Notes: Tuesday, February 5-Monday, July 22, 2019 (part 3 of 3)

7. The latest bioethical offences from Australia's political duopoly

7.1 A Labor Federal Government would work to increase access to contraception and abortion, most notably by ensuring that "Commonwealth-State hospital funding agreements will expect that termination services will be provided consistently in public hospitals."

See the Media Release "LABOR’S PLAN TO SUPPORT WOMEN’S REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS", Wednesday, March 6, 2019, issued jointly by The Hon. Tanya Plibersek M.P. (at the time, Deputy Leader of H.M.A. Opposition and its Shadow Minister for Education and Training and for Women) and The Hon. Catherine King M.P. (at the time, Federal Shadow Minister for Health and Medicare) and available at their respective websites:

http://www.tanyaplibersek.com/media_release_labor_s_plan_to_support_women_s_reproductive_rights_wednesday_6_march_2019

https://www.catherineking.com.au/2019/03/05/labors-plan-to-support-womens-reproductive-rights/

Labels: A.L., abortion, contraception

7.2 "Women will have greater choice around IVF services with the NSW Liberals & Nationals Government providing up to a $500 rebate for pre-IVF fertility testing and greater access to lower cost treatments", whereby "the NSW Government will provide lower cost IVF treatments for around 6000 women through services at Royal Prince Alfred, The Royal Hospital for Women and Westmead hospitals"; and there will be "a partnership with UNSW for the first statewide fertility preservation service for young cancer patients at The Royal Hospital for Women."

Those quotations come from the press release "MAKING IVF MORE ACCESSIBLE FOR WOMEN", Saturday, March 9, 2019, downloaded from the website of The Liberal Party of Australia's New South Wales Division:

https://nsw.liberal.org.au/candidates/gladys-berejiklian/news/articles/MAKING-IVF-MORE-ACCESSIBLE-FOR-WOMEN

Labels: I.V.F., L.P.A., Nationals

8. St. Thomas Aquinas against the doctrines of original liberty and original equality

See note 92 at the end of the article "The Corporate Idea and the Body Politic in the Middle Ages", by Anton-Hermann Chroust, in The Review of Politics, Vol. 9, Issue No. 4, October 1947, pp. 423-452:

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/review-of-politics/article/corporate-idea-and-the-body-politic-in-the-middle-ages/0B226F3CF3CB5272E74E7655C48EE5D2

This is the relevant section of that note:

Compare St. Aquinas, Thomas, Summa Theologica I, quaest. 96, art. 3 Google Scholar: “We must of necessity admit that in the primitive state there would have been some inequality.…” See ibid, quaest. 96, art. 4: “… a man is the master of a free subject, by directing him either towards his proper welfare, or the common good. Such a type of mastership would have existed in the state of innocence between man and man, for two reasons: first, because man is by nature a social being, and thus in the state of innocence he would have led a social life. Now a social life cannot exist among a number of people unless under the direction of one to look after the common welfare; for many, as such, seek many things, whereas one attends only to one.…” See also Summa contra Ceniiles[ sic] III, 81
[italics, bold type, and hyperlinks in the original, my square-bracketed interpolation]

Labels: Democratism, liberalism, morals, politics, St. Thomas Aquinas

9. Dr. Gosbell on ancient Christian (and pagan) attitudes to abortion and infanticide

See the A.B.C. Religion and Ethics article ""As long as it's healthy": What can we learn from early Christianity's resistance to infanticide and exposure?", by Dr. Louise Gosbell, Wednesday, March 13, 2019:

Warning: That article is headed by a picture which could scandalise some readers:

https://www.abc.net.au/religion/early-christianitys-resistance-to-infanticide-and-exposure/10898016

Labels: abortion, Fathers, infanticide, morals

10. 24% of mothers in couple families in Australia were unwaged in 2016, down from 32% in 1991.

My immediate source for the information in that headline is Figure 2 of the Australian Institute of Family Studies research summary "Fathers and work: A statistical overview", by Dr. Jennifer Baxter, May 2019:

https://aifs.gov.au/aifs-conference/fathers-and-work

(The ultimate source is the Australian Population Census customised reports, 1991–2016, according to Figure 2's caption.)

Labels: demography, family, social trends, work

11. On the morning of the 26. ult., The Duke of Cambridge "officially opened the Albert Kennedy Trust new Services Centre" in London.

See the Court Circular of that date. According to akt's "our history" webpage, akt is the "world’s first ever service for homeless LGBT youth":

https://www.akt.org.uk/our-history

and according to its "duke of cambridge visits akt" webpage, that official opening involved "the first visit to a lgbtq+ youth charity by a member of the royal family":

https://www.akt.org.uk/news/duke-of-cambridge-visits-akt

Labels: G.L.B.T., William Cambridge

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Mary Magdalene, Penitent, A.D. 2019

Notes: Tuesday, May 6-Thursday, July 31, 2014 (part 1 of 4)

1. A few recent items regarding the premier British orders of chivalry

1.1 In the afternoon of Tuesday, March 18, 2014, H.M. The Queen received Lord Home (pron. the same as when that name is spelt 'Hume') at Buckingham Palace, during which reception Her Majesty conferred upon His Lordship the honour of Knighthood and invested Lord Home with the Insignia of a Knight of the Thistle.

See the Court Circular of that date.

Labels: David Home, Elizabeth II. Windsor, Order of the Thistle

1.2 H.M. The Queen has appointed Lady Manningham-Buller to be a Lady Companion of the Order of the Garter and Lord King to be a Knight Companion of the same Order, and during a Chapter of that Order held by Her Majesty in the Throne Room of Windsor Castle on 16. ult. (Garter Day—the Monday in Royal Ascot week—2014), The Queen invested Her Ladyship with the Insignia of a Lady Companion of the Order and His Lordship with the Insignia of a Knight Companion of the Order, and presumably installed Lady Manningham-Buller and Lord King in the Order during the Installation Service held in St. George's Chapel in the afternoon of the same day.

Regarding the appointments: See Notice No. 2112871, Notice Type "State", Sub-Type "Honours and Awards" (Notice Code: 1105), The London Gazette, Issue No. 60848, p. 8182, April 23, 2014:

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/notice/2112871

(Note that, as the Gazette mentions on its "New website for The Gazette" webpage, "the publication date of each notice is [now ]the date the notice published on www.thegazette.co.uk", unlike "in the past,[ when] the publication date has been the date the notice appeared in the printed edition".) See also the press release "New appointments to the Order of the Garter", issued by the Communications Secretary to H.M. The Queen, undated (but released on April 23, 2014), downloaded from Her Majesty's official website:

http://www.royal.gov.uk/LatestNewsandDiary/Pressreleases/2014/NewappointmentstotheOrderoftheGarter.aspx

which (press release) says that those appointments bring the number of (non-extra) Companions of the Order of the Garter to twenty-three out of a possible twenty-four, though the subsequent death of The Rt. Hon. Baroness Soames L.G. D.B.E. brings the former number down to twenty-two.

Regarding the investitures and installations: See the Court Circular of June 16, 2014.

Labels: Eliza Manningham-Buller, Elizabeth II. Windsor, Mervyn King, Order of the Garter

1.3 In the morning of Thursday, 3. instant., H.M. The Queen attended a Service in St. Giles' Cathedral for the Installation of Lords Home (pron. the same as when that name is spelt 'Hume') and Smith as Knights of the Thistle.

See the Court Circular of that date.

Labels: David Home, Elizabeth II. Windsor, Order of the Thistle, Robert Smith

2. Some information on the Passover Seder and Bar Mitzvah

See the blog post "The Last Lunch", by hereisjorgebergoglio, dated Friday, April 18, 2014, downloaded from his "Call Me Jorge..." blog:

http://callmejorgebergoglio.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-last-lunch.html

Labels: Jews

3. Some information on the U.K.'s demography

See the article "Changing face of UK hits Tories", no byline (though the stated source is The Times), dated April 24, 2014, downloaded from (behind the paywall at) The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/changing-face-of-uk-hits-tories/story-fnb64oi6-1226893791981

Labels: demography, social trends, U.K.

4. Mr. Netanyahu on what it means for the State of Israel to be 'the Jewish State': "the nation-state of the Jewish people"

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "Benjamin Netanyahu wants to define Israel as a Jewish state in law", by Jeffrey Heller, dated May 2, 2014, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/world/benjamin-netanyahu-wants-to-define-israel-as-a-jewish-state-in-law-20140502-zr2wv.html?skin=text-only

See also the text of the speech "PM Netanyahu's Remarks During his Visit to Independence Hall" (or perhaps, rather, it's a translation of that text, assuming that the speech was given in Modern Hebrew), dated May 1, 2014, downloaded from the official website of the State of Israel's Prime Minister's Office:

http://www.pmo.gov.il/English/MediaCenter/Speeches/Pages/speechhall010514.aspx

in which speech the same terminology as in my headline is used three times (though with a capital "P" for "the Jewish People" in the second and third instances), though The Australian reported, in the article "Netanyahu vows to cement Jewish homeland" (no byline (though the stated source is the A.F.P.)), dated May 3, 2014), the tiny bit different form "the national state of the Jewish people", citing Mr. Netanyahu "in a speech in Tel Aviv, a transcript of which was provided by his office":

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/netanyahu-vows-to-cement-jewish-homeland/story-e6frg6so-1226903822812

(That article came to my attention via the version printed under the headline "Vow to cement Jewish homeland", no byline (but the stated source was, like the online version, the A.F.P.), on p. 9 in the "WORLD" pages of The Weekend Australian, May 3-4, 2014, Second Edition, No. 15408, ISSN 1038-8761, published by Nationwide News Pty. Limited.)

Labels: Confessional State, Jews, State of Israel

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

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

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

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

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

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

Labels: abortion, Russia, Vladimir Putin

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Labels: cohabitation, demography, families, vice

3. Some figures on abortion in Australia

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

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

Labels: abortion

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

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

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

Labels: Alan Shatter, Ireland

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Labels: abortion, pregnancy

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Labels: crime, families, sexual abuse

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

10. "Russians attack EU stance on gay rights"

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

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

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

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

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

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

(That article came to my attention via CathNews.)

Labels: demography, social trends, U.K.

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

Notes: Wednesday, December 4-Tuesday, December 31, 2013 (part 1 of 3)

1. "The location of the site of Golgotha and the tomb of Jesus is solidly attested by a critically tested pre-Constantinian tradition. Both are enclosed in the Holy Sepulchre church."

The quotation in that headline was attributed to the late The Rev. Dr. Jerome Murphy-O’Connor O.P. in the feature article "Fr Jerome Murphy-O’Connor: Why scholarship trumps archaeology", by Jill Hamilton, dated Wednesday, November 13, 2013, downloaded from CatholicHerald.co.uk:

http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/features/2013/11/13/father-jerome-murphy-oconnor-why-scholarship-trumps-archaeology/

Labels: history

2. "By 1990, support for abortion rights became the one issue on which the leadership of the Democratic Party would tolerate no deviation among members seeking high state or national office."

The quotation in that headline comes from the feature article "Kennedy: the man who led Catholics to a new frontier", by Kenneth L. Woodward, dated November 14, 2013, downloaded from The Tablet's website:

http://www.thetablet.co.uk/features/2/827/kennedy-the-man-who-led-catholics-to-a-new-frontier

Labels: Democratic Party (U.S.)

3. A couple of recent items regarding legalisation of Gay Marriage

3.1 "A strong majority in staunchly Catholic Croatia voted on Sunday[ (presumably December 1, 2013)] to outlaw same-sex marriage"

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "Croatians vote to outlaw gay marriage", by Lajla Veselica, dated December 2, 2013, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/world/croatians-vote-to-outlaw-gay-marriage-20131202-2ym69.html?skin=text-only

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

3.2 "Utah became the 18th US state to legalise gay marriage, just one day after New Mexico became the 17th."

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "How Duck Dynasty exposed a new Christmas culture war", by Nick O'Malley, dated December 4, 2013, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website (though the original text had the "th"s after "18" and "17" as superscripts):

http://www.smh.com.au/world/how-duck-dynasty-exposed-a-new-christmas-culture-war-20131224-hv6qm.html?skin=text-only

See also the article "Utah to force justices to revisit same-sex marriage", by Adam Litpak, dated December 27, 2013, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/world/utah-to-force-justices-to-revisit-samesex-marriage-20131227-hv6zu.html?skin=text-only

(That article was also printed under the headline "Utah's same-sex ruling highlights speed of change", with the same author, on p. 11 in the "WORLD REPORT" section of The Sydney Morning Herald, Weekend Edition, December 28-29, 2013, No. 54981, ISSN 0312-6315.)

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

4. A couple of recent items regarding legalisation of sodomy

4.1 "Homosexual sex is illegal, and punishable by life in prison, India’s highest court has ruled."

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "Gay sex ruled illegal by India's highest court", by Ben Doherty, dated December 12, 2013, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/world/gay-sex-ruled-illegal-by-indias-highest-court-20131211-hv5b7.html?skin=text-only

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

4.2 "Uganda has passed an anti-gay bill that imposes life sentences for some homosexual acts."

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "Life sentence for gay Ugandans", no byline (though the source is the London Daily Telegraph), dated December 22, 2013, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/world/life-sentence-for-gay-ugandans-20131221-2zrzt.html?skin=text-only

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

5. On Wednesday, December 4, 2013, at Buckingham Palace, H.M. The Queen handed Lord Guthrie His Lordship's Field Marshal's Baton.

See the Court Circular of the day. For a good, clear, but rather small image of the Baton, see Her Majesty's official flickr account:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/britishmonarchy/11219672955/

Labels: British Army

6. "we are finding more Anglicans than Catholics in high-fee Catholic schools, and as many Catholics as Anglicans in high-fee independent schools"

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "Demographics change the schools game", by John Black, dated December 7, 2013, downloaded from The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/policy/demographics-change-the-schools-game/story-fn59nlz9-1226777459375

(That article came to my attention via the version printed under the same headline and with the same byline on p. 29 in the "INQUIRER" section of The Weekend Australian, December 7-8, 2013, First Edition, No. 15286, ISSN 1038-8761, published by Nationwide News Pty. Limited.)

Labels: Catholic schools

7. Prof. Williams on abortion law in Australia

See the opinion piece "Decriminalise abortion: pro-choice in practice is not the same as legal protection", by Prof. George Williams, dated December 3, 2013, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/comment/decriminalise-abortion-prochoice-in-practice-is-not-the-same-as-legal-protection-20131202-2ym16.html?skin=text-only

Labels: abortion, law

8. "The unspoken truth about marriage and kids"

The quotation in that headline is the headline of an opinion piece by Bettina Arndt, dated December 16, 2013, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/comment/the-unspoken-truth-about-marriage-and-kids-20131215-2zf3f.html?skin=text-only

In that opinion piece, Ms Arndt restates, in a shorter form, some of what she wrote in the article about which I blogged in item 3.2 of this Notes post.

Labels: cohabitation, demography, marriage, social trends, vice

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Tuesday in the Octave of Christmas, and the feast of St. Sylvester I., Pope, Confessor, A.D. 2013

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 1 of 2)

1. A couple of recent items regarding Australian foreign policy and Feminism, abortion, and contraception

1.1 What AusAID's Feminism-abortion-contraception training programmes look like

See the article "Ladies dispense tough justice", by Rosemary Neill, dated June 29, 2013, downloaded from The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/features/ladies-dispense-tough-justice/story-e6frg6z6-1226671595465

(That article came to my attention via the version printed under the same headline and with the same byline on p. 24 of the "INQUIRER" section of The Weekend Australian, June 29-30, 2013, First Edition, No. 15153, ISSN 1038-8761, published by Nationwide News Pty. Limited.)

See also item 12 of this Notes post and item 1 of this Notes post.

Labels: abortion, contraception, feminism

1.2 Mr.—now Sen.—Carr "makes his case for … Australian foreign aid tied to population control policies."

At the end of last year, I logged, in item 7 of this Notes post, Sen. The Hon. Bob Carr, Australia's Minister for Foreign Affairs, writing that

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 following quotation—Sen. Carr's answer, presumably in late 1999 or early 2000 (when Sen. Carr was The Hon. Bob Carr M.P., Premier of New South Wales), to an interview question—might shed some light on Sen. Carr's motives for that work:

Well, all our foreign aid has got to be made dependent on population control policies in these countries[, i.e., "Third World" countries] and on the empowerment of women. The most useful nexus here is the empowerment of women, their empowerment through legal rights, legal entitlements and education. That's the indicator that most effectively curbs population, and we've got to think about this. We are all citizens of this planet, there is no other planet and NSW is not a region of the Federal Republic of Mars. State leaders are quite entitled to discuss global warming because in the end it affects us all.
[bold type in the original (the interview answers were in bold, the questions not in bold), my interpolation,
interview "populate & perish?", with The Hon. Bob Carr M.P., Premier of New South Wales, downloaded from The University of Sydney's Work and Organisational Studies' "workSite" ("issues in workplace relations") website:
http://worksite.econ.usyd.edu.au/carr.html]

(That interview came to my attention via the Cut & Paste installment "Robert No Headline Carr does a tedious dance before creating a Cut & Paste headline", dated April 15, 2013, downloaded from (behind the paywall at) The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/cut-paste/robert-no-headline-carr-does-a-tedious-dance-before-creating-a-cut-paste-headline/story-fn72xczz-1226620292926)

Labels: abortion, contraception, feminism

2. "In NSW more than 50 per cent of school-age Catholics at-tend non-Catholic schools"

The quotation, including all the dashes (the second of them resulted from the word "attend" spanning two lines), in that headline comes from the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (Archdiocese of Sydney) Noticeboard article "80 attend Northern Mass", no byline, p. 32 (the "Classifieds, What's on and CCD Noticeboard" page), the Sydney Catholic Weekly, Vol. 72, No. 4679, published by The Catholic Press Newspaper Company Pty. Ltd.) (That article is apparently not available online.)

Labels: Catholic schools, education

3. "Ms Plibsersek said two drugs used to terminate pregnancy for medical reasons would also be available through the PBS[ the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme] from 1 August 2013"; those drugs, namely "Mifepristone (Linepharma®) and misoprostol (GyMiso200®)[,] will be subsidised for medical terminations up to 49 days of gestation."

The quotations, excluding my square-bracketed interpolations, in that headline come from the Ministerial media release "New Generation Medicines Added to the PBS", dated June 30, 2013, downloaded from the Ministerial subsite of the Federal Department of Health and Ageing's website:

http://www.health.gov.au/internet/ministers/publishing.nsf/Content/mr-yr13-tp-tp068.htm

(The Minister in question is the Minister for Health, The Hon. Tanya Plibersek M.P. (who is also the Minister for Medical Research).) See also the article "Julia Gillard's cut-price abortion drug as RU486 slashed to $12", by Samantha Maiden, dated June 30, 2013, downloaded from the Sydney Daily Telegraph's website:

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/julia-gillards-cut-price-abortion-drug-as-ru486-slashed-to-12/story-fni0cx12-1226671939686

(That article came to my attention via this blog post by Miss Edwards.) See also the article "‘Horror’ at RU486 move", by Damir Govorcin, dated July 3, 2013, downloaded from the Sydney Catholic Weekly's website:

http://www.catholicweekly.com.au/article.php?classID=1&subclassID=2&articleID=12397&class=News&subclass=CW National

(That article came to my attention via the version printed under the same headline and with the same byline on p. 2 of The Catholic Weekly, July 7, 2013, Vol. 72, No. 4680, published by The Catholic Press Newspaper Company Pty. Ltd.)

Labels: abortion, RU486

4. "Kasper Admits Intentional Ambiguity" (in Vatican II's documents)

The quotation in that headline is the headline of a blog post by Boniface, dated Sunday, April 14, 2013, downloaded from the Unam Sanctam Catholicam blog:

http://unamsanctamcatholicam.blogspot.com/2013/04/kasper-admits-intentional-ambiguity.html

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

Labels: Vatican II, Walter Kasper

5. "The percentage of wives having affairs rose almost 40 percent during the last two decades to 14.7 percent in 2010, while the number of men admitting to extramarital affairs held constant at 21 percent, according to the latest data from the National Opinion Research Centre's General Social Survey."

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "In US, cheating is not just for husbands anymore", by Frank Bass, dated July 2, 2013, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/world/in-us-cheating-is-not-just-for-husbands-anymore-20130702-2p971.html?skin=text-only

Labels: adultery, marriage, social trends, vice

6. Sydney's "Archbishop[ Michael] Kelly had been created count of the Holy Roman Empire and assistant at the Pontifical Throne in 1926."

The quotation, excluding my square-bracketed interpolation, in that headline comes from the Australian Dictionary of Biography entry "Kelly, Michael (1850–1940)", by Patrick O'Farrell:

http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/kelly-michael-6920

(Msgr. Kelly's creation as Count of the Holy Roman Empire came to my attention via a photo caption in this Catholica post.)

Labels: Holy Roman Empire

7. A couple of recent items regarding the Australian Defence Force

7.1 "THE person behind the stirring speech delivered by army chief Lieutenant General David Morrison in the wake of shocking revelations about an army email sex ring was his transgender speechwriter, Lieutenant Colonel Cate McGregor."

The quotation, including its bold type (it was the first paragraph of an article), in that headline comes from the article "Transgender Lieutenant Colonel Cate McGregor speaks out about abuse and support", by Ian McPhedran, dated July 5, 2013, downloaded from the Sydney Daily Telegraph's website:

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/national/transgender-lieutenant-colonel-cate-mcgregor-speaks-out-about-abuse-and-support/story-fni0xqrc-1226674523255

(That article came to my attention via the version printed under the headline "Courage and true defence of choice", with the same byline, on p. 25 of The Daily Telegraph, Friday, July 5, 2013, Vol 1, No. 2891, ISSN 1038-8745, published by Nationwide News Pty. Ltd.)

See also the blog post "Some jokers are real", by Mr. Bernard Gaynor, dated July 20, 2013, downloaded from his website:

http://bernardgaynor.com.au/some-jokers-are-real/

Labels: A.D.F.

7.2 (More from) Mr. Gaynor on the Australian Defence Force

See the blog post "What I note about the Australian Defence Force", by Mr. Bernard Gaynor, dated June 28, 2013, downloaded from his website:

http://bernardgaynor.com.au/what-i-note-about-the-australian-defence-force/

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

Labels: A.D.F.

8. Mr. Parrett and Prof. Williams on 'separation of Church and State' in Australia

See the letter which was published under the heading "Education funding: Separation of Church and state", by Mr. Colliss Parrett, dated July 3, 2013, downloaded from the Sydney Catholic Weekly's website:

http://www.catholicweekly.com.au/article.php?classID=2&subclassID=5&articleID=12404&class=Comment&subclass=Letters

(That letter came to my attention via the version published under the same heading and by the same author on p. 8 of The Catholic Weekly, Vol. 72, No. 4680, published by the Catholic Press Newspaper Company Pty. Ltd.)

See also the opinion piece "Nation's very foundation built on right to choose own god", by Prof. George Williams, dated July 16, 2013, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website, in which Prof. Williams writes that

Australian law establishes a separation between church and state, and provides for religious choice. However, the regime is not complete. The constitutional protections say nothing about the states, which remain free to prefer one religion over another, and can ban the employment of people based upon their beliefs.
[http://www.smh.com.au/comment/nations-very-foundation-built-on-right-to-choose-own-god-20130715-2q05e.html?skin=text-only]

(But see, again, Mr. Parrett's letter, and also Dr. Zankin's letter, headed "Christianity holds sway until we become republic", published on the Herald's letters page of July 17, 2013 (headlined "Rudd, Abbott both fail on real action on climate change").)

Labels: Church and State, law, Constitution

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of The Dedication of Our Lady of the Snows', 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, May 21-Thursday, June 20, 2013

1. "But the State can preserve a religious identity provided it acts with neutrality and justice toward all religious groups in its territory."

The quotation in that headline comes from the Statement of His Grace The Titular Archbishop of Acelum C.S. in His Grace's capacity as Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations and Other International Organisations in Geneva at the Twenty-Second Session of the Human Rights Council, Item 3, "Report of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief", dated March 6, 2013, downloaded from the official website of the Holy See Mission to the United Nations in Geneva:

http://www.holyseemissiongeneva.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14396:22nd-session-of-the-human-rights-council-report-of-the-special-rapporteur-on-freedom-of-religion

Msgr. Tomasi's Statement came to my attention via this AQ post, one of the sources for which was this CatholicCulture.org article.

See also the Vatican Radio articles "Religious freedom: cornerstone of dialogue and collaboration" (also available here) and "Archbishop Silvano Tomasi speaks on the abuse of Religious minorities in the world".

Labels: Confessional State, religious liberty, Silvano Tomasi

2. "Wealthy Russians dominate the purchase of country houses[ in England] and make up a quarter of buyers in the above-£5m bracket."

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "Mind your manors", by Ben Power, dated May 25, 2013, downloaded from The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/life/prestige-property/mind-your-manors/story-fn6njxlr-1226649405628

(That article came to my attention via the version printed under the same headline (though with all the letters capitalised), by the same author, on pp. 12 f. in the "WEEKEND PROPERTY" section of the "WEEKEND A PLUS" supplement of The Weekend Australian, May 25-26, 2013, First Edition, No. 15125, ISSN 1038-8761, published by Nationwide News Pty. Limited.)

Labels: Russia, U.K.

3. A couple of recent items on income distribution in Australia

3.1 Prof. Ergas on income distribution in Australia

See the opinion piece "Taxes put bite on middle-class families", by Prof. Henry Ergas, dated May 27, 2013, downloaded from (behind the paywall at) The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/columnists/taxes-put-bite-on-middle-class-families/story-fn7078da-1226650920952

Labels: economics, families

3.2 Prof. Whiteford on income distribution in Australia

See the article "Who gets what? Who pays for it? The welfare state debate revisited", by Prof. Peter Whiteford, dated June 4, 2013, downloaded from the Inside Story website:

http://inside.org.au/who-gets-what-who-pays-for-it-the-welfare-state-debate-revisited/

(That article came to my attention proximately via this webpage and ultimately via this blog post by Miss Edwards.)

Labels: economics, families

4. Mr. Russell on euthanasia

See the article "EUTHANASIA: NSW parliament rejects euthanasia bill", by Mr. Paul Russell, dated June 8, 2013, downloaded from News Weekly's website:

http://newsweekly.com.au/article.php?id=5603

Labels: euthanasia

5. "While it is estimated that 70-80 per cent of Australians with HIV were infected through homosexual contact, about 15 per cent were infected through heterosexual contact, and 3 per cent through unsafe injecting practices."

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "At-risk groups focus of concern for HIV", by Sean Parnell, dated June 3, 2013, downloaded from (behind the paywall at) The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/foi/at-risk-groups-focus-of-concern-for-hiv/story-fn8r0e18-1226655484603

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

6. A couple of points of interest from the article "Children of same-sex couples thriving: study", by Vince Chadwick, dated June 6, 2013, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

Most same-sex couples are now having children through assisted reproductive technology. Dr Crouch said that 10 years ago most children came from previous heterosexual relationships.

According to the 2011 Census, there were 6120 children under 25 in same-sex-couple families. However, Dr Crouch said due to under-reporting, the true figure could be more than double this.
[http://www.smh.com.au/national/children-of-samesex-couples-thriving-study-20130605-2nqjy.html?skin=text-only]

(For more on the Australian Study of Child Health in Same-Sex Families, see the National Review Online article "Assessing the Australian Study", by Associate Professor Mark Regnerus, dated June 6, 2013 (which came to my attention via this Australian Christian Lobby post), and this post at MercatorNet's "Conjugality" blog.)

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

7. "For the first time [in Australia ]more than one million children (1,030,970) attended approved child care during the [September ]quarter, an increase of 3.9 per cent since the September quarter 2011."

The quotation in that headline, excluding my square-bracketed interpolations, comes from p. 1 of Child Care Update, September quarter 2012, ISBN: 978-1-74361-057-2, © Commonwealth of Australia, 2013, produced by the Department of Education, Employment, and Workplace Relations (D.E.E.W.R.) on behalf of the Australian Government, and published by the D.E.E.W.R., downloaded from the "Reports" page of the Australian Government's mychild.gov.au website:

http://mychild.gov.au/pages/ResourcesReports.aspx

(Child Care Update, September quarter 2012 came to my attention via an article at The Australian's website which (article) is apparently no longer available there.)

Labels: childcare, families, social trends

8. Mr. Baker on religious liberty in America

See the article "AMERICA’S PROBLEMS WITH RELIGIOUS LIBERTY", by Mr. Michael Baker, dated May 19, 2013, downloaded from his Super flumina Babylonis website:

http://www.superflumina.org/America_problem_rel_freedom.html

Labels: religious liberty

9. "the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced a new LGBT Global Development Partnership" which (Partnership) "will strengthen the capacity of LGBT civil society organizations, train LGBT individuals to participate more fully in democratic processes, and undertake research on the economic impact of discrimination against LGBT individuals"

The quotations in that headline come from the press release "USAID Announces New Partnership to Promote LGBT Human Rights Abroad", from the USAID Press Office, dated Monday, April 8, 2013, downloaded from the official USAID website:

http://www.usaid.gov/news-information/press-releases/usaid-announces-new-partnership-promote-lgbt-human-rights-abroad

(That press release came to my attention ultimately via this blog post by Mr. Muehlenberg and proximately via the LifeSiteNews.com articles "Obama administration begins training homosexual activists around the world" and "Despite sequestration, Obama funds homosexual groups in other countries".)

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

10. The Australian's position on abortion: "Our view on this matter reflects the view of the vast majority of Australians: all women should legally have access to a safe abortion if they need it, but we hope they never do."

The quotation in that headline comes from the editorial "Leave abortion out of politics", dated June 14, 2013, downloaded from The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/editorials/leave-abortion-out-of-politics/story-e6frg71x-1226663471678

Labels: abortion, Australian

11. Past Theological Studies articles are available here:

http://www.ts.mu.edu/readers/content/get-past-articles.html

(That came to my attention via the second comment at this Mirror of Justice post.)

Labels: theology, morality

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Silverius, Pope, Martyr, A.D. 2013