ALMOST half of all mothers in two-parent families are back at work before their youngest child turns one"

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "Social revolution at work: mums go back to their jobs as reality hits home", by George Megalogenis and Sophie Gosper, dated October 31, 2012, downloaded from The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/in-depth/social-revolution-at-work-mums-go-back-to-their-jobs-as-reality-hits-home/story-fnegj121-1226507043793

See also Mr. Megalogenis's opinion piece "Howard-era baby payments failed to do the job intended", dated November 3, 2012, downloaded from The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/columnists/howard-era-baby-payments-failed-to-do-the-job-intended/story-e6frg7ex-1226509430778

(That came to my attention via the version printed under the same headline, by the same author, on p. 24 of the "INQUIRER" section of The Weekend Australian, November 3-4, 2012, First Edition, No. 14955, ISSN 1038-8761, published by Nationwide News Pty. Limited.)

Labels: economics, families

9.4 "The majority of pregnant women take at least two months sick leave from work, according to a new study."

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "Pregnant women take 'at least two months sick leave' from work, says controversial study", no byline, dated November 7, 2012, downloaded from the Mail Online website:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2228829/Pregnant-women-months-sick-leave-work-says-controversial-study.html

See also the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists' press release "BJOG release: New study finds majority of pregnant women require an average of two months additional sick leave from work", published by Caitlin Walsh, dated November 7, 2012:

http://www.rcog.org.uk/news/bjog-release-new-study-finds-majority-pregnant-women-require-average-two-months-additional-sick

and also the British National Health Service article "Pregnant women 'take two months sick leave'":

http://www.nhs.uk/news/2012/11November/Pages/Pregnant-women-take-two-months-sick-leave.aspx

(That research came to my attention via an article, apparently not available on-line, in the Sydney Daily Telegraph, Saturday, November 10, 2012, presumably Vol. 1, No. 2692, ISSN 1038-8745, published by Nationwide News Pty. Ltd.)

Labels: economics, families, pregnancy

9.5 "Fisher imagined a country in which "every person honestly able and willing to work should be able to earn sufficient to enable him to keep his wife and family in comfort"."

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "Labor defines itself through the voices of its statesmen", Nick Cater's review of For the True Believers: Great Labor Speeches that Shaped History, dated October 8, 2012, downloaded from The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/review/labor-defines-itself-through-the-voices-of-its-statesmen/story-fn9n8gph-1226531416233

(That came to my attention via the version printed under the same headline, by the same author, on p. 25 in the "BOOKS" section of the "review" supplement of The Weekend Australian, December 8-9, 2012, First Edition, No. 14985, ISSN 1038-8761, published by Nationwide News Pty. Limited.)

Labels: economics, families

9.6 "WOMEN are being discouraged from returning to work after having children, as tax, childcare costs, and lost government benefits leave some earning as little as 20¢ for every dollar they earn."

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "Mothers penalised for working", by Stephanie Peatling, dated November 25, 2012, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/national/mothers-penalised-for-working-20121124-2a00y.html?skin=text-only

Labels: economics, families

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Monday in the Octave of Christmas, A.D. 2012

Notes: Wednesday, August 15-Wednesday, August 29, 2012

1. Miss Edwards on Msgr. O'Kelly's "attack[ on] the Vatican action on the US Leadership Conference of Women Religious"

See "Bishop O'Kelly attacks Vatican intervention on US nuns", Tuesday, August 21, 2012, a post by Miss Kate Edwards at her Australia Incognita blog, available here:

http://australiaincognita.blogspot.com/2012/08/bishop-okelly-attacks-vatican.html

Labels: Greg O'Kelly

2. Msgr. Fisher on an under-discussed injustice involved in legalising so-called Gay marriage:

… What is also unjust is retrospectively to redefine marriage: for that tells those already married that they got married on a false premise; that they were wrong to think they were entering a lifelong and exclusive partnership of a man and woman open to raising children; that we have changed the meaning of their vows to being merely about loving each other, for as long as it lasts. That would be unjust to the many people already married and those who might like to be in the future.
[That quotation comes from the sermon of The Lord Bishop of Parramatta at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Parramatta, on Sunday, August 12, 2012, the text of which is available on-line here:
http://www.parra.catholic.org.au/bishop-of-parramatta/most-rev-anthony-fisher-op/the-bishop-s-homilies.aspx/the-homilies-of-bishop-anthony-fisher/homily----marriage-sunday---19th-sunday-of-ordinary-time-year-b--st-patrick-s-cathedral--parramatta-.aspx
(That text came to my attention via its printing under the headline "Kindness, self-sacrifice — not grudges, bullying" on p. 14 of the Sydney Catholic Weekly, Vol. 71, No. 4635, August 19, 2012.)]

Labels: law, marriage

3. More on the Federal Government's policy of giving some of the benefits involved with de ivre marriage to de facto polygamists

See the "Guide to Social Security Law", Version 1.189 (released August 10, 2012), Part 2, Chapter 2.2, Section 2.2.5, 2.2.5.15 Multiple Relationships, from the Australian Federal Government's Department of Families, Housing, Community Services, and Indigenous Affairs, © Commonwealth of Australia 2012, available here:

http://guidesacts.fahcsia.gov.au/guides_acts/ssg/ssguide-2/ssguide-2.2/ssguide-2.2.5/pc_13794.html

(That came to my attention via this blog post by Terra.)

I love the bluntness of that guide:

For example, the relationships could comprise a claimant/recipient with any combination of male or female partners.

See also item 2.1 of this Notes post.

Labels: law, marriage, polyamory

4. "A 1996 study by the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology pointed out that an estimated 32,101 pregnancies result from rape in the United States each year"; "[t]he journal said the average national rape-related pregnancy rate stood at five percent among victims aged between 12 to 45."

The quotations in that headline come from the article "Fury over Republican candidate's 'legitimate rape' comment", August 20, 2012, downloaded from The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/in-depth/us-election/republican-senate-candidate-todd-akin-says-rape-victims-becoming-pregnant-rare/story-fn95xh4y-1226453854274

Labels: pregnancy

5. In Australia, "polling on the topic[ of "same-sex marriage"] began in 2009"

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "MPs to debate same-sex marriage bill", by Jessica Wright, dated August 20, 2012, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/mps-to-debate-samesex-marriage-bill-20120820-24hcy.html?skin=text-only

Labels: G.L.B.T., marriage, opinion polls

6. "A spokesman for Julie Bishop, the opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman, said there was no Coalition policy to change existing arrangements" regarding "Australia's overseas aid assistance for family planning in low-income countries" doubling "to more than $50 million a year by 2016, up from $26 million in 2010 and $2 million under the Howard government"

The quotations in that headline come from the article "Family planning aid vote stirs opposition", by Richard Willingham (though the second quotation comes ultimately from Senator Lee Rhiannon), dated August 17, 2012, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/family-planning-aid-vote-stirs-opposition-20120816-24bgh.html?skin=text-only

There is a difference, of course, between not having a policy to change certain arrangements, and having a policy not to change those arrangements; is it only the former for the Coalition, or is it the latter (and hence the former too, of course, unless the Coalition's policy platform contains an internal contradiction)? (I don't ask that rhetorically.)

Labels: abortion, contraception, Liberal Party, Nationals

7. "as a legislator I[, Kristina Keneally,] always took the view that it[, viz. abortion,] should be safe and legally available"

The quotation in that headline comes from the opinion piece "Democracy has a nice habit of giving lunatic fringe a haircut", by The Hon. Kristina Keneally, dated August 22, 2012, downloaded from the Sydney Daily Telegraph's website:

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/democracy-has-a-nice-habit-of-giving-lunatic-fringe-a-haircut/story-e6frezz0-1226455247529

(That opinion piece came to my attention via its printing under the same headline and by the same author on p. 13 of the Sydney Daily Telegraph, Wednesday, August 22, 2012, Vol. 1, No. 2623, ISSN 1038-8745, published by Nationwide News Pty. Ltd.)

It's interesting that Ms Keneally omits from that statement, and indeed from her whole opinion piece, the third part of the usual 'safe, legal, and rare' triad of the moderate abortionite.

Labels: abortion, Kristina Keneally

8. "It is now very difficult to point to any state, territory or federal law where getting legally married makes a difference compared with a same-sex or opposite-sex couple who have lived together in a de facto relationship for two years or more, or who have registered their relationship. As a consequence, the right to marry carries little significance in law other than imposing a need to get a formal divorce before marrying someone else."

The quotation in that headline comes from the opinion piece "About time we all cared more about marriage", by Prof. Patrick Parkinson, dated August 24, 2012, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/about-time-we-all-cared-more-about-marriage-20120823-24p2g.html?skin=text-only

Labels: law, marriage

9. Some figures on childcare in Australia

See Child Care Update, September quarter 2011. Dated August 2012 (presumably released on the twenty-fifth). Produced by the Australian Federal Department of Education, Employment, and Workplace Relations on behalf of the Australian Government and published by the same Department. © Commonwealth of Australia, 2012. ISBN: 978-0-642-78431-5

http://www.deewr.gov.au/Earlychildhood/Resources/Documents/ChildCareUpdateAug.pdf

(That publication came to my attention via the article "Million kids in care 'shows system works'", by Patricia Karvelas, on p. 6 in "THE NATION" section of The Weekend Australian, August 25-26, 2012, First Edition, No. 14895, ISSN 1038-8761, published by Nationwide News Pty. Limited; available on-line, but behind a paywall, under the same headline, by the same author, and dated August 25, 2012, at The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/million-kids-in-care-shows-system-works/story-fn59niix-1226457727663)

Labels: childcare

10. "The head of the Russian Orthodox Church and the president of the Polish Catholic bishops' conference signed a joint message Aug. 17 urging Poles and Russians to set aside centuries of anger and prejudice and work together to maintain their countries' Christian identities."

The quotation in that headline comes from the Catholic News Service article "Russian Orthodox, Polish Catholic leader sign appeal for reconciliation":

http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1203472.htm

(That joint message came to my attention via the article "Russian-Polish reconciliation bid", no by-line, on p. 7 of the Sydney Catholic Weekly, August 26, 2012, Vol. 71, No. 4636.)

Zenit has a Vatican Radio translation of the joint message here. The Russian Orthodox Church's Department for External Church Relations (D.E.C.R.) Communication Service says, on this page at the official D.E.C.R. website that the message "cannot be ranked among theological or inter-church documents and does not deal with doctrinal matters".

Labels: R.O.C.

11. Gay activists in new initiative for promoting "healthy, respectful relationships" "in sport and the workplace" between non-Gays and themselves (presumably while remaining in unhealthy, disrespectful relationships with their respective Gay passivists)

See "AFL declares war on homophobia to stamp out ugly slurs", by Aaron Langmaid, dated August 28, 2012, downloaded from the Sydney Daily Telegraph's website:

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/afl/afl-to-stamp-out-gay-slurs/story-e6frexx0-1226459402572

(That article came to my attention via the shorter version of it which was published under the headline "Footballers tackle homophobia and save lives", by the same author, on p. 05 of the Sydney Daily Telegraph, Tuesday, August 28, 2012, Vol. 1, No. 2628, ISSN 1038-8745, published by Nationwide News Pty. Ltd.)

Labels: G.L.B.T., No to Homophobia

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of the Decollation of St. John the Baptist, and the feast of St. Sabina, Widow, Martyr, A.D. 2012

Notes: Tuesday, June 26-Monday, July 16, 2012 (part 1 of 2)

1. Some facts and figures regarding paid parental leave

"Paid parental leave and flexible working paying dividends for employers", a media release dated June 19, 2012 from Diversity Council Australia, available for download from this web-page:

http://www.dca.org.au/News/All/Paid-parental-leave-and-flexible-working-paying-dividends-for-employers/267

(That research came to my attention via an article entitled "Parental leave boosts retention", with no byline, in a column headed "WORKOUT", p. 1, "Weekend Professional" section, "Weekend Professional" supplement, The Weekend Australian, June 23-24, 2012, First Edition, No. 14843, ISSN 1038-8761, apparently not available on-line.)

Labels: leave

2. "Australians may play it[, i.e., God Save The Queen] and sing it whenever they wish"

That quotation comes from a letter, by Sir David Smith K.C.V.O. A.O., under the heading "Our royal anthem", published at The Australian's website here:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/our-royal-anthem/story-fn558imw-1226405956092

(That letter came to my attention via its publication, under the same heading, on p. 23 ("Letters to the Editor"), "Commentary" section, "Inquirer" pages, The Weekend Australian, June 23-24, 2012, First Edition, No. 14843, ISSN 1038-8761.)

Labels: God Save The Queen

3. "The Catholic Herald’s Online Archive is ready to go!"

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2012/06/the-catholic-heralds-online-archive-is-ready-to-go/

Labels: media

4. "Women working longer hours 'have smaller babies'"

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/women-working-longer-hours-have-smaller-babies/story-fnb64oi6-1226411078461

Labels: pregnancy, work

5. Some facts and figures, from the 2011 Census, on "Same-sex Couple Families"

http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/2071.0main+features852012-2013

(That came to my attention via the comment of 2.7.12 / 4pm by one Peter Baade in the comments section of this post by Mr. Muehlenberg.)

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

6. "Homiletic and Pastoral Review online"

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2012/06/homiletic-and-pastoral-review-online/

Labels: media

7. The Pontifical Council for the Interpretation of Legislative Texts was "created by John Paul II in 1988 to replace the Pontifical Council for the Interpretation of the Decrees of the Second Vatican Council, created by Paul VI in 1967."

http://www.remnantnewspaper.com/Archives/2012-0615-ferrara-vatileaks.htm

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

Labels: Roman Curia

8. Ireland's "Minister for Justice Alan Shatter (FG) said it was possible that if a priest or a bishop was prosecuted under withholding of information legislation they might claim entitlement to some form of privilege. However, the legal basis for such a claim no longer held, as the special position of the Catholic church had been removed from the Constitution. If such a claim was based on freedom of religion, the courts might be called on to decide the issue."

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0613/1224317819220.html

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

See also

http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/commentandblogs/2012/06/15/the-irish-government-is-going-to-make-it-a-criminal-offence-for-a-priest-not-to-tell-the-gardai-when-a-sex-offender-confesses-his-crime-i-say-bring-it-on/

(That article was highlighted here at Coo-ees and here at CathNews.)

Labels: Alan Shatter, Ireland, Sacraments

9. H.H. The Pope has appointed "Archbishop Joseph Augustine Di Noia, O.P., secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, as vice president of the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei"" and has appointed "Bishop Gerhard Ludwig Muller of Regensburg, Germany, as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and as president of the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei", of the Pontifical Biblical Commission and of the International Theological Commission, at the same time elevating him to the dignity of archbishop."

http://www.news.va/en/news/other-pontifical-acts-189

http://www.news.va/en/news/other-pontifical-acts-192

See here for some commentary by Fr. Roberts.

Labels: Roman Curia

10. "A Californian politician is pushing legislation to allow a child to have more than two parents."

http://www.smh.com.au/world/and-baby-makes-four-20120703-21fdk.html?skin=text-only

Labels: birth certificates

11. "A survey by pollster IFOP said gays in France make up 6.5 per cent of the electorate, compared with practising Cath-olics at 6.5 per cent."

I transcribed that quotation from the article "Freedom for French gays", no byline, on p. 21 in the "WORLD" section of the Sydney Daily Telegraph, Thursday, July 5, 2012, Vol. 1, No. 2584, ISSN 1038-8745. A longer version of that article is available here:

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/france-to-allow-gay-couples-to-marry-and-adopt-children/story-fn6b3v4f-1226416737223

Labels: demography, France, G.L.B.T.

12. R.I.P. Mr. Abney-Hastings (The (14th) Earl of Loudoun)

http://www.smh.com.au/national/obituaries/the-jerilderie-man-who-could-have-been-king-20120705-21jwz.html?skin=text-only

Labels: Michael Abney-Hastings

13. "In the most recent ABS report on social trends, it was noted children are financially dependent on their parents until 24 in Australia."

That quotation comes from "[s]ocial researcher Mark McCrindle", quoted in the article "Techie teens are the biggest wallet strain", by Phil Jacob and Nathan Klein, dated June 29, 2012, downloaded from here:

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/techie-teens-are-the-biggest-wallet-strain/story-e6freuy9-1226411559024

(That article came to my attention via its publication under the same heading and by the same authors on p. 09 of the Sydney Daily Telegraph, Friday, June 29, 2012, Vol. 1, No. 2579 (presumably, though I could find neither volume nor number stated in the paper), ISSN 1038-8745.)

Labels: demography, economics

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, A.D. 2012