The future of the world population

The world population will peak and then decline by the end of this century, according to a new study. Countries with low fertility rates will suffer economically.

A new major study published by The Lancet, one of the most prestigious scientific journals, presents a new model to forecast the changes in the world population.

The study projected the global population to peak in the year 2064 at 9.73 billion people and then decline to 8.79 billion by the end of the century. In 2017, the world population was estimated at 7.64 billion but, the study claims, this figure could go as low as 6.28 billion by the end of the century, if certain measures will be implemented.

The paper forecast population changes from 2018 to 2100 for 195 countries and territories and found that all regions, except sub-Saharan Africa, will have substantial population declines in the next eighty years.

These estimates invalidate some of the predictions based on other models, particularly the model from the United Nation which is the most commonly quoted. The Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the UN Secretariat (UNPD), in their last forecast claimed that in the year 2100 the global population will be 10.88 billion and the sub-Saharan Africa will be 3.78 billion.

Demographic forecasts are based on a complex series of variables but there are two key factors at stake: the fertility rates in sub-Saharan Africa and what happens to countries with fertility levels below replacement rate. 2.1 children per woman is considered the miminum rate for generational replacement. When the total fertility rate (TFR) goes be below 2.1 some countries experience declines followed by upturns, while others stagnate at very low levels.

The study developed 5 different scenarios. The “reference scenario” is the one more likely to happen, in their view, and it is the one I will refer to. Other four possible alternatives are also presented and they reflect two faster and two slower trajectories for key drivers such as education of women and access to birth control.

For instance, the Irish population was 4.86 million in 2017. It will peak 5.77 in the year 2057 and decrease to 5.44 by the end of the century, according to the reference scenario. Nonetheless, it might go well below the current figures in the fastest pace scenario. (In some countries the decline will be dramatic. Italy will go from 60 to 30 million, Spain from 46 to 23).

The global total fertility rate (TFR) will drop below the replacement level (2.1 children per woman) in 2034, reaching 1.66 in 2100. By then, 183 out of 195 countries will have a TFR below replacement level.

Sub-Saharan Africa, which is the region with the highest TFR in the world, will stay above replacement level until 2063 and then drop.

The only regions forecast to have higher population in 2100 than currently are sub-Saharan Africa, north Africa and the Middle East.

This means that after a peak, the global population will likely continue to decline, even in the next century.

All five scenarios forecast substantial changes in the age structure of the population. People will live longer and the proportion of adults will also increase.

The number of children under 5 will decline from 681 million in 2017 to 401 million in 2100 (-41%) while individuals over 80 will increase form 141 million to 866 million.

In 1950, 25 births occurred for every person turning 80. In 2017 the number was 7 and in 2100 there will be only one birth for every 80-year-old person.

There will be significant differences between countries, according to their fertility rates.

In Ireland, the over 65 will account for about 30% of the population by the end of this century. The Italian figure is projected to be 37%. In Nigeria, instead, where the general population is expected to grow from 206 to 790 million, the over 65 will be 18.6% of the total. In other words, Nigeria like many countries of that region, will be a nation of mostly young people, in contrast to the “old” European countries.

In society experiencing such demographic contractions, the whole health and welfare system has to be reconsidered.

“Although good for the environment, population decline and associated shifts in age structure in many nations might have other profound and often negative consequences”, the article says. “In 23 countries, including Japan, Thailand, Spain, and Ukraine, populations are expected to decline by 50% or more. … These population shifts have economic and fiscal consequences that will be extremely challenging. With all other things being equal, the decline in the numbers of working- aged adults alone will reduce GDP rates”.

In the eighty years, India will have the largest working-age (over 15) population of the world, followed by Nigeria and China. Inevitably, some of those will emigrate to countries where there is more demand for labor forces.

On the other hand, countries going through a demographic decline will also lose economic and geopolitical power. This is why population forecasts are essential to plan and manage public policies, but they are also crucial for business and NGOs.

In order to estimate the need for services, for investments, for the allocation of resources, it is vital to know the characteristics of population in short-term and mid-term scenarios.

The Lancet study suggests four options to stop the “demographic winter”: increasing the fertility rate creating a supporting environment for mothers, restricting access to birth control and abortion, increasing labor force participation, promoting immigration.

A debate about which ones of these options are preferable is urgently needed.

 

Colori

Pare incredibile ma questa foto è in bianco e nero, poi sono state aggiunte alcune griglie colorate ma se la guardate attentamente lo sfondo non è colorato.

Santificare ogni istante

La perfezione si trova nella santificazione dell'anima nostra e di ogni anima. Si opera non nel corso degli anni, ma ad ogni istante . Ogni momento che abbiamo davanti non torna più Se è ben vissuto, può contare per l'eternità. E' la verità…

Ogni istante è nelle nostre mani, ma lo dimentichiamo spesso. Ci si preoccupa di quanto può arrivare, di ciò che l'uno o l'altro pensa, della pena che arriverà... Che peccato! Il pensiero più importante è sapere che abbiamo solo il momento presente. Viviamo pienamente il presente se facciamo la volontà di Dio. Per vivere pienamente tutti questi istanti, bisogna che l'Immacolata li viva al nostro posto. Doniamoci a lei per poter approfittare di tutti questi momenti e perché sia lei a pensare e agire in noi.

Il valore del momento presente non dipende da ciò che facciamo o dal modo con cui agiamo, ma dal fatto che lavoriamo per amore di Dio, o per amore di noi stessi. Bisogna che ci santifichiamo in ogni momento presente poiché non sappiamo se avremo l'attimo successivo. E' ora che dobbiamo santificarci, poiché non siamo certi se arriveremo a sera. Meglio compiamo il nostro dovere di stato, meglio rendiamo gloria a Dio, - e meglio compiamo la volontà dell'Immacolata.

Il momento presente è preziosissimo e occorre spesso ricordarci che dobbiamo diventare santi. Quando l'anima vuole santificare ogni momento, comincia a scoprire un nuovo mondo, un tesoro di pensieri e perfezioni. San Massimiliano Kolbe (1894-1941) francescano, martire Conferenza del 21/1/1939

Podcast: The religious will inherit the Earth

Un nuovo episodio del podcast su Soundcloud

Angelo Bottone · The Religious Will Inherit The Earth

La tomba di un faraone
 

Ho scoperto soltanto pochi giorni fa dell'esistenza di una visita virtuale assolutamente impressionante dentro alla tomba di Ramses VI, faraone dell'antico Egitto morto nel 1137 a.C. Il livello di dettaglio delle immagini, la facilità di navigazione e la bellezza della tomba vi faranno trascorrere un bel quarto d'ora. Pharaoh Ramesses VI Tomb.

The religious will inherit the Earth

There is a strong possibility that as the world ages between now and the end of the century, it will also become more religious. Why? Because the fastest growing continent by far in population terms is Africa, and Africa is more religious than most of the rest of the world.

A major new study published last week in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet,  predicts that the number of people on the planet will peak in the year 2064 at about 9.7 billion, but then start a rapid decline and by 2100 it will be around 8.8 billion.

The paper forecasts population changes from 2018 to 2100 for 195 countries and territories, and found that all regions, except sub-Saharan Africa, will have substantial population declines.

2.1 children per woman is considered the minimum rate to keep population numbers stable.

The Lancet study developed five different scenarios. The ‘reference scenario’ is the one most likely to happen in their view and it is the one this blog will refer to.

Under the ‘reference scenario’, the Irish population is forecast to peak at 5.77 million in the year 2057 and decrease to 5.44 million by the end of the century. Only immigration will stop it going much lower.

Countries like Italy and Spain are forecast to have extremely steep declines. They could both halve in population and be much older than they are now.

Sub-Saharan Africa, which is the region with the highest Total Fertility Rate in the world, will stay above replacement level until 2063, and then is forecast to drop.

The population of sub-Saharan Africa is projected to jump from about a billion today to around three billion by 2100. This will amount to a third of the total number of people in the world, and a far higher percentage than that of young people.

As an indication of how fast the world will age, by 2100 it is projected that there will be twice as many people over 80 as under five.

In Ireland, the over 65’s will account for about 30pc of the population by the end of this century. The Italian figure is projected to be 37pc. In Nigeria, where the population is expected to grow from 206 to 790 million, the over 65’s will be just 18pc of the total.

The Lancet study does not address the religious dimension of those demographic trends but from other studies we know that societies – and groups within a society – which are more religious tend to have a higher fertility rate. ‘Shall the religious inherit the Earth?’, asks political scientist Eric Kaufmann in his book of that name, pointing to the fact that everywhere devout families are expanding their share on the population.

The demographic projections of the Pew Research Center, for instance, highlighted that in 2050 the share of atheists, agnostics and those who are not affiliated with any religion will decline in the world population. The number of Christians is projected to rise at the same rate as the global overall population – by 25pc  – while in the same period Muslims are expected to increase in number by 73pc and match the total number of Christians by 2070.

In 2050, 40pc of the world’s Christians will live in sub-Saharan Africa.

Even if Africans arriving in Western countries become more secular, many will still almost certainly remain religious, and they will form an ever larger proportion of Western populations making those countries more religious as well.

In other words, the 22^nd century would well be considerably more religious than the present one. That is not what secularists were predicting once upon a time.

The failure to protect our nursing homes

The failure to protect our nursing homes

Alcuni estratti da un'intervista a Barbara Alberti, apparsa oggi su Il Foglio.

Quando è amore?

“Quando ci si scopre e ci si aiuta a diventare chi si è davvero. Almeno, così è stato per me. Non si può teorizzare”.

  

Teorizzare no, ma spiegare forse sì. Mi dica di sì. Tutte leggiamo la sua posta del cuore per trovare un senso a questa storia anche se questa storia un senso non ce l’ha.

“Per fortuna l’amore non si può spiegare, come molte altre cose. Il nostro dramma è che siamo convinti del contrario, pensiamo che indagandoci capiremo di più, e che se capiremo di più smetteremo di sbagliare. Lo psicologico ha vinto sul fenomenologico. Ormai c’è una diagnosi freudiana per tutto, se una ventenne s’innamora di un cinquantenne, chiunque si sente titolato a dirle che lo fa perché cerca suo padre. Che sciocchezza. Io sono sempre stata determinista, adesso lo sono ancora di più”.

 

Di Barbara Alberti cos’ha capito?

“Che morirò imperfetta”.

 

Mi dica una sua imperfezione.

“La cattiva memoria. Trovo che sia un peccato mortale, una orrenda forma di disattenzione”

 

E degli esseri umani cos’ha capito?

“Che vanno sempre contro loro stessi, e farebbero qualsiasi follia per essere infelici. Chi scrive a una posta del cuore sa benissimo cosa deve fare, non cerca un consiglio, non vuole risolvere niente, anche se sta soffrendo. Scrive perché cerca un’amica sconosciuta che per cinque minuti porti il suo peso, vuole una compagna di sofferenza e di dubbio”.

  

Pensavo che la sofferenza la scansassimo.

“Scansiamo la libertà. L’abbiamo in odio perché è una enorme responsabilità, ci costringe a scegliere, a firmare le nostre azioni, a prenderci cura della nostra vita, ad assumercene i fallimenti. Si è visto durante la quarantena: la voluttà nell’obbedire alle regole da una parte era segno di grande civiltà, dall’altra una preoccupante dimostrazione di come aneliamo a essere comandati da qualcuno che ci sistemi la vita. Ricorda “I fratelli Karamazov”? In un racconto di Ivan, “La leggenda del grande Inquisitore”, quando Gesù Cristo ritorna sulla terra, prima di venire mandato a morte, gli viene detto: sei un malfattore, un ingannatore, sei venuto a raccontare che la verità renderà gli uomini liberi, ma gli uomini non vogliono la libertà. Tu dagliela: vedrai poi che si guardano intorno terrorizzati cercando a chi possono inginocchiarsi”.

Qui l'intervista intera.

Two wins for religious freedom at US Supreme Court

Does a religious school have the right to employ only staff who will uphold the school’s ethos? Should a religious employer be forced to pay for contraception and the ‘morning-after pill’? In two separate rulings last week considering these matters, the US Supreme Court has ruled in favour of religious freedom.

The first case concerned two employees who were dismissed from Catholic elementary (primary) schools. One claimed to have been let go because she had a disability and the other because of her age. They appealed to anti-discrimination legislation but the school claimed that employees who have a ministerial role are excluded from such protection. A doctrine known as the “ministerial exception,” bars ministers from suing churches and other religious institutions for employment discrimination.

The question for the Supreme Court was to determine who qualifies as a minister, i.e. who has a ministerial role.

In a 7-2 decision the judges clarified that although the teacher were not ordained ministers, the “ministerial exemption” applies to all teachers in a school, not simply to those who are ordained or those who teach religious subjects. Schools are “communities of mutual witness” and ultimately, it is the Church rather than the state that has the last word on who can teach. 

Judge Alito observed that the First Amendment bars the government from interfering in the right of religious institutions to decide issues relating to their faith and doctrine. Consequently, religious institutions are autonomous and independent from the state and make their own decisions about how they are run, including the selection of teachers. He wrote that there must be “a recognition that educating young people in their faith, inculcating its teachings, and training them to live their faith are responsibilities that lie at the very core of the mission of a private religious school.”

The second ruling addressed more a procedural than a substantive point, but it is still a significant victory for religious freedom.

The Affordable Care Act, also known as ‘Obamacare’, had an exemption for certain religious institutions that did not want to offer their employees insurance coverage for what they consider against their religious ethos. For instance, churches are not obliged to offer an insurance plan that includes contraception or the morning-after-pill, which may cause abortion.

The Trump Administration expanded this exemption, including not only religious but also moral reasons.  The States of Pennsylvania and New Jersey challenged the administration’s ability to overturn the Obamacare mandate in this regard and, consequently, the Supreme Court was asked if the Trump Administration followed the right procedures for permitting this new exemption.

The litigants claimed that the Trump administration did not have the right to apply religious freedom law to this exemption.

The Supreme Court (by 7-2), upheld the right of employers with a religious or moral objection to deny coverage as part of their workers’ health care plans.

Justice Thomas, who wrote the majority opinion, said that that the government "had the statutory authority to craft that exemption, as well as the contemporaneously issued moral exemption."

This is a big victory for freedom of conscience and of religion but the battle is not finished as two of the judges suggested a possible further challenge. 

The Court left the door open for further litigation on other grounds. The Administrative Procedure Act (APA) instructs court to invalidate any state agency action that is found to be “arbitrary and capricious”. In other words, the exemptions to the Obamacare have to be reasonable.

The Court did not address this specific point but two of the Supreme Judges in their opinions suggested a possible challenge in this direction. Litigants could claim that those exemptions were not reasonable and there is no guarantee that they will be fully upheld in the future. These issues remain open for the lower courts to address. The fight for religious freedom never ends.

LBRY

LBRY, che si pronuncia come "library" in inglese è una biblioteca digitale dove ognuno può condividere i propri video, podcast, documenti ed altro. LBRY utilizza la tecnologia blockchain ed ha una propria criptomoneta, chiamata LBC, che può essere utilizzata per accedere a del materiale (video, audio, ecc,), per lasciare offerte, o per promuovere il proprio materiale. A prima vista, assomiglia a Youtube ma, oltre al fatto che non ospita soltanto video, la differenza fondamentale è che LBRY non è centralizzata. Questo significa che il materiale non viene conservato da un solo proprietario ma è diffuso, come se fosse una rete.

Provarlo non costa nulla, si può navigare liberamente. Se intendete iscrivervi, usate questo codice: https://lbry.tv/$/invite/@angelo.bottone:9

Window swap

Cosa si vede dalla tua finestra?

Window Swap ci mostra 10 minuti di un video che qualcuno ha ripreso dalla propria finestra. Il luogo viene assegnato casualmente e si può contribuire al sito con un proprio video.

Insomma, una finestra sul mondo. Affascinante.

G. K. Chesterton defender of the family

La casa di Dio, la casa della nazione, la casa della cultura

Bentornati a casa, cari amici. Il Coronavirus è passato o forse no, forse si è chiusa solo la prima parte della sceneggiata, forse era tutto quasi un bluff (con parecchi morti, però), forse ci sarà la seconda ondata, forse il peggio deva ancora venire. Intanto ci si prepara a un’estate magra di turisti e di proventi, ricca in cambio di polemiche: con l’autunno arriveranno anche nuove elezioni e sono in molti a prepararsi. La domanda che parecchi politici sembrano farsi è non già come uscire dalla crisi, ma quali slogans trovare per avvantaggiarsi elettoralmente dalla situazione o far sì che ne sia svantaggiato l’avversario.
Si cerca di forgiarsi armi nuove e si riaffilano le vecchie. Xenofobia e antislamismo in primo piano: quelle sono roba evergreen. Un caro amico, illustre studioso, giorni fa è caduto perfino lui nella trappola del gatto arrostito e mangiato da un ivoriano in quel di Campiglia Marittima: e ci sono caduto anch’io. Entrambi gattofili indignati, abbiamo poi appreso che trattavasi di bufala: meno male, in fondo. Non è una bufala invece l’eroico golpe antimusulmano di sindaco e giunta comunale di Pisa, nuovi paladini di Carlomagno in lotta contro i nuovi saraceni. La comunità musulmana di Pisa (formata, si badi bene, anche da migranti ed extracomunitari, ma alla quale appartengono anche cittadini italiani la libertà di culto dei quali è garantita dalla Costituzione) aveva comprato tempo fa un terreno fabbricabile per erigerci la sua moschea: aveva pagato tutto regolarmente, si era procurata le licenze necessarie e si apprestava a dare il via ai lavori. Ma Orlando Sindaco e Oliviero e Turpino Paladini Assessori hanno deciso che quella era Roncisvalle: e hanno bloccato l’avanzata saracena (e il godimento dei diritti civili di alcuni cittadini italiani musulmani) con un’ordinanza che ha destinato l’area a un parcheggio. Ed ecco la sacrosanta motivazione, degna del Carmen in victoria Pisanorum (“Viva il Popolo di Pisa – per la vita e per la morte!”): La città di Pisa ha più bisogno di parcheggi che di moschee.
Ma il diavolo, alleato dei musulmani (lo dice anche l’Orlando Furioso), ci ha messo la coda: e il diabolico TAR è intervenuto dando ragione agli infedeli (…ma dove andremo a finire?).
Per ora le cose sono ferme a questo punto. Ma sapete la valanga di voti che quest’eroico assalto alle mura saracene frutterà al centrodestra pisano e quindi toscano il 20 settembre prossimo? Del resto a Sesto San Giovanni in quel di Milano, l’ex Stalingrado d’Italia, è accaduto qualcosa di simile: da Stalingrado a Roncisvalle.
Ma che strano… lo sapete che al tempo delle crociate, quelle vere, il Comune di Pisa stipendiava regolarmente una cancelleria dove c’erano traduttori di documenti pubblici dall’arabo in latino e dal latino in arabo? E che nel porto di Genova, imbarcandoci dal quale c’era una buona probabilità, giunti all’altezza della Corsica, di cader prigionieri dei corsari barbareschi e di finir la vita remando sulle galee di Tripoli o di Algeri, funzionava regolarmente una moschea per i mercanti saraceni che vi pregavano indisturbati, così come a Gerusalemme, nella moschea di al-Aqsa e sotto la protezione dei Templari, c’era un oratorio a disposizione di chi volesse pregare Allah? E tutto si faceva alla luce del sole, ogni tanto sbudellandosi nel nome della crociata o del jihad, ma anche commerciando e scambiandosi trattati di filosofia, di medicina e di matematica; e né Francesco d’Assisi, né il Saladino, né Federico di Svevia, né Raimondo Lullo hanno mai ritenuto disdicevole parlare di Dio tra seguaci del Vangelo e fedeli del Corano. Oggi, a Siviglia e a Cordoba si prega il Dio cristiano in chiese che sono state moschee; al Cairo e a Damasco in moschee che sono state chiese. Lo si fa da tempo. E allora?
Eppure, c’è chi s’indigna o si preoccupa per quel ch’è successo a Istanbul, che una volta si chiamava Costantinopoli. Ebbene, parliamone: che cos’è veramente successo?
Cominciamo dal principio.
Quella che in italiano siamo abituati a chiamare “Santa Sòfia” (per piacere, mettete almeno l’accento sulla “o”…) è un capolavoro dell’architettura imperiale romana del IV-V secolo d.C., cui s’ispirarono in tanti fra i quali, a quanto pare, nel XVI secolo il grande architetto ottomano Sinan, il “Michelangelo dei turchi”. E non c’è dubbio che sia uno dei monumenti-documenti più splendidi dell’architettura religiosa e di quella tout court di tutti i tempi. I veneziani del XIII secolo, che durante la “quarta crociata” del 1204 l’avevano saccheggiata e depredata, vi s’ispirarono per la loro mirabile cattedrale di San Marco; ma non c’è dubbio che, già da prima, essa era stata il modello di Giustiniano per San Vitale di Ravenna e degli architetti greci al servizio del califfo umayyade di Damasco, nell’VIII secolo, per la “Moschea della Roccia” di Gerusalemme. Insomma, l’asse della storia eurasiomediterranea passa per quella che i greci chiamano Hagia Sofia – foneticamente resa dai turchi con Ayasofia – e per noi Santa Sofia.
Sofia, vale a dire Sòphia, la Sapienza divina, la “Seconda Persona” della Trinità, il Figlio. È la cattedrale dedicata alla “Santa Sapienza” divina, vale a dire per la tradizione ortodossa al Cristo in quanto Logos, Sapienza e Verità eterna, la Seconda Persona della Trinità. Ma i cittadini grecofoni della Nèa Ryme, la “Nuova Roma”, la chiamavano semplicemente Megàle Ekklesìa, “la grande chiesa”; ed era considerata la Mater Ecclesiarum e il luogo più santo della Cristianità. Sognata e avviata da Costantino, era stata inaugurata nel 360 dall’imperatore Costanzo II. Ricca di strutture lignee, fu incendiata nel 404. Ricostruita e quindi incendiata di nuovo durante la cosiddetta “rivolta della Nika” del 532, spettò a Giustiniano il ricostruirla. Il grande imperatore non badò a spese e fece arrivare da tutti gli angoli dell’impero i marmi più pregiati; il progetto dell’immensa cupola fu probabilmente costruito sulla base dei calcoli di Erone d’Alessandria. L’imperatore e il patriarca Eutichio inaugurarono la nuova basilica il 27 dicembre 537, festa dell’evangelista Giovanni. Da allora il tempio divenne il luogo più sacro della Cristianità, illustrato anche dalle reliquie della passione del Cristo che l’imperatrice Elena madre di Costantino aveva inviato a Costantinopoli verso il 330.
Poiché i sovrani cristiani sono “figura del Cristo sulla terra”, quella cattedrale dedicata al Cristo dall’imperatore Costantino era edificio imperiale per eccellenza e le molteplici cupole che la coronano simboli delle sfere celesti dell’universo. Ben lo sapeva il doge Dandolo, le insegne del cui potere riproducevano quelle imperiali bizantine, e che dopo averla conquistata a spogliata volle farvisi seppellire. Ben lo sapeva quel khan turcomongolo che gli occidentali chiamavano col generico termine di “sultano”, Mehmed II, che dopo aver conquistato la Nèa Ryme (la “Nuova Roma”: tale il nome ufficiale di Costantinopoli) e averla ridenominata Istanbul – un’espressione greca foneticamente turchizzata che significa solo “Nella Città” – volle prendere il titolo d’origine persiana di Padishah, derivato dal latino Caesar, per sottolineare di aver conquistato l’impero romano. Ben lo sapeva il suo successore del Cinquecento, il grande Solimano, che noi chiamiamo “Solimano il Conquistatore”, ma che nel mondo musulmano è noto come Suleiman al Qanuni, “Solimano il restauratore del Canon”, che altro non è se non il Corpus Iuris giustinianeo che, nell’impero ottomano, fungeva da legge civile per quanto corretta dalla Sharia coranica. Ben lo sapevano gli zar della stirpe dei Romanov (Zar, come Padishah, deriva dal latino Caesar), che contendevano agli ottomani il vanto di potersi dire eredi dell’impero romano: questi per diritto di conquista dopo il 1453; quelli per diritto di fede, essendo cristiani ortodossi, e di sangue, discendendo da una principessa del casato dei Paleologi, gli ultimi basileis bizantini (e volendo occupare militarmente il Bosforo e l’accesso al Mediterraneo). E ben lo sapeva infine un imperatore forse taroccato, ma che si prendeva dannatamente sul serio: Napoleone, secondo il quale quando il mondo fosse stato abbastanza saggio da unificarsi, altra capitale non avrebbe potuto scegliere se non Costantinopoli. Se c’è qualcosa che non vi è ancora chiaro, rileggetevi Chateaubriand, Gérard de Nerval e Loti: capirete tutto.
Le vicende storiche dell’illustre monumento sono ben note e dal canto mio le ho già qui richiamate. Ci torno sopra con qualche particolare in più. L’imperatore e legislatore Giustiniano affidò agli architetti Isidoro di Mileto e Antemio di Tralle un complesso lavoro di totale ristrutturazione che durò solo cinque anni in quanto sostenuto da un finanziamento colossale. La sua immensa cupola, di circa 30 metri di diametro, crollò nel 555-556 e venne sostituita da un edificio di ridotte dimensioni che tuttavia, con i suoi 61 metri di altezza, 77 di lunghezza e 71 di larghezza, era comunque il più straordinario monumento dell’impero. Marmi e metalli preziosi furono impiegati a profusione per l’edificio, completamente rivestito all’interno di mosaici. Le pietre e le colonne che erano state utilizzate per costruirlo provenivano, a quanto si diceva, da diversi luoghi dell’impero, a cominciare dal saccheggio del grande tempio di Artemide a Efeso.
A partire dal VII secolo l’impero romano d’Oriente, che siamo soliti chiamare Bisanzio, fu scosso dalla crisi iconoclasta; diversi imperatori aderirono al movimento contrario alle immagini sacre, fino a quando il lungo periodo di contese si concluse sotto il regno del basileus Michele allorché una cerimonia in Aghia Sophia, tenuta l’11 marzo dell’843, riaffermò solennemente e definitivamente il dettato del secondo concilio di Nicea, legittimando di nuovo la proskynesis (prostrazione) dinanzi alle immagini: secondo un culto di adorazione per Dio, di venerazione per Maria, gli angeli, i santi.
Simbolo dell’unità religiosa dell’impero, la chiesa fu gravemente minacciata nelle fasi preliminari della conquista latina di Costantinopoli, nel 1204: in quell’occasione un gravissimo incidente avvenne mentre Alessio IV, il giovane principe che i “crociati” avevano rimesso sul trono, insieme al padre dopo un colpo di stato dello zio, in cambio della promessa di ingenti ricompense, era fuori dalla città accompagnato da alcuni dei baroni franchi in una spedizione contro i bulgari. Una banda di fiamminghi, pisani e veneziani mossero un attacco contro il quartiere musulmano per depredarlo: i residenti risposero con l’aiuto dei greci. Le conseguenze furono terribili perché un incendio divampò e il vento spinse le fiamme in profondità, estendendosi per circa 500 metri e arrivando a sfiorare Aghia Sophia. Seguirono settimane di tensione, al culmine delle quali i crociati saccheggiarono e conquistarono la capitale; preventivamente, i capi della crociata si erano riuniti per accordarsi sulla suddivisione del bottino e dell’Impero: al patriarca veneziano andava Aghia Sophia, convertita dalla confessione greca a quella latina che gli occupanti volevano imporre a una capitale recalcitrante. Proprio in quella sede, il 16 maggio del 1204 il conte Baldovino IX delle Fiandre venne incoronato imperatore di Costantinopoli mentre il veneziano Tommaso Morosini ne divenne patriarca. Così, quando con l’aiuto dei genovesi, nemici dei veneziani, i greci riconquistarono la città, o quel che ne restava dopo le devastazioni, il 13 marzo 1261 fu sempre in Aghia Sophia che Michele VIII fu incoronato basileus. Chi vuol saperne di più può leggere adesso il bel libro di Marina Montesano, Dio lo volle?, Roma, Salerno editore, 2020.
L’impero bizantino si trascinò stancamente da allora per un paio di secoli, fino a quando gli ottomani non misero fine all’agonia; tuttavia, non prima che i cattolici imponessero, in cambio dell’aiuto (che comunque non arrivò mai) contro il Turco, un passaggio forzato dei greci sotto la Chiesa di Roma: l’imperatore accettò, mentre buona parte del clero ortodosso e del popolo costantinopolitano si ribellava, e fu ancora in Aghia Sophia che il 12 dicembre del 1452 alla presenza del cardinale Isidoro patriarca latino di Costantinopoli, appositamente giunto da Roma, che si celebrò la fine dello scisma iniziato nel 1054.
Dopo la conquista ottomana del 1453, il sultano Mehmet II convertì la chiesa in moschea: come dicono molti cronisti dell’epoca, fra i quali il fiorentino Cristoforo Buondelmonti, al momento della conquista l’edificio si trovava in uno stato fatiscente; i restauri e gli abbellimenti continuarono sotto i successori del conquistatore; gli ultimi lavori importanti, realizzati verso la metà dell’Ottocento, furono affidati ad architetti italiani.
Dopo lo smantellamento dell’impero ottomano e la rivoluzione nazionalista di Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, nel 1935 si volle trasformare Ayasofya in un “tempio laico”, cioè in un museo, in linea con la politica del governo e a lode della nazione turca rinata a nuova vita, che considerava Santa Sofia un po’ come il suo Partenone. In anni recenti il presidente Recep Tayyip Erdoğan ha permesso, se non favorito, il ritorno di diversi edifici del paese a luoghi di culto: in Istanbul Chora, un’altra chiesa bizantina di Istanbul che pure era diventata una moschea e poi un museo; e fuori dalla capitale edifici simili a Iznik e Trabzon. Da un paio d’anni a questa parte il presidente promette (o minaccia: secondo i punti di vista) di fare lo stesso con Ayasofya, che tornerebbe al suo ruolo di luogo di culto. Va detto ch’esso è stato tale – cristiano latino, cristiano greco o musulmano – per oltre 1500 anni. Evidentemente Erdoğan intende con ciò ottenere ulteriore consenso da parte della base tradizionalista (se non proprio fondamentalista) del suo partito, cercando di distogliere l’attenzione da una gestione politica non sempre cristallina: ma questa è una questione interna alla Turchia odierna, rispetto alla quale l’Occidente ha ben poco da dire. Di per sé, il suo ritorno alla funzione sacra originaria non deve destare inquietudine: soprattutto alla luce del fatto che, come capitale di due imperi, quello romano e quello ottomano, Aghia Sophia/Ayasofya non è mai stata un simbolo neutro. Lo “strappo” vero, più che nel 1204 quanto il santuario passò dai greci ai latini o nel 1453 quando passò dai cristiani ai musulmani, avvenne durante il regime laicista di Kemal, in tempi nei quali perfino il nominare il nome di Dio in parlamento era considerato un crimine. Oggi, un ritorno parziale al culto – in giorni speciali o attraverso l’organizzazione di uno spazio interno a “sala di preghiera” – non appare cosa che possa davvero urtare o scandalizzare qualcuno.
A meno che… Ma qui bisognerebbe intendersi su molte cose, a cominciare dal valore della tolleranza. Se oggi si profilasse la necessità o l’opportunità di trasformare una chiesa in museo – cosa del resto già accaduta più volte –, è molto probabile che chi vi si opponesse si vedrebbe accusato di oscurantismo e d’intolleranza. Stesse accuse che verrebbero lanciate contro chi intendesse restituire al culto religioso un monumento ormai usato come spazio civico o culturale. Dietro a questi due atteggiamenti c’è un pensiero “a senso unico” che per quanto è in me non ho alcuna intenzione di avallare. Esistono le case di Dio, le case “della nazione” – sacra e una “religione civica” – e le case “della cultura”. Sono dimore che possono anche esser simili; e ce ne sono che, nel tempo, hanno coperto tutte le tre funzioni. In tempo di pluralismo, è opportuno ritenere in linea di massima legittime tutte le opzioni e decidere secondo opportunità, caso per caso. Come credente, posso anche accettare che in alcuni casi un edificio sacro possa essere anche adibito ad altro uso. Ma che addirittura il metro di giudizio si ribalti fino a giungere al paradosso di dichiarare che un edificio riportato alle sue originarie funzioni religiose possa essere accusato di costituire una “profanazione” della “laicità”, questo poi no. La “laicità”, per sua natura, è già “profana” e non può essere se non “profana”. Come credente, posso anche rispettare la laicità. Ma “sacralizzarla”, poi, questo mi dispiace ma non si può. “Per la contraddizion che nol consente”: pericope dantesca da assumersi in questo caso alla lettera.

Questo articolo è stato pubblicato in MC

Omofobia, non serve una nuova legge

“Nulla si guadagna con la violenza e tanto si perde”, sottolinea Papa Francesco, mettendo fuorigioco ogni tipo di razzismo o di esclusione come pure ogni reazione violenta, destinata a rivelarsi a sua volta autodistruttiva.

Le discriminazioni – comprese quelle basate sull’orientamento sessuale – costituiscono una violazione della dignità umana, che – in quanto tale – deve essere sempre rispettata nelle parole, nelle azioni e nelle legislazioni. Trattamenti pregiudizievoli, minacce, aggressioni, lesioni, atti di bullismo, stalking… sono altrettante forme di attentato alla sacralità della vita umana e vanno perciò contrastate senza mezzi termini.

Al riguardo, un esame obiettivo delle disposizioni a tutela della persona, contenute nell’ordinamento giuridico del nostro Paese, fa concludere che esistono già adeguati presidi con cui prevenire e reprimere ogni comportamento violento o persecutorio.

Questa consapevolezza ci porta a guardare con preoccupazione alle proposte di legge attualmente in corso di esame presso la Commissione Giustizia della Camera dei Deputati contro i reati di omotransfobia: anche per questi ambiti non solo non si riscontra alcun vuoto normativo, ma nemmeno lacune che giustifichino l’urgenza di nuove disposizioni.

Anzi, un’eventuale introduzione di ulteriori norme incriminatrici rischierebbe di aprire a derive liberticide, per cui – più che sanzionare la discriminazione – si finirebbe col colpire l’espressione di una legittima opinione, come insegna l’esperienza degli ordinamenti di altre Nazioni al cui interno norme simili sono già state introdotte. Per esempio, sottoporre a procedimento penale chi ritiene che la famiglia esiga per essere tale un papà e una mamma – e non la duplicazione della stessa figura – significherebbe introdurre un reato di opinione. Ciò limita di fatto la libertà personale, le scelte educative, il modo di pensare e di essere, l’esercizio di critica e di dissenso.

Crediamo fermamente che, oltre ad applicare in maniera oculata le disposizioni già in vigore, si debba innanzitutto promuovere l’impegno educativo nella direzione di una seria prevenzione, che contribuisca a scongiurare e contrastare ogni offesa alla persona. Su questo non servono polemiche o scomuniche reciproche, ma disponibilità a un confronto autentico e intellettualmente onesto.

Nella misura in cui tale dialogo avviene nella libertà, ne trarranno beneficio tanto il rispetto della persona quanto la democraticità del Paese.

 

La Presidenza della CEI

 

Roma, 10 giugno 2020

The failure to protect our nursing homes

Something went very wrong with Ireland’s Covid-19 policy for nursing homes. Five months from the beginning of the Coronavirus crisis, the failure of the health authorities to properly protect the care homes has become evident. It is now seems clearer than ever that the needs of nursing homes and their residents were placed behind those of hospitals, with terrible consequences.

Speaking at the Oireachtas Special Committee on Covid-19, on behalf of the HSE, Dr Jim Breslin said that more than 5,400 residents had a confirmed diagnosis, which is 18pc of the total nursing home population of 30,000. Half of the country’s nursing homes had become degree of infection.

The surge was expected to happen in hospitals and thus the focus of the health authorities was mostly on that sector. Patients with other conditions were discharged from acute hospitals to make space and prepare them for possible Covid-19 patients.

“[What] I have seen is an overt focus on the acute hospital sector to the exclusion of community care in general.” Tadhg Daly of Nursing Homes Ireland told the Oireachtas Special Committee.

The nursing home sector had foreseen this coming and tried to raise this issue with the health authorities at an early stage. More and more pieces of correspondence now are emerging showing the plea for a proper response to an escalating emergency.

Since February a national plan was required but it wasn’t developed.

“We were exasperated in early stages and felt the sector required a very specific plan. We knew Covid-19 had a disproportionate impact on older people. The planning and focus was almost exclusively on our acute hospitals.”, Mr Daly told the Committee.

What happened instead is that the State recruited staff from the nursing home sector, in favour of the hospital sector.

At the same time, many carers started to feel sick and isolated themselves in their houses. The delay in getting results to be cleared for returning to work exacerbated a situation that was already critical.

A large number of patients were discharged from the hospitals to the nursing home sectors, but with no proper plan. “No memo was issued to instruct the transfer out of patients to clear space in the hospitals, that was just done on a case-by-case basis by individual clinicians”, noted Deputy Louse O’Reilly.

Some of those patients were asymptomatic and only later tested positive, when it was too late and they had passed the disease to other residents and staff.

Mr Tadhg Daly confirmed that in March very few patients discharged from acute hospitals and moved to the care homes, were tested. “If they were asymptomatic, it was not deemed necessary to take a test”.

Pressed by Deputy Brid Smith, a representative of the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) admitted they did not know how many patients were tested before being transferred.

Paul Reid, the CEO of the HSE, admitted to the Oireachtas Special Committee that no analysis has been completed of the impact of transferring people from acute hospitals to the homes. This was a significant contributory factor in spreading of the infection.

The impression is that elderly patients were treated as the poor relations while the focus of public health policy was on the hospital system.

Like in some other countries, this series of failures caused an unprecedented and acute crisis and, as a consequence, hundreds of residents have died.

What the health authority anticipated would occur in hospitals, materialised to a much greater extent in the nursing homes, which experienced the most terrible scenario. They were crying out for staff and for proper Personal Protective Equipment while their residents were becoming infected and passing away.

The history of Ireland’s Covid-19 epidemic will be partly remembered for its failure and neglect of the most fragile and vulnerable citizens. The State did not properly protect them at first.

Pat McManus Band - Belfast Boy

Elenco di articoli pubblicati sul blog dell'Iona Institute

Questo è l'elenco di tutti gli articoli che ho scritto per l'Iona Institute dal 2017. Si tratta di 141 pezzi, di argomento diverso. Quasi tutti sono stati ripubblicati su questo blog, a volte in versione leggermente più lunga.

2020

 

January

 

2nd January 2020

'Minister Harris attacks a Catholic parish for being Catholic'

https://ionainstitute.ie/minister-harris-attacks-a-catholic-parish-for-being-catholic/

 

18th January 2020

'An abortion per day at the Rotunda is already a horrible figure'

https://ionainstitute.ie/an-abortion-per-day-at-the-rotunda-is-already-a-horrible-figure/

 

22nd January 2020

'Time for Irish pharmacists to be given proper conscience rights'

https://ionainstitute.ie/time-for-irish-pharmacists-to-be-given-proper-conscience-rights/

 

February

 

7th February 2020

'Another move to expand the grounds for abortion'

https://ionainstitute.ie/another-move-to-expand-the-grounds-for-abortion/

 

17th February 2020

'Pro-life vote made its presence felt in General Election 2020'

https://ionainstitute.ie/pro-life-vote-made-its-presence-felt-in-general-election-2020/

 

24th February 2020

'Citizens’ Assembly moves to strip marriage of special status'

https://ionainstitute.ie/citizens-assembly-moves-to-strip-marriage-of-special-status/

 

26th February 2020

'Quantifying the enormous good the Church does worldwide'

https://ionainstitute.ie/quantifying-the-enormous-good-the-church-does-worldwide/

March

 

3rd March 2020

'The parties with the most secularist voters'

https://ionainstitute.ie/the-parties-with-the-most-secularist-voters/

 

6th March 2020

'In two countries with liberal regimes, abortion rates have increased'

https://ionainstitute.ie/in-two-countries-with-liberal-regimes-abortion-rates-have-increased/

 

10th March 2020

'An astonishing UN attack on religious freedom'

https://ionainstitute.ie/an-astonishing-un-attack-on-religious-freedom/

 

31st March 2020

'Current crisis has been exploited to make our abortion law even more permissive'

https://ionainstitute.ie/current-crisis-has-been-exploited-to-make-our-abortion-law-even-more-permissive/

 

April

 

4th April 2020

'Northern Ireland horrendous new abortion regime gets underway'

https://ionainstitute.ie/northern-ireland-horrendous-new-abortion-regime-gets-underway/

 

7th April 2020

'Remembering the heroic priests and nuns who have died in this crisis'

https://ionainstitute.ie/remembering-the-heroic-priests-and-nuns-who-have-died-in-this-crisis/

 

14th April 2020

'Ethical questions in a pandemic'

https://ionainstitute.ie/ethical-questions-in-a-pandemic/

 

23rd April 2020

'The ethics of a lockdown'

https://ionainstitute.ie/the-ethics-of-a-lockdown/

 

24th April 2020

'A new poll shows how Irish religious practice is adapting to the lockdown'

https://ionainstitute.ie/how-religious-practice-in-ireland-is-adapting-to-the-lockdown/

 

28th April 2020

'Who should get priority treatment in a pandemic?'

https://ionainstitute.ie/who-should-get-priority-treatment-in-a-pandemic/

 

 May

 

6th May 2020

'New law takes an axe to the natural ties'

https://ionainstitute.ie/new-law-takes-an-axe-to-the-natural-ties/

 

11th May 2020

'Religious practice reduces ‘deaths from despair’'

https://ionainstitute.ie/religious-practice-reduces-deaths-from-despair/

 

15th May 2020

'How religious sisters are the real founders of modern nursing'

https://ionainstitute.ie/how-religious-sisters-are-the-real-founders-of-modern-medicine/

 

19th May 2020

'Ireland will be one of the last countries in Europe to restore public worship'

https://ionainstitute.ie/ireland-will-be-one-of-the-last-countries-in-europe-to-restore-public-worship/

 

21st May 2020

'French and German judges rule against Covid-bans on public worship'

https://ionainstitute.ie/french-and-german-judges-rule-against-covid-bans-on-public-worship/

 

25th May 2020

'Should those in charge get priority treatment in a pandemic?'

https://ionainstitute.ie/should-those-in-charge-get-priority-treatment-in-a-pandemic/

 

29th May 2020

'Getting the facts right about reversing effects of abortion pills'

https://ionainstitute.ie/getting-the-facts-right-about-reversing-effects-of-abortion-pills/

June

 

4th June 2020

'Safety above all things is not a Christian virtue'

https://ionainstitute.ie/safety-above-all-things-is-not-a-christian-virtue/

 

9th June 2020

'More light thrown on religious practice in a lockdown'

https://ionainstitute.ie/more-light-thrown-on-religious-practice-in-a-lockdown/

 

12th June 2020

'Number of babies with Down Syndrome being aborted goes up'

https://ionainstitute.ie/number-of-babies-with-down-syndrome-being-aborted-goes-up/

 

16th June 2020

'Programme for Government will ban pro-life vigils outside hospitals'

https://ionainstitute.ie/programme-for-government-will-ban-pro-life-vigils-outside-hospitals/

 

23rd June 2020

'Marriage in Ireland continues its decline'

https://ionainstitute.ie/marriage-in-ireland-continues-its-decline/

 

30th June 2020

'6666 abortions performed in Ireland last year'

https://ionainstitute.ie/6666-abortions-performed-in-ireland-last-year/

 

 

July

 

3rd July 2020

'For pro-choice campaigners, ignorance about abortion is bliss'

https://ionainstitute.ie/for-pro-choice-campaigners-ignorance-about-abortion-is-bliss/

 

10th July 2020

'The failure to protect our nursing homes'

https://ionainstitute.ie/the-failure-to-protect-our-nursing-homes/

 

 

15th July 2020

'Two wins for religious freedom at US Supreme Court'

https://ionainstitute.ie/two-wins-for-religious-freedom-at-us-supreme-court/

 

 

2019

January

 

9th January 2019

'Laws banning protests outside abortion facilities are extremely rare'

https://ionainstitute.ie/no-country-in-europe-has-exclusion-zones-outside-abortion-facilities/

 

26th January 2019

'UCD conference gives us a foretaste of the coming push for a ‘right-to-die’'

https://ionainstitute.ie/ucd-conference-gives-us-a-foretaste-of-the-coming-push-for-a-right-to-die/

 

31st January 2019

'New report on RSE only pretends to be ‘objective’'

https://ionainstitute.ie/new-report-on-rse-only-pretends-to-be-objective/

 February

 

12th February 2019

'Vast majority of couples who carry a terminally ill baby to term do not regret it'

https://ionainstitute.ie/vast-majority-of-couples-who-carry-a-terminally-ill-baby-to-term-do-not-regret-it/

 

22nd February 2019

'Little evidence that sex education programmes actually work

https://ionainstitute.ie/little-evidence-that-sex-education-programmes-actually-work/

March

 

11th March 2019

'No strong evidence that free contraception will reduce abortion rate'

https://ionainstitute.ie/no-strong-evidence-that-free-contraception-will-reduce-abortion-rate/

 

26th March 2019

'Our politicians’ blind spot about the natural ties and children'

https://ionainstitute.ie/our-politicians-blind-spot-about-the-natural-ties-and-children/

 

 

April

 

30th April 2019

'In England the abortion situation becomes worse'

https://ionainstitute.ie/in-england-the-abortion-situation-becomes-worse/

 

18th April 2019

'Ireland must have a debate about gene-editing'

https://ionainstitute.ie/ireland-must-have-a-debate-about-gene-editing/

  

May

 

9th May 2019

'Persecution of Christians in some countries ‘approaching genocide’, but we remain indifferent'

https://ionainstitute.ie/persecution-of-christians-in-some-countries-approaching-genocide-2/

 

15th May 2019

'Children suffer when parents in low-conflict marriages divorce'

https://ionainstitute.ie/children-suffer-when-parents-in-low-conflict-marriages-divorce/

 

21st  May 2019

'The risk factors leading to marital breakdown'

https://ionainstitute.ie/the-risk-factors-leading-to-marital-breakdown/

 

31st May 2019

'UN report warns against all forms of surrogacy'

https://ionainstitute.ie/un-report-warns-against-all-forms-of-surrogacy/

 

 

June

 

16th June 2019

'Death of Dutch teenager was euthanasia by another name'

https://ionainstitute.ie/death-of-dutch-teenager-was-euthanasia-by-another-name/

 

19th  June 2019

'Most atheists still believe the universe has ultimate meaning'

https://ionainstitute.ie/most-atheists-still-believe-the-universe-has-ultimate-meaning/

 

24th  June 2019

'Unborn child counted for nothing in judge’s decision to order an abortion'

https://ionainstitute.ie/unborn-child-counted-for-nothing-in-judges-decision-to-order-an-abortion/

 

 

July

 

2nd  July 2019

'Funding of Church schools is commonplace across Europe'

https://ionainstitute.ie/funding-of-church-schools-is-commonplace-across-europe/

 

15th July 2019

'Mix-up reveals the terrible dilemma at the heart of IVF'

https://ionainstitute.ie/mix-up-reveals-the-terrible-dilemma-at-the-heart-of-ivf/

 

23rd July 2019

'The moral contradictions of altruistic egg donation and surrogacy'

https://ionainstitute.ie/the-moral-contradictions-of-altruistic-egg-donation-and-surrogacy/

 

30th July 2019

'Citizens’ Assembly could pave the way for assisted suicide'

https://ionainstitute.ie/citizens-assembly-could-pave-the-way-for-assisted-suicide/

August

 

9th of August 2019

'The abortion movement and its root in eugenics'

https://ionainstitute.ie/the-abortion-movement-and-its-root-in-eugenics/

 

30th of August 2019

'Another terrible assisted suicide case'

https://ionainstitute.ie/another-terrible-assisted-suicide-case/

 

September

 

10th of September 2019

'Medical Council’s Ethics Guide now less ethical'

https://ionainstitute.ie/medical-councils-ethics-guide-now-less-ethical/

 

25th of September 2019

'An important voice in favour of fathers speaks out'

https://ionainstitute.ie/an-important-voice-in-favour-of-fathers-speaks-out/

 

30th of September 2019

'Another atheist fails to justify objective morality'

https://ionainstitute.ie/another-atheist-fails-to-justify-objective-morality/

 October

 

11th of October 2019

'UCD’s big failure to honour its founder'

https://ionainstitute.ie/ucds-big-failure-to-honour-its-founder/

 

18th of October 2019

'Does Leo Varadkar toast his conscience first, or the State?'

https://ionainstitute.ie/does-leo-varadkar-toast-his-conscience-first-or-the-state/

 November

 

7th of November 2019

'Mary McAleese’s deeply flawed view of baptism and child autonomy'

https://ionainstitute.ie/mary-mcaleeses-deeply-flawed-view-of-baptism-and-child-autonomy/

 

8th of November 2019

'Do Mary McAleese and We Are Church believe John Paul II condoned rape?'

https://ionainstitute.ie/do-mary-mcaleese-and-we-are-church-believe-john-paul-ii-condoned-rape/

 

13th of November 2019

'Ireland joins the campaign to legalise abortion worldwide'

https://ionainstitute.ie/ireland-joins-the-campaign-to-legalise-abortion-worldwide/

 

26th of November 2019

'The HSE-backed researcher who wants ‘ethical’ porn taught in schools'

https://ionainstitute.ie/teaching-children-that-porn-can-be-ethical-and-positive/

 December

 

7th of December 2019

'Dr Peter Boylan needs to correct his book on the abortion debate'

https://ionainstitute.ie/dr-peter-boylan-needs-to-correct-his-book-on-the-abortion-debate/

 

12th of December 2019

'Dominion: how Christianity has shaped even its critics for the better'

https://ionainstitute.ie/dominion-how-christianity-has-shaped-even-its-critics-for-the-better/

 

19th of December 2019

'The inaccurate accurate tests for foetal abnormalities'

https://ionainstitute.ie/the-inaccurate-accurate-tests-for-foetal-abnormalities/

 

 

2018

January

 

18th January 2018

'The use of abortion pills by Irish women'

https://ionainstitute.ie/the-use-of-abortion-pills-by-irish-women/

 

24th January 2018

'Down Syndrome and abortion; the facts'

https://ionainstitute.ie/down-syndrome-and-abortion-the-facts/

 

 February

 

7th February 2018

'A conscience provision must fully protect pro-life doctors'

https://ionainstitute.ie/a-conscience-provision-must-fully-protect-pro-life-doctors/

 

23rd February 2018

'Proposal for a GP-led abortion ‘service’ is impractical as well as unjust'

https://ionainstitute.ie/proposal-for-a-gp-led-abortion-service-is-impractical-as-well-as-unjust/

 

28th February 2018

'Why our abortion law would be more permissive than the British law'

https://ionainstitute.ie/why-our-abortion-law-would-be-more-permissive-than-the-british-law/

 

 March

 

9th March 2018

'No Catholic with a well-informed conscience could vote for abortion'

https://ionainstitute.ie/no-catholic-with-a-well-informed-conscience-could-vote-for-abortion/

 

14th March 2018

'The goal of medicine: heal, never harm'

https://ionainstitute.ie/the-goal-of-medicine-heal-never-harm/

 

28th March 2018

'It is false to say restrictive laws lead to more abortions'

https://ionainstitute.ie/it-is-false-to-say-restrictive-laws-lead-to-more-abortions/

 

 April

 

18th April 2018

'The ultra-liberal abortion regime favoured by leading members of Together for Yes'

https://ionainstitute.ie/the-ultra-liberal-abortion-regime-favoured-by-leading-members-of-together-for-yes/

 

 May

 

7th May 2018

'Together for Yes appears to support abortion for non-fatal abnormalities'

https://ionainstitute.ie/together-for-yes-appears-to-support-abortion-for-non-fatal-abnormalities/

 

17th May 2018

'Disability-based abortions will take place within the 12 week limit'

https://ionainstitute.ie/disability-based-abortions-will-take-place-within-the-12-week-limit/

 

 

June

 

5th June 2018

'Proposed AHR scheme allows gamete donation from close family members'

https://ionainstitute.ie/proposed-ahr-scheme-allows-gamete-donation-from-close-family-members/

 

8th June 2018

'Abortion rates increase in the UK, particularly in Northern Ireland'

https://ionainstitute.ie/abortion-rates-increase-in-the-uk-particularly-in-northern-ireland/

 

13th  June 2018

'Marriage breakdown in Ireland: higher than we think'

https://ionainstitute.ie/marriage-breakdown-in-ireland-higher-than-we-think/

 

15th  June 2018

'Morally wrong to force GPs to refer for abortion'

https://ionainstitute.ie/morally-wrong-to-force-gps-to-refer-for-abortion/

 

 July

 

11th July 2018

'Marriage in Ireland compared with other EU countries'

https://ionainstitute.ie/marriage-in-ireland-compared-with-other-eu-countries/

 

17th July 2018

'Latest version of planned abortion law even worse than the first one'

https://ionainstitute.ie/latest-version-of-planned-abortion-law-even-worse-than-the-first-version/

 

24th July 2018

'What really reduces teenage pregnancy; social media'

https://ionainstitute.ie/what-really-reduces-teenage-pregnancy-social-media/

 

27th July 2018

'The State must respect the conscience rights of pro-life hospitals'

https://ionainstitute.ie/the-state-must-respect-the-conscience-rights-of-pro-life-hospitals/

 August

 

10th of August 2018

'Discovering and teaching what makes a marriage work'

https://ionainstitute.ie/discovering-and-teaching-what-makes-a-marriage-work/

 

21st of August 2018

'The growing shortage of marriageable men'

https://ionainstitute.ie/the-growing-shortage-of-marriageable-men/

 

September

 

4th of September 2018

'Leo Varadkar must not use science to hide his pro-choice ideology'

https://ionainstitute.ie/leo-varadkar-must-not-use-science-to-hide-his-pro-choice-ideology/

 

7th of September 2018

'Influential academics set out their ultra-permissive pro-choice vision'

https://ionainstitute.ie/influential-academics-set-out-their-ultra-permissive-pro-choice-vision/

 

12th of September 2018

'‘Mother’, ‘father’ to be replaced by ‘parent 1’, ‘parent 2’'

https://ionainstitute.ie/mother-and-father-to-be-replaced-by-parent-1-and-parent-2/

 

18th of September 2018

'Marriage is the best friend of the unborn child'

https://ionainstitute.ie/marriage-is-the-best-friend-of-the-unborn-child/

 

28th of September 2018

'Minister Harris, if we voted for your abortion law, why did you change it?'

https://ionainstitute.ie/minister-harris-if-we-voted-for-your-abortion-law-why-did-you-change-it/

 

October

 

3rd of October 2018

'World Medical Association should defend its policy against euthanasia and assisted suicide'

https://ionainstitute.ie/world-medical-association-should-defend-its-policy-against-euthanasia-and-assisted-suicide/

 

5th of October 2018

'Conscientious objection is again under attack'

https://ionainstitute.ie/conscientious-objection-is-again-under-attack/

 

10th of October 2018

'Christian bakery wins vital freedom of conscience battle'

https://ionainstitute.ie/christian-bakery-wins-vital-freedom-of-conscience-battle/

 

13th of October 2018

'How ‘patriarchal’ Christianity appeals more to women than to men'

https://ionainstitute.ie/how-patriarchal-christianity-appeals-more-to-women-than-to-men/

 

19th of October 2018

'How to properly protect conscience rights'

https://ionainstitute.ie/how-to-properly-protect-conscience-rights/

 

November

 

1st of November 2018

'The evidence mounts; there are REAL differences between the sexes'

https://ionainstitute.ie/the-evidence-mounts-there-are-real-differences-between-the-sexes/

 

9th of November 2018

'A shameful refusal to legislate for the respectful disposal of aborted babies'

https://ionainstitute.ie/a-shameful-refusal-to-legislate-for-the-respectful-disposal-of-aborted-babies/

 

22nd of November 2018

'Further evidence the Government overestimate day-care demand'

https://ionainstitute.ie/further-evidence-the-government-overestimate-day-care-demand/

 

29th of November 2018

'Religious persecution continues to rise in the world'

https://ionainstitute.ie/religious-persecution-continues-to-rise-in-the-world/

 

December

 

6th of December 2018

'The Christian contribution to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights'

https://ionainstitute.ie/the-christian-contribution-to-the-universal-declaration-of-human-rights/

 

14th of December 2018

'Why the State should tax married couples less'

https://ionainstitute.ie/why-the-state-should-tax-married-couples-less/

 

21st of December 2018

'Refusing to engage with the ethical harms of surrogacy and donor-conception'

https://ionainstitute.ie/refusing-to-engage-with-the-ethical-harms-of-surrogacy-and-donor-conception/

 

 

2017

 

January

 

31st January 2017

'Time to call maternity hospitals ‘pregnant people’ hospitals?'

https://ionainstitute.ie/time-to-call-maternity-hospitals-pregnant-people-hospitals/

 

 February

 

8th February 2017

'Two rival concepts of autonomy on display at Citizens’ Assembly'

https://ionainstitute.ie/two-rivals-concepts-of-autonomy-on-display-at-citizens-assembly/

 

15th February 2017

'Big majority of submissions to Citizens’ Assembly support the right to life'

https://ionainstitute.ie/big-majority-of-submissions-to-citizens-assembly-support-the-right-to-life/

 

23rd February 2017

'Removing the pro-life amendment will lead to widespread eugenics'

https://ionainstitute.ie/removing-the-pro-life-amendment-will-lead-to-widespread-eugenics/

 

 

March

 

3rd March 2017

'Guttmacher Institute is dead wrong; married women have far fewer abortions'

https://ionainstitute.ie/guttmacher-institute-is-dead-wrong-married-women-have-far-fewer-abortions/

 

4th March 2017

'Ireland has a very low abortion rate by European standards'

https://ionainstitute.ie/ireland-has-a-very-low-abortion-rate-by-european-standards/

 

14th March 2017

'Enemies of the State: Religious Freedom and the New Repression'

https://ionainstitute.ie/enemies-of-the-state-religious-freedom-and-the-new-repression/

 

21st March 2017

'A bad day for religious freedom at the European Court of Justice'

https://ionainstitute.ie/a-bad-day-for-religious-freedom-at-the-european-court-of-justice/

 

31st March 2017

'Commissioner’s opinion on Irish abortion law has no real legal weight'

https://ionainstitute.ie/commissioners-opinion-on-irish-abortion-law-can-be-totally-disregarded/

 

 

 April

 

19th April 2017

'Like the Church, the United Nations is beset by scandals and cover-ups'

https://ionainstitute.ie/like-the-church-the-united-nations-is-beset-by-scandals-and-cover-ups/

 

21st  April 2017

'Ireland’s abortion rate is very low by European standards'

https://ionainstitute.ie/what-is-the-irish-abortion-rate/

 

May

 

4th May 2017

'Fintan O’Toole mocks ethos, but he has one too'

https://ionainstitute.ie/fintan-otoole-mocks-ethos-but-he-has-one-too/

 

18th May 2017

'Atheist Ireland’s secular State would reduce freedom of religion to freedom of worship'

https://ionainstitute.ie/atheist-irelands-secular-state-would-reduce-freedom-of-religion-to-freedom-of-worship/

 

29th May 2017

'Post-the-nuns, will a pro-life or pro-choice ethic govern the St Vincent’s hospitals?'

https://ionainstitute.ie/post-the-nuns-will-a-pro-life-or-pro-choice-ethic-govern-the-st-vincents-hospitals/

 

30th May 2017

'Anti-conscientious objection article in Irish Times very misleading'

https://ionainstitute.ie/abortion-rights-activist-target-conscientious-objection-with-false-information/

June

 

16th June 2017

'Breaking down the latest abortion figures from England and Wales'

https://ionainstitute.ie/breaking-down-the-latest-abortion-figures-from-england-and-wales/

 

 

20th June 2017

'Official figures badly underestimate number of Down Syndrome abortions'

https://ionainstitute.ie/official-figures-badly-underestimate-number-of-down-syndrome-abortions/

 

 

27th  June 2017

'Monogamy is under attack on different fronts'

https://ionainstitute.ie/monogamy-is-under-attack-on-different-fronts/

 

 

 July

 

5th July 2017

'Exclusivity no longer an essential element of marriage, Supreme Court decides'

https://ionainstitute.ie/exclusivity-no-longer-an-essential-element-of-marriage-supreme-court-decides/

 

14th July 2017

'The Citizens’ Assembly disregards contributions from ordinary citizens'

https://ionainstitute.ie/the-citizens-assembly-disregards-contributions-from-ordinary-citizens/

 

16th July 2017

'The Citizens’ Assembly report ignores conscientious objection'

https://ionainstitute.ie/the-citizens-assembly-report-ignores-conscientious-objection/

 

 August

 

3rd of August 2017

'Protecting the rights of donor-conceived children'

https://ionainstitute.ie/protecting-the-rights-of-donor-conceived-children/

 

10th of August 2017

'Does pro-choice animus towards Catholicism have a limit?'

https://ionainstitute.ie/does-pro-choice-hostility-to-religion-have-a-limit/

 

22nd of August 2017

'The ethics of showing pictures of aborted foetuses in public'

https://ionainstitute.ie/the-ethics-of-showing-pictures-of-aborted-foetuses-in-public/

 

24th of August 2017

'Leo Varadkar should have challenged Justin Trudeau about Canada’s barbaric abortion law'

https://ionainstitute.ie/leo-varadkar-should-have-challenged-justin-trudeau-about-canadas-barbaric-abortion-law/

 

 

September

 

6th of September 2017

'How ‘safeguards’ aimed at limiting assisted suicide are collapsing'

https://ionainstitute.ie/how-safeguards-aimed-at-limiting-assisted-suicide-are-collapsing/

 

22nd of September 2017

'Irish Government happy to promote gay rights abroad but not religious freedom'

https://ionainstitute.ie/irish-government-happy-to-promote-gay-rights-abroad-but-not-religious-freedom/

 

26th of September 2017

'Katherine Zappone’s madly contradictory views on Church and State'

https://ionainstitute.ie/katherine-zappones-madly-contradictory-views-on-church-and-state/

 

 October

 

6th of October 2017

'Professor Binchy defends equal worth of every human being before Oireachtas Committee on abortion'

https://ionainstitute.ie/professor-binchy-defends-the-inherent-and-equal-worth-of-every-human-being-before-the-oireachtas-committee-on-abortion/

 

18th of October 2017

'Masters of two main maternity hospitals want law to permit abortion of disabled babies'

https://ionainstitute.ie/masters-of-two-main-maternity-hospitals-want-law-to-permit-abortion-of-disabled-babies/

 

26th of October 2017

'Peter Boylan is wrong about abortion rates going down when law liberalised'

https://ionainstitute.ie/dr-peter-boylan-is-wrong-to-tell-committee-abortion-rates-go-down-when-law-liberalised/

 

 November

 

9th of November 2017

'Shielding students from uncomfortable opinions does them no favours'

https://ionainstitute.ie/shielding-students-from-uncomfortable-opinions-does-them-no-favours/

 

15th of November 2017

'Minister Harris should heed scandals engulfing abortion clinics overseas'

https://ionainstitute.ie/minister-harris-should-heed-scandals-engulfing-abortion-clinics-overseas/

 

23rd of November 2017

'Assisted suicide comes before the Oireachtas Justice Committee'

https://ionainstitute.ie/assisted-suicide-comes-before-the-oireachtas-justice-committee/

 

30th of November 2017

'Making contraception cheaper does not reduce a country’s abortion rate'

https://ionainstitute.ie/making-contraception-cheaper-does-not-reduce-a-countrys-abortion-rate/

 

December

 

15th of December 2017

'Oireachtas Committee already considering next attack on right to life'

https://ionainstitute.ie/oireachtas-committee-already-considering-next-attack-on-right-to-life/

 

6th of December 2017

'In Denmark 97pc of babies found to have Down Syndrome were aborted last year'

https://ionainstitute.ie/in-denmark-97pc-of-babies-found-to-have-down-syndrome-were-aborted-last-year/