Angelo Bottone's podcast: Recent Episodes
Angelo Bottone
Maria Steen addressed a meeting of The Iona Institute about the two upcoming referendums on the family and carers.
This is an extract from the Come and See Inspiration podcast, where I discuss the proposals to introduce "medically assisted dying" in Ireland. The full podcast can be found here: https://comeandseeinspirations.buzzsprout.com/145420/13311357-c-si-discussing-proposals-for-assisted-suicide-and-euthanasia-dying-with-dignity-in-ireland-30-july-2023-s03e36
Professor Richard Rex of Queens' College, Cambridge, discusses 'Europe and the Faith'. He describes how Christianity has helped to shape Europe down to the present day and what will happen to Europe as the faith fades from the continent. The talk was hosted by The Iona Institute and the Notre Dame Newman Centre for Faith and Reason. It took place in University Church in Dublin on March 22, 2023. The title deliberately evokes Hilaire Belloc's book of the same name.
Dr Gerard Casey, former head of the Department of Philosophy at UCD recently addressed a meeting organised by The Iona Institute called ‘Christians in a post-human world: a sneak look at our near future’. Dr Casey described how our world is changing even more rapidly than we realise. As Artificial Intelligence (AI) develops, there is growing talk of a ‘trans-human’ or even ‘post-human’ future, in which humans, merged with technology, will transcend their own physical and intellectual limits and even achieve a kind of immortality. Some thinkers welcome this and look forward to a time when humans will be ‘post-human’. They believe humans have had a destructive impact on the planet overall and evolution has given us a nature that is too violent and competitive. But what are Christians to make of all this? Should we embrace post-humanism or reject it as an attack on how we are created by God? In his talk, Dr Casey discussed these vital questions. The talk was delivered in the Central Catholic Library, Dublin, on June 27th, 2023.
Dr. Dermot Kearney speaks to Family Solidarity about his heroic prolife work at an event prior to the Rally for Life in Dublin, 2 July 2022.
Due mainly to Covid-19, Ireland saw a significant drop in the number of births in the second quarter of this year compared with the same period last year. At 14.6pc, it was the second biggest fall in Europe, and would have been even worse were it not for the number of non-Irish nationals having babies here. Marriages also went significantly down. We are experiencing a demographic catastrophe.
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The fertility industry has often been like the Wild West, totally unregulated with doctors often abusing their power and the hopes of people to bring children into the world with little or no knowledge of their natural origins. The Guardian newspaper has a long article which lists many of the abuses. It is a searing read.
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A major new report shows that State restrictions on religion are at a recent historical high. In the West, this involves curbs on religious garb and symbols.
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Laws allowing the direct (euthanasia) or indirect (assisted suicide) killing of a patient by doctors are rare in the world. They only exist in six countries, in one Australian state and in nine US states. Nonetheless, in all those places we see a common pattern: legislation is initially introduced on certain limited grounds and with time those grounds continuously expand. Moreover, once a “right to die” is established, courts will find limitations discriminatory and will remove them.
The Vatican has published a new document decrying euthanasia. It is very timely as an assisted suicide bill currently before the Dáil.
The document describes euthanasia as “an intrinsically evil act, in every situation or circumstance”, as it directly causes the death of an innocent human being. It says assisted suicide makes the act of suicide even worse by involving another person in it, namely the health workers and anyone else involved in the decision
The last time when assisted suicide was discussed in Leinster House, three years ago, some of the strongest opposition came from the members of the medical profession and disability advocacy groups. It’s worth recalling what they said because it is still completely relevant.
The vast majority of pro-abortion doctors working in neo-natal units in Flanders, Belgium, support being allowed to kill a newborn baby if it has a serious disability. This can only be described as a further descent into barbarism as the culture of death strengthens its grip in that country.
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. We are running out of options to stop this "demographic winter".
A new study claims that more restrictive abortion laws do not reduce the incidence of abortion. In fact, the opposite may be the case, it says. If true, this would be a big blow to the pro-life movement which obviously fights for more restrictive laws. But a closer look at the study shows no such simple conclusion can be drawn. In fact, if you add up the figures differently you could conclude the restrictive laws do, in fact, reduce the incidence of abortion.
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 considering these matters, the US Supreme Court has ruled in favour of religious freedom.
Demographic trends are increasingly showing that it is the religious, not the secular, who will inherit the Earth. This is very different to the popular impression.
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.
Marriage continues to change and decline in Ireland as the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office show. Fewer marriages are taking place, fewer are taking place in churches, more are taking place between people who were married before and are now divorced, and couples are older when they marry.
We now know how many women had an abortion in Ireland last year; 6666. If you add in the 375 women who went to England for an abortion in 2019, despite our new law, it adds up to 7,041, a horrible figure. The official figures were published today.
If we allow for (a high estimate) that about 5000 Irish women had abortions in 2018, the last year before the liberal new law was introduced, it means that there has been a 40 pc increase in the number of Irish women opting to terminate their pregnancies. The number is almost 20 per day.
The newly agreed Programme for Government includes a commitment to impose ‘exclusion zones’ which would stop even silent pro-life vigils outside hospitals and GP surgeries where abortions take place or are facilitated. This is an extreme measure and, as a national law, would be unique in Europe.
The Programme includes other measures of concern. For example, it promises yet another Citizens’ Assembly, this time on the future of schools. Will this have denominational education in its sights? It wants to strengthen ‘hate crime’ legislation. Will this overreach and attack free speech, including that of religious believers?
The Christian world view never equates the good life with self-preservation and excessive risk aversion. Obviously, in the face of a real threat, we have to respond with prudence and respect the gift of life but, on the other hand, the accomplishment of the good requires a certain inevitable risk taking.
We would have no Christianity if those living under persecution, from the first centuries until now, put their own health and safety before preaching the Gospel.
We suffer from a big case of historical amnesia when it comes to the massive and positive Christian contribution to society down the ages. We are deluged by news of scandals, but the good news is left out.
Recently, for example, we celebrated International Nurses’ Day, which coincides with the birthday of Florence Nightingale. She is regarded as a founder of modern nursing after she became famous for her work during the Crimean War of the 1850s. What has been largely forgotten is that she took inspiration from the works of medical nuns, who are really the founders of modern nursing.
German and French high courts have ruled that restrictions to public worship during the Covid pandemic are unconstitutional.
According to the most recent official report from the Netherlands, and from England and Wales, abortions rates have increased.
While Ireland plans to keep the ban on public religious ceremonies until July 20th, other European countries are allowing public worship again much sooner.
The final parts of the Children and Relationship Act 2015 have come into operation. This legislation has changed profoundly the legal arrangement of family relationships but in a way that downgrades the importance of the natural ties.
A new poll commissioned by the Iona Institute looks at what happens to religious practice in a lockdown situation.
Why do we need a debate about ethics now? In the current exceptional circumstances, it seems that many decisions are not free choices, but they are rather dictated by necessity. Nonetheless, practical deliberations are always inspired by values. Either consciously or unconsciously, we all operate within a moral framework.
In the current health crisis, many goods have to be balanced. The big question is whether the good done by the lockdown is proportionate to the harm caused by it.