Family & bioethics

Dr Jeffrey Goh was invited to participate as an Adiutor at the recent Extraordinary Synod on the Family held at Vatican City in October 5-19, 2014.

With all that media-hype on so-called “hot-button” issues, there were some questions understandably gravitated around “controversial” topics. Concerning these issues, he has written the article below to explain the Synod and shares his experience. Read more »

Bumiputera Christians have become “instant criminals” after the Federal Court ruled to uphold a lower court decision against allowing the Catholic Church the use of the word “Allah” for God, the Sarawak Ministers’ Fellowship (SMF) said.

The umbrella group representing evangelical missions in the state noted that the bulk of Bumiputera Christians were from East Malaysia where the bibles in their native tongues or in the national language contained “Allah”, but added that thousands of Sarawakian Christians worked or studied in the peninsula where their word for God was now barred to them. Read more »

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference for England and Wales (CBCEW) has urged Catholics to respond to a survey on same-sex marriage, divorce and contraception, ahead of the Vatican synod on the family next October.

Following a request from the Vatican to the world’s bishops, urging them to distribute the questionaire as widely as possible, the Archbishop of Westminster announced the launch of the consulation in order to prepare for the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the ‘Pastoral Challenges of the family in the context of evangelisation.’ Read more »

Non-negotiable values, as they are called, are at the centre of all of Francis’ actions. Many have noticed this change of tone in recent Church history; some circles are happy about it, others are really not.

This does not mean Francis shies away from addressing controversial elements of Catholic bioethics when the subject comes up. He did so recently in a message to Catholics in Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales, on the occasion of the Day for life which will be celebrated on different dates between 28 July and 6 October. Read more »

As the leaders of the top economic powers of the world gather at the G8 summit in Northern Ireland this week, they are certainly focused on the conflict in Syria and, as always, the financial conditions and regulations that affect the lives of so many.

But there’s another important item on their agenda that hasn’t been getting as much attention – the sexual violence, predominantly against women and children, that accompanies war and conflict. Read more »

The Millennial Generation has lately come to be much more frequently discussed. As a Millennial myself and a teacher of Millennials, I have a great personal interest in the discussion.

About the Millennials, there is no shortage of observations coming from the Baby Boomers. Joel Stein of TIME Magazine, himself hailing from the margins between Gen X and Gen Y, penned TIME’s most recent cover story, The ME ME ME Generation. Read more »

An Alabama Supreme Court decision recognizing the unborn as persons deserving of legal protections could have significant implications in ending abortion in the U.S., say pro-life advocates.

“The Alabama Supreme Court has dealt a massive blow to the constitutional fraud of Roe v. Wade by recognizing that the preborn child is a person,” said Personhood USA legal analyst Gualberto Garcia Jones, J.D., in a statement. Read more »

Guidelines for the increasing number of interreligious marriages have been launched by the Christian-Muslim forum. “When Two Faiths Meet. Marriage, Family and Pastoral Care – Ethical principles” is available free online.

Bishop Paul Hendricks, Auxiliary Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Southwark, and Co-Chair of the Christian-Muslim Forum, welcomed the new guidelines, saying that “they offer valuable guidance for both priests and imams. Read more »

“I’m elated beyond words.”  “An early Christmas present.” “Deo gratsias!” “It is a welcome and huge move…” “One of the most important papal directives in the last half-century”.

These were some of the reactions of pro-life leaders to Pope Benedict XVI’s directive called ‘On the service of charity’ released Saturday which mandated that charitable activities undertaken by the Catholic Church never offend Catholic teaching. Read more »

A Catholic man whose wife was murdered on their honeymoon last year said his faith has helped him come to terms with his loss.

John McAreavey, 28, has set up a charitable foundation in memory of his late wife, Michaela, to help young people celebrate their Catholic faith.

Michaela McAreavey, 27, was murdered as the couple honeymooned in Mauritius just 12 days after the wedding. Two hotel workers charged with her murder were acquitted after a lengthy trial earlier this year. Read more »