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Dublin, Ireland, Jan 26, 2018 / 03:34 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pubs in the Republic of Ireland will now be allowed to sell alcohol on Good Friday, after the lower house of the Irish legislature voted in favor of the measure on Thursday.
The bill had passed the upper house in July 2017, and is expected to be signed shortly by President Michael Higgins.
The bill has widespread support, with a few members of parliament opposing it because of their support for bills meant to combat the overconsumption of alchohol.
David Stanton, a junior justice minister, commented that “Tourism makes a much greater contribution to our economy and this is particularly true during holidays, such as the busy Easter period. In addition, changing demographics and increasing diversity in our population have led to a reduction in traditional religious practice.”
“Taking all these factors into consideration the Government considered that it was an opportune time to have an examination of the Good Friday restrictions,” he stated.
Stanton noted: “We live in a much different society than we did when the restrictions were put in place,” saying they “are no longer in tune with today’s Ireland.”
The bill was introduced by Senator Billy Lawless, who called it “another progressive step in Ireland’s long journey of separation between Church and State.”
One Fine Gael senator, Joe O’Reilly, had opposed the measure, saying pub closings on Good Friday is part of Ireland’s national identity, and is a non-sectarian “part of our religious cultural heritage.”
“I also think that we shouldn’t give in to every fad and every whim of commercialism,” O’Reilly stated. “If there is money to be lost, so be it, if there’s a valuable national priority to be maintained.”
The sale of alcohol had been prohibited by a 1927 law which also banned its sale on Christmas and St. Patrick’s Day. The ban on St. Patrick’s Day was lifted in the 1960s or ’70s, though that on Christmas Day remains.
Donal O’Keeffe of the Licensed Vintners’ Association told Today FM that the industry is not calling for pubs to be opened on Christmas, as it is a “special day for families. There are no calls from anyone in the license trade to look to do that.”
In Northern Ireland, part of the United Kingdom, pubs can only serve alcohol between 5pm and 11pm on Good Friday. The territory also has restrictions on the serving of alcohol on Holy Thursday and Holy Saturday.
Dublin, Ireland, Jan 26, 2018 / 03:34 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pubs in the Republic of Ireland will now be allowed to sell alcohol on Good Friday, after the lower house of the Irish legislature voted in favor of the measure on Thursday.
The bill had passed the upper house in July 2017, and is expected to be signed shortly by President Michael Higgins.
The bill has widespread support, with a few members of parliament opposing it because of their support for bills meant to combat the overconsumption of alchohol.
David Stanton, a junior justice minister, commented that “Tourism makes a much greater contribution to our economy and this is particularly true during holidays, such as the busy Easter period. In addition, changing demographics and increasing diversity in our population have led to a reduction in traditional religious practice.”
“Taking all these factors into consideration the Government considered that it was an opportune time to have an examination of the Good Friday restrictions,” he stated.
Stanton noted: “We live in a much different society than we did when the restrictions were put in place,” saying they “are no longer in tune with today’s Ireland.”
The bill was introduced by Senator Billy Lawless, who called it “another progressive step in Ireland’s long journey of separation between Church and State.”
One Fine Gael senator, Joe O’Reilly, had opposed the measure, saying pub closings on Good Friday is part of Ireland’s national identity, and is a non-sectarian “part of our religious cultural heritage.”
“I also think that we shouldn’t give in to every fad and every whim of commercialism,” O’Reilly stated. “If there is money to be lost, so be it, if there’s a valuable national priority to be maintained.”
The sale of alcohol had been prohibited by a 1927 law which also banned its sale on Christmas and St. Patrick’s Day. The ban on St. Patrick’s Day was lifted in the 1960s or ’70s, though that on Christmas Day remains.
Donal O’Keeffe of the Licensed Vintners’ Association told Today FM that the industry is not calling for pubs to be opened on Christmas, as it is a “special day for families. There are no calls from anyone in the license trade to look to do that.”
In Northern Ireland, part of the United Kingdom, pubs can only serve alcohol between 5pm and 11pm on Good Friday. The territory also has restrictions on the serving of alcohol on Holy Thursday and Holy Saturday.
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Changwon, South Korea, Jan 26, 2018 / 12:08 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- A fire at a hospital in South Korea killed at least 37 people on Friday, and injured more than 70. Pope Francis has conveyed his sympathy and solidarity to those affected by the tragedy.
“Deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and of injuries caused by the outbreak of the fire in Sejong Hospital, Miryang, His Holiness Pope Francis expresses heartfelt solidarity with all those affected by this tragedy,” read a Jan. 26 message from Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State.
“He prays especially for the repose of the deceased and for the healing of those injured. The Holy Father offers encouragement to the civil authorities and emergency personnel as they assist the victims of this disaster, and upon all he willingly invokes the divine blessings of strength and consolation.”
The fire began around 7:30 am at Sejong Hospital in Miryang, in South Gyeongsang Province. The BBC reports that the fire is South Korea’s deadliest in nearly 10 years. Sejong Hospital specializes in attending to the elderly, and it has an adjacent nursing home.
The hospital, which was opened in 2008, does not have fire sprinklers, which are not required under South Korean law. A new law requires nursing homes to have fire sprinklers beginning June 30, and fire sprinklers were being installed in the nursing home associated with the hospital.
Vatican City, Jan 26, 2018 / 10:04 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis met with the members of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith Friday, affirming the dignity of every person and emphasizing the Church’s task of accompanying the ill and suffering, especially in the face of increasing support for euthanasia.
Pain, suffering, and the meaning of life and death are all problems the contemporary mind does not know how to face with hope, the Pope said Jan. 26, and therefore “this is one of the duties that the Church is called to render to contemporary man.”
“It is clear that where life is valid not for its dignity, but for its efficiency and productivity, [euthanasia] becomes possible. In this scenario it must be reiterated that human life, from conception to its natural end, has a dignity that renders it inviolable.”
Pope Francis met at the Vatican’s Clementine Hall with the members of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the conclusion of their plenary session, praising their study of “the sensitive issues” surrounding the accompaniment of terminally ill patients.
Secularization and the emphasis on self-determination and personal autonomy have increased the demand for euthanasia, he noted, and many people believe that the “voluntary interruption of human existence [is] a choice of ‘civilization.’”
Therefore, authentic pastors have an opportunity to accompany people in difficult circumstances, with an accompaniment that does not “abandon man to himself, nor leave him in the grip of his disorientation and his errors, but with truth and mercy,” brings him back to the good, Francis said.
“Authentic pastoring therefore is every action aimed at taking man by the hand, when he has lost the sense of his dignity and his destiny, to lead him with confidence to rediscover the loving fatherhood of God, his good destiny and the ways to build a more human world.”
The Pope also expressed his appreciation for the congregation’s commitment to protecting the faith and the sanctity of the sacraments.
In particular, he pointed to their work examining cases concerning graviora delicta, external violations against faith and morals or in the celebration of the sacraments; and applications for the dissolution of the matrimonial bond in favor of the faith.
This is especially important today, he said, as man’s understanding of self becomes ever more fluid and changeable, influencing his existential and ethical choices.
“The man of today no longer knows who he is and, therefore, struggles to recognize how to act well.”
“In this sense, the task of your Congregation appears decisive in recalling the transcendent vocation of man and the indivisible connection of his reason with truth and goodness, which introduces faith in Jesus Christ,” he said.
“Nothing helps man to know himself and God’s plan for the world like the opening of reason to the light that comes from God.”
© Catholic World Report