Latest News

The synodality is a call for mutual listening between all the members of the Church, and inspired by the Holy Spirit. Encouraged by the opening of the Synod, family associations wish to become protagonists of the synodal movement initiated by Pope Francis. In the same...

On 14th October, Family Solidarity hosted a webinar with Jason Osborne, journalist with the Irish Catholic. The title of the talk was "The Synodal Church of the 21st century: a young, married man's prespective". A recording of the webinar can be watched...

Our newsletter n. 93 is now available. You can find it here.

Day for Life is celebrated annually by the Catholic Church in Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales. It is a day dedicated to raising awareness of the meaning and value of human life at every stage and in every condition. This year’s Day for Life will be celebrated in...

All around the Western world, people are marrying later or not at all. The average Irish couple is now well into their 30s by the time they tie the knot, and marriage rates in Ireland have plunged since the 1970s. A similar pattern exists in Canada, where a new...

Pope Francis has denounced the modern “throwaway culture” that discards unwanted human beings through abortion and euthanasia. In a wide-ranging interview with Spain’s COPE radio station, the pope once again compared the practice of abortion to hiring a hit man to...

In many countries, including Ireland, not enough babies are being born to prevent the population ageing and declining. Many factors are at work, including the cost of living. But another, linked factor, is that increasingly we prioritise work over family, that is...

There was a huge increase of applications for divorce last year. It was the highest number since divorce was introduced in 1997. There are many reasons why we should be worried about it, not least because children affected by parental divorce have a higher risk of...

The Private Member’s Bill to legalise assisted suicide and euthanasia, proposed by Deputy Gino Kenny, has been rejected by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice as it contains serious flaws and it was criticised by the majority of the public submissions,...

A total of 6,577 women had an abortion in Ireland in 2020, according to a report presented today by the Department of Health. That is slightly down on the figure of 6,666 in 2019, but the ratio (number of abortions per live births) is up, because fewer women became...

Once upon a time, not so long ago, Sunday was considered a day of rest. But now, like every other day of the week, it has basically been captured by the demands of commerce. So there is no longer a communal day of rest in a lot of countries. This needs to change....

On the 26th and 27th of May 2021, FAFCE held its biannual Board Meeting, gathering its 28 Member, Associated and Observer Organisations from 18 European Countries. This year, the event featured three guest speakers. Fr. Martin Michalíček, Secretary General of Council...

INVITATION | European Sunday Alliance Webinar on ‘The right to disconnect and the need for a European weekly common day of rest’ (Tuesday, 1 June 2021 at 12 pm Irish time) The Steering Group of the European Sunday Alliance invites you to its Webinar on “The right to...

One of the great taboos in modern Irish debate is pointing out that family structure matters, and makes a difference to the lives of children. Such a declaration is considered to be offensive and judgemental. But suppose it is true, and suppose certain family...

On the 13th May, the Federation of Catholic Family Associations hosted a Webinar entitled ‘The Family: antidote to loneliness, beyond the pandemic’.  Maria Steen spoke on behalf of Family Solidarity.   AGENDA Opening Address Mr Vincenzo Bassi, FAFCE President...

What effect did Covid-19 have on the number of weddings that took place in Ireland last year compared with 2019? As you can imagine, a very big effect. In fact, the figure halved, but the reduction in the amount of Catholic weddings was bigger than in the number of...

Brussels, 12 May 2021 On March 24th, 2021, the European Commission published its proposal for a European Child Guarantee, a key part of the European Union’s effort to eliminate child poverty and social exclusion. A previous FAFCE article detailed the measures forseen...

The Holy Father has designated the year from 8th December 2020 to 8th December 2021 as the Year of Saint Joseph. Family Solidarity hosted a Webinar on the 13th March 2021 featuring Father Jesse Maingot O.P. who talked on Saint Joseph in his role in the family....

On the 13th May, the Federation of Catholic Family Associations will host a Webinar entitled ‘The Family: antidote to loneliness, beyond the pandemic’. Loneliness is a deep disease of our era, as prophetically announced by Pope Francis shortly before the beginning of...

A constant theme of The Iona Institute, indeed one of the chief reasons it was founded, is to point out that family structure matters, and specifically that when mothers and fathers raise their children together, the children are likely to do better in life. A major...

The chair of the Law Society’s Family and Child Law Committee, Helen Coughlan, has said that Ireland has been left with “third world infrastructure” in the family courts and that urgent investment is needed to prevent children and vulnerable people from paying the...

On a regular basis, there are calls for the Irish State to invest more in day-care so that parents can afford to go out to work. The underlying assumption all the time is that this is something most parents want. This is a highly dubious proposition. In 2013, The Iona...

The Holy Father has designated the year from 8th December 2020 to 8th December 2021, as the  Year of Saint Joseph. Family Solidarity will host a Webinar on the 13th March 2021 featuring Father Colm Mannion O.P.  who will Talk on Saint Joseph in his role in the family....

Last year about this time, my husband and I were eagerly anticipating a weekend away at the Worldwide Marriage Encounter renewal retreat that we’ve attended for the past three years with about 100 other married couples. At the end of February, my mother traveled up...

Brussels, 11th February 2021 The current pandemic puts a new light on the daily struggles experienced by parents when balancing their work and family time, and especially for mothers. Imposed lockdown on workers made suddenly more concrete the weight of unpaid work...

Thanks to prenatal screening, far fewer babies with Down Syndrome are being born than was once the case. A recent study shows that across Europe as a whole, the reduction is in the order of half, but in Ireland prior to the introduction of abortion two years ago, it...

This is the Family Solidarity's submission on the assisted suicide and euthanasia Bill: Family Solidarity submission

On the Saturday 13th February 2021 at 11 am (Irish Time)  we will host a webinar  featuring the President of the Federation of Catholic Family Associations of Europe,  Vincenzo  Bassi and the immediate Past President  Antoine Renard who will describe  the Federation's...

A year of graces After the experience of 2020, many people are wondering what to expect in this year beginning. Of course we cannot tell what the future holds, but we can be sure that this year will be a time of many and great graces since the Holy Father has declared...

It goes against the lazy stereotype of the traditionalist, bread-winning male and the subservient wife who does all the housework, but new research has found that men who attend religious services regularly spend more time doing housework than most other men. The...

This is the text of the letter sent by our chairman to the RTE Complaints Department   Dear Sir/Madam We refer to the NYE Countdown Show fronted by Kathryn Thomas and Deirdre O'Kane broadcast on 31/12/2020 that contained two items described as 'Waterford...

The lockdown has not worsened marriage, according to a new study. Fewer parents than before reported that they were considering divorce and 20pc said that their relationship has improved. What is the effect of the lockdown on marriage and relationships? When it began...

More than 90 per cent of married parents will still be together in five years’ time compared with just three-quarters of cohabiting families, new research has found. Pro-marriage campaigners say the study proves that an official commitment ‘boosts stability and acts...

FAFCE WEBINAR on the EU recovery and its investment in the family: “Without families and family associations there is no future for Europe” In cooperation with our Spanish member Foro de la Familia, FAFCE organised an online event on 3 December 2020 to discuss the EU...

This is a talk given on the 1st December by Dr Léopold Vanbellingen of the European Institute of Bioethics (IEB) in Brussels. Léopold Vanbellingen works as...

Press Release COMECE-FAFCE reflection on the role of the elderly in times of demographic change “Elderly people are a gift and a resource, [...] they cannot be seen as separated from communities”, states FAFCE, together with the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences...

The Netherlands Minister of Health, Hugo de Jonge, announced on October 12 that their government will amend or re-interpret the euthanasia law to permit child euthanasia. Please sign this petition and express your opposition to child euthanasia: ...

Family Solidarity will host a third ZOOM webinar on Tuesday 1st December at 7.30 pm (Irish time) Léopold Vanbellingen of the European Institute of Bioethics (IEB) in Brussels will give a talk on Euthanasia in Belgium and Netherlands: How the slippery slope is turning...

The Irish abortion law is to be reviewed next year and the campaign to expand its grounds has already started. A recent newspaper article presented the tragic story of an unborn baby who had received a diagnosis of a chromosome abnormality. As this diagnosis fell...

The specter of “planned personhood” crops up again and again throughout science fiction, from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein to Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World and Star Trek’s “Eugenics Wars.” Genetic engineers in such stories are morally compromised at best, depraved at...

FAFCE held today its bi-annual Board Meeting, gathering representatives of Members Associations from all over Europe. Sharing the same concerns for the future of Europe after the pandemic, FAFCE Members adopted a Resolution on “Family is the heart of the post-pandemic...

A talk given by Dr Vicent Kemme to Family Solidarity on the 7th November.   Dr Vincent Kemme is a biologist from the Netherlands, former...

On October 22nd, the European Parliament adopted a Resolution on “Employment and social policies of the Euro area 2020” which recognises the vital importance of families and offers specific improvements in four different areas, as described in following paragraphs....

In Ireland in the past, unmarried mothers and their children were harshly treated as a result of a potent brew of Victorian values and a strict application of Catholic morality. But as we will see, in other countries such as Britain and Sweden, the ‘science’ of...

Family Solidarity will host a second ZOOM webinar on ASSISTED SUICIDE, EUTHANASIA AND DYING WITH DIGNITY Saturday 7th November at 11 am (Irish time)   Dr Vincent Kemme will speak about the situation in Belgium and the Netherlands, with some reflections on the...

The Euthanasia Act of the Netherlands provides that a doctor who performs euthanasia, or assists in suicide, cannot be prosecuted and punished if he meets a number of due care requirements. He must verify that the request is voluntary and durable. Furthermore, the...

Under new Covid restrictions passed into law last night in the Dail, a priest can now be fined, or imprisoned, or both, for saying Mass in public. The same applies to any minister of religion who holds a public act of worship. This is drastic, draconian and...

Family Solidarity hosted an on line ZOOM webinar on ASSISTED SUICIDE, EUTHANASIA AND DYING WITH DIGNITY On Thursday 15th October at 19.30 (Irish time)  Dr Noreen O’Carroll presented a paper on the above topic and it was followed by a discussion with a panel which...

Last night the Dáil voted in favour of moving Gino Kenny’s assisted suicide bill past the second stage of the legislation process, and to committee stage. Several senior Government figures voted in favour of it including Leo Varadkar, Helen McEntee, Stephen Donnelly...

On the 2nd October the Dail debated Gino Kenny’s assisted suicide bill. But it wasn’t a debate because only one TD opposed to the bill was allowed to speak, namely Peter Fitzpatrick, and he was given only four minutes. In other words, 71 out of the 75 minutes allotted...

Last week, the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, published ‘The Good Samaritan’, a letter approved by the Pope decrying euthanasia. It is very timely from the point of view of the assisted suicide bill currently before the Dáil. Some form of it could be passed...

You can read more here: https://issuu.com/victordiazblazquez/docs/october2020

A Private Members’ Bill seeking to permit assisted suicide will be debated in the Dáil next week. It is proposed by Solidarity-People Before Profit TD Gino Kenny. The last time when this issue was discussed in Leinster House, three years ago, some of the strongest...

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith's 20-page document, ‘The Good Samaritan’ warns that “Incurable cannot mean that care has come at an end”. As more countries contemplate the legalisation of euthanasia and assisted suicide, the Vatican on Tuesday issued a...

A Private Members’ Bill permitting Assisted Suicide has been introduced to the Dail today by Gino Kenny TD. Some media reports say the Bill has strong safeguards and is limited in scope. This is totally false. Its definition of ‘terminal illness’ is incredibly broad,...

CAMBRIDGE, United Kingdom – Early interactions between parents and their children are critical in shaping physical and mental development. While most research focuses on mothers and their kids, a new study suggests that father-child playtime may enhance a child’s...

Anxiety levels among young teenagers dropped during the coronavirus pandemic, a study has suggested. Thirteen to 14-year-olds were less anxious during lockdown than they had been last October, according to the University of Bristol survey. Researchers surveyed 1,000...

The debate about assisted suicide is heating up in Ireland again with a Private Member’s Bill due to come before the Dail that seeks to permit the procedure under certain circumstances. At the core of this debate is the very dangerous assumption that death by a form...

You can read more here: https://issuu.com/victordiazblazquez/docs/august-september2020

The family ought to be protected. It faces many dangers: the fast pace of life, stress… Sometimes, parents forget to play with their children. The Church needs to encourage families and stay at their side, helping them to discover ways that allow them to overcome all...

By Dr Angelo Bottone 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....

You can read more here. https://issuu.com/victordiazblazquez/docs/junejuly2020

Press Release | Demographic Challenges and Sustainable Development. A new chapter for Family Policies in Europe? Brussels, 26 June 2020 “Family Associations are not a lobby group, they are not a trade union, they are not only a consumers’ association; they are, first...

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...

During the last years, FAFCE has been alerting about the demographic challenges that every European Country has to face. Also as a consequence of the current public health and economic crisis, the EU institutions seem to finally seriously taking up the issue of...

FAFCE is  happy to  announce its support and its signature to the Manifesto “Europe must not forget independent education and educational pluralism“, which stresses that “coronavirus cannot be an excuse to limit acquired rights of parents and civil society. A common...

“Promoting a family-friendly culture is the best answer to fight elder abuse. Family associations can play a key-role in overcoming the current ways we take care of the elderly, by creating new structures of solidarity in our communities. Yet, in order for elderly...

This week an article attacked Irish doctors who offer medical assistance to women who have taken abortion pills and then changed their minds before the effects were final. The article contains a number of claims that need to be challenged. A chemical abortion consists...

Brussels, 1st June 2020 On the Global Day of Parents, FAFCE recalls the importance of motherhood and fatherhood and asks to recognise their fundamental roles during the current pandemic. “The parents – FAFCE’s President, Vincenzo Bassi, said – are those who take the...

“The problems of this time emphasise the importance of families as the core of society. Today, let’s take the time to honour fathers and mothers and to applaud to them, in acknowledgement of the key role they play in the current pandemic”. This was said by Vincenzo...

The practice of foreigners using the Ukraine as an international surrogacy destination as come under fire as 51 babies born to surrogate mothers lay uncollected due to coronavirus lockdown restrictions. Clients from all over the world including the United States,...

While Ireland plans to keep the ban on public religious ceremonies until July 20th, other European countries are allowing public worship again much sooner. In fact, we seem to be one of the last countries to restore public worship. In some countries like Spain,...

In recent days, a video has been widely spread online, published by a Ukrainian company devoted to the practice of surrogacy. The video shows around 46 crying babies in a hotel conference room converted into a nursery, explaining that these “babies are waiting for...

On the 6th of May 2020, FAFCE held via videoconference its 2020 Spring Board Meeting. 31 representatives of family associations from 18 European Countries gathered to discuss on the European demographic challenges, the Members' activities and the emergency measures...

Brussels, 12 May 2020 FAFCE welcomes the Exploratory opinion on "Demographic challenges in the EU in light of economic inequalities and development disparities" adopted by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC). This Opinion follows a request of the...

This week, 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. Part 2 and 3, which...

  In a recent article for The Atlantic, David Brooks claims “The Nuclear Family Was a Mistake” (https://bit.ly/2Y9tste). He contends that the model of a married couple with 2.5 kids was an anomaly in the 1950s and 1960s, and that this nuclear family model is no...

The number of men and women marrying each other has fallen to its lowest level on record, official statistics show. A total of 235,910 such marriages were registered in England and Wales in 2017- a decrease of 2.8% compared with 2016. The number has fallen by 45%...

Doctors may no longer conduct surgery to alter the biological sex of children, the equalities minister in the UK has announced. Liz Truss will set out details of the plans later this summer that would ban under-18s with gender dysphoria from genital reconstructive...

Most in the U.S. are on week 3 or more of “social distancing,” or perhaps even a mandated “shelter-in,” and the New York Times is now reporting on an unanticipated and tragic result of the pandemic-protection guidelines: a rise in domestic violence and child abuse....

By Paolo Gulisano (translation by Angelo Bottone) The current Covid-19 pandemic has become an extraordinary opportunity for the dissemination of the culture of death. This is happening on a world-wide scale. In the United States, which were incomprehensibly caught “by...

Almost one hundred priests including one bishop have died in Italy so far because of Covid-19, mostly in Italy. Many of them were infected while ministering the sick. In other words, they made the ultimate sacrifice while looking after their people, which is a...

In today’s modern world, seemingly everything has been transformed into something political. Eternal truths and universal lived experiences are ignored, cast aside and ridiculed as outdated and even bigoted. Institutions like marriage and family are remade into...

Given the past century’s dramatic increases in life expectancy, at least for those living in developed nations, much research is now centering on how to increase the quality of those additional years of life. Adding to this research is a new paper assessing how...

In 1996, five years before he received the Nobel Prize in economics, George Akerlof in “An Analysis of Out-of-Wedlock Childbearing in the United States” labeled contraception the “technology shock” that gave us the death of the ‘shot-gun marriage’ and the rise of...

New survey shows 61pc of mothers wish to work part-time compared with 29pc of fathers March 9, 2020  – New results from a major international survey show that a big majority of women (61pc) aged 18-50 with children under 18 years of age would prefer to work part-time...

You can find here the latest Family Solidarity Newsletter: Newsletter 87

Was the nuclear family more trouble than it was worth? The headline on a piece in the prestigious American monthly, The Atlantic, would give the impression that it was. More surprising is that the headline is over an article written by New York Times columnist, David...

The Citizens’ Assembly on gender equality met just over a week ago. Regrettably, the session on “The family in the constitution and law”, was a prolonged attack on marriage and its special status in the Constitution. Prof. Siobhan Mullaly from NUI Galway, who spoke as...

Meetings with Church officials Brussels (21 January) – Our President, Vincenzo Bassi, met the Apostolic Nuncio to the European Union, H. E. Mgr. Lebeaupin. They spoke about the current activities of FAFCE and the Nuncio encouraged very much to go forward in the...

The Catholic Family Associations in France are demonstrating Sunday 19th of January in Paris, against the review of the “bioethical laws The Catholic Family Associations in France are demonstrating next Sunday (19th of January) in Paris, against the review of the...

By Patrick Fagan Just as Spartan mothers told their sons to “Return with your shield or on it!,” so, too, great parents tutor their children in greatness, each child in his own way. Public honors were the motivator for the great men of Greece, and to this day, we are...

As women’s economic prospects have risen in recent decades, and that of many men, especially many working class men have declined, so have the odds of some people ever getting married. To put it bluntly; a man with good earning prospects has a better chance of getting...

Minister for Health Simon Harris has attacked a parish in Tullamore for a stating that IVF is incompatible with the Catholic faith. In doing so, he has stepped far outside his role as a Government Minister. He needs to mind his own business, which is precisely what...