Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Husband has no right to stop use of embryos, court told

A man cannot prevent his estranged wife from using frozen embryos created during their marriage because of the right to life of the unborn, the Supreme Court heard yesterday, says this story in The Irish Independent.

The claim was made on the opening day of an appeal by a mother of two against her failed High Court action aimed at having three embryos implanted in her uterus with a view to becoming pregnant, against the wishes of her estranged husband, it says.

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Irish priests engaged in sexual abuse in the United States - a cancer that spread from the West

It wasn't always a desire to spread the Gospel that drew priests from Ireland the US over the years. I recall an American priest calling to our school around 1960 to persuade a class of 14 year olds to join the priesthood in the States. He talked about money, cars and the good life a lot more than he talked about spreading the word of God. This article by Donal Lynch in the Sunday Independent provides a good background to, and outline of, the abuse of children by by Irish priests in the US over the years. I'm sure most priests who went to the US from Ireland did their job as honestly as they could but Lynch argues that a disproportionate number of clerical abusers were Irish.