Prayer Book in Irish presented to Prince Charles; The Damaged Doctor – Violence and Doctor Who lecture; Vatican censures Fr Brian D’Arcy; New Irish legislation seeks to protect child sex victims; Priests must report child abuse confessions or face jail; Priests: We won’t break seal of confession to report sex abuse; Families face jail for failing to report sex abuse; Rights groups back prosecution plan; RC Archbishop ‘unable’ to tell child advocate of priest’s past; Welfare reform to hit NI children; Vulnerable families ‘need protection’ from spending cuts; Future of St Patrick’s centre still uncertain; Irish education cutbacks: Over 200 primary schools win reprieve and won’t lose a teacher
Prayer Book in Irish presented to Prince Charles
Belfast Telegraph – The Irish language featured prominently at the start of a visit by the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall to Northern Ireland.
The royals visited St George’s Church on Belfast’s High Street, which dates from the 1800s.
Charles visited the same building 21 years ago when its future was in doubt as a result of damage suffered by city centre bomb attacks during the Troubles.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/charles-and-camilla-visit-belfast-16150492.html
The Damaged Doctor – Violence and Doctor Who lecture
A lunchtime lecture to be given at St Bartholomew’s Church, Stranmillis Road, Belfast. The lecture is given by Mercia Malcolm, rector of Carnmoney Parish, Diocese of Connor. Subtitled ‘The ‘infection of killing’ in Doctor Who’, the lecture is an exploration of the effect of violence and particularly violent loss on the Doctor himself in the first four series of the revised BBC TV programme Doctor Who. It will go on to examine a number of inter–related aspects of that theme and invite connections with a Christian view of the world and of human relationships in particular. Everyone is welcome at this lecture, which commences at 1.10 p.m. on Tuesday May 8. It will include a time for questions. Light refreshments will also be available.
Vatican censures Fr Brian D’Arcy
Father Brian D’Arcy, one of Ireland’s best known priests, has been censured by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in the Vatican, according to the Tablet newspaper.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-17857980
http://www.thejournal.ie/fr-brian-darcy-censured-by-vatican-watchdog-report-430929-Apr2012/
New Irish legislation seeks to protect child sex victims
Anyone withholding information on a child sex crime faces a minimum five-year jail term under new legislation being drawn up. The Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences Against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill includes most sexual offences along with assault, abduction, manslaughter and murder.
com/ireland/new-legislation-seeks-to-protect-child-sex-victims-191843.html
Priests must report child abuse confessions or face jail
Priests could face ten years in prison if they fail to report child sex abuse revealed in confession. In a move which will further sour ailing relations between church and state, new laws requiring priests to break the seal of the confessional are expected to be enacted by the end of the year and are one element of a suite of legislation to protect children and vulnerable adults, said the Republic’s Justice Minister Alan Shatter.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/republic-of-ireland/priests-must-report-child-abuse-confessions-or-face-jail-16150303.html
Priests: We won’t break seal of confession to report sex abuse
Independent.ie – Catholic priests will defy a new law that requires them to report sexual abuse disclosed to them in the confession box — despite the threat of 10-year jail sentences. It came after Justice Minister Alan Shatter confirmed the mandatory reporting requirement would apply to priests hearing confession.
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/we-wont-break-the-seal-of-confession-for-shatter-3092495.html
Families face jail for failing to report sex abuse
Irish times – Family members could face prosecution if they fail to report evidence of sexual abuse or other serious offences against children to the Garda under proposed new laws. In addition, any sports club, faith-based organisation or voluntary group with access to children could be shut down if they fail to implement guidelines for the reporting of suspected child abuse or neglect.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/frontpage/2012/0426/1224315196167.html
Rights groups back prosecution plan
Irish Examiner – Children’s rights groups have welcomed plans to prosecute or close services who provide an unsafe environment for children. Schools, societies, religious groups, and medical facilities working with children risk being shut for failing to implement official guidelines on child protection and welfare.
Under the Children First Bill, all organisations where children attend without their parents or guardians will have a “designated officer” responsible for reporting child abuse or neglect to the HSE, whether it occurs in the organisation or elsewhere.
http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/rights-groups-back-prosecution-plan-191846.html
RC Archbishop ‘unable’ to tell child advocate of priest’s past
Examiner – The Archbishop of Dublin has defended his decision not to tell a child-protection advocate that a priest in her parish was on restricted ministry due to allegations of child sex abuse. The priest has now been removed from ministry after new information came to light about the abuse incidents. There are two complaints against the priest, given the pseudonym Fr Benito, in the Murphy Commission report. One refers to the alleged sexual assault of a 15-year-old boy in 1988. The second is an alleged rape of a 15-year-old girl. The DPP has, to date, decided not to prosecute in either case.
Welfare reform to hit NI children
BBC – New research finds the Welfare Reform Bill will hit children in Northern Ireland harder than those any other region outside London.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-17846455
Vulnerable families ‘need protection’ from spending cuts
Belfast Telegraph – Welfare reforms in Northern Ireland may heap further difficulties on vulnerable families already struggling to make ends meet, a Stormont committee chair has warned. Social Development Committee chairman Alex Maskey stressed the need to protect those who could be hit by the proposed changes to the benefits system in the region.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/vulnerable-families-need-protection-from-spending-cuts-16150380.html
Future of St Patrick’s centre still uncertain
BBC – The future of St Patrick’s Heritage Centre in Downpatrick is still uncertain following a meeting between its board members and local councillors
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-17850261
Schoolboy accuses classmates of antisemitic assault
Guardian – A Northern Irish schoolboy has suffered antisemitic abuse and a physical attack after a chance remark during a Holocaust history lesson, his family has claimed. The mother of Matthew Lough, 14, says he has had to take time off from Carrickfergus …
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/apr/25/schoolboy-antisemitic-assault-northern-ireland?newsfeed=true
Voluntary sector cannot plug gaps
BBC – The Department of Health is warned it must not expect the voluntary sector to plug gaps in services that the government is unable to fund.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-17850259
Irish education cutbacks: Over 200 primary schools win reprieve and won’t lose a teacher
Independent.ie – OVER 200 primary schools which were scheduled to lose a teacher this year, have won their appeals against the decision. Education Minister Ruairi Quinn said fears that many smaller schools would be badly hit have been allayed.
http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/education/latest-news/education-cutbacks-over-200-primary-schools-win-reprieve-and-wont-lose-a-teacher-3090925.html
School reform is more than a slogan in Ireland
Irish Echo – People in Ireland have been talking about the need to reduce the church’s control over primary education for years. Nothing came of these conversations, until now. The Fine Gael-Labor coalition has taken on an issue that Fianna Fáil chose to ignore, …
http://irishecho.com/?p=71256