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The Vatican has released details of the Apostolic Visitation of Ireland first announced in Pope Benedict's Pastoral Letter to the Catholics of Ireland. Here is the press release from the Holy See in full:

"Following the Holy Father's Letter to the Catholics of Ireland, the apostolic visitation of certain Irish dioceses, seminaries and religious congregations will begin in autumn of this year. Through this visitation, the Holy See intends to offer assistance to the bishops, clergy, religious and lay faithful as they seek to respond adequately to the situation caused by the tragic cases of abuse perpetrated by priests and religious upon minors. It is also intended to contribute to the desired spiritual and moral renewal that is already being vigorously pursued by the Church in Ireland.

"The apostolic visitors will set out to explore more deeply questions concerning the handling of cases of abuse and the assistance owed to the victims; they will monitor the effectiveness of and seek possible improvements to the current procedures for preventing abuse, taking as their points of reference the Pontifical 'Motu Proprio' 'Sacramentorum Sanctitatis Tutela' and the norms contained in 'Safeguarding Children: Standards and Guidance Document for the Catholic Church in Ireland', commissioned and produced by the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church. "The visitation will begin in the four metropolitan archdioceses of Ireland (Armagh, Dublin, Cashel and Emly, and Tuam) and will then be extended to some other dioceses.

"The visitors named by the Holy Father for the dioceses are:

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, archbishop emeritus of Westminster, England, for the archdiocese of Armagh.

Cardinal Sean Patrick O'Malley O.F.M. Cap., archbishop of Boston, U.S.A., for the archdiocese of Dublin.

Archbishop Thomas Christopher Collins of Toronto, Canada, for the archdiocese of Cashel and Emly.

Archbishop Terrence Thomas Prendergast S.J. of Ottawa, Canada, for the archdiocese of Tuam.

"In its desire to accompany the process of renewal of houses of formation for the future priests of the Church in Ireland, the Congregation for Catholic Education will co-ordinate the visitation of the Irish seminaries, including the Pontifical Irish College in Rome. While special attention will be given to the matters that occasioned the apostolic visitation, in the case of the seminaries it will cover all aspects of priestly formation. Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York, U.S.A., has been named apostolic visitor.

"For its part, the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life will organise the visitation of religious houses in two phases. Firstly it will conduct an enquiry by means of a questionnaire to be sent to all the superiors of religious institutes present in Ireland, with a view to providing an accurate picture of the current situation and formulating plans for the observance and improvement of the norms contained in the 'guidelines'. In the second phase, the apostolic visitors will be: Fr. Joseph Tobin C.Ss.R. and Fr. Gero McLaughlin S.J. for institutes of men; Sr. Sharon Holland I.H.M. and Sr. Mairin McDonagh R.J.M. for institutes of women. They will carry out a careful study, evaluating the results obtained from the questionnaire and the possible steps to be taken in the future in order to usher in a season of spiritual rebirth for religious life on the Island.

"His Holiness invites all the members of the Irish Catholic community to support this fraternal initiative with their prayers. He invokes God's blessings upon the visitors, and upon all the bishops, clergy, religious and lay faithful of Ireland, that the visitation may be for them an occasion of renewed fervour in the Christian life, and that it may deepen their faith and strengthen their hope in Christ our Saviour".

The President of Malawi has personally intervened to pardon a gay couple who were sentenced to fourteen years imprisonment with hard labour for holding a public engagement ceremony in the country. Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza have been in prison since last December, but President Bingu wa Mutharika has ordered their immediate release. The move follows a visit by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who is thought now to be encouraging leaders across Africa to reform their anti-gay laws. Significant pressure was also brought to bear on Malawi's government by international aid organisations.

Although many of Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza as part of a strategy to challenge homosexuality -- some identifying same-sex relationships with Satanism -- church leaders in South Africa and further afield called on the Malawian government to overturn the conviction.

were particularly vocal in their opposition to the couple's imprisonment. And last week, the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland called the judgment "unjust". This was in stark contrast with the Church of Scotland's sister church in Malawi, . The Irish Presbyterian Moderator, Dr Stafford Carson, speaking on last week's Sunday Sequence, said he shared the "dismay" of the Church of Scotland and also regarded the imprisonment of a gay couple as unjust and "draconian".

Human rights campaigners, have expressed their gratitude to the Malawian president for his intervention, and are now calling on the Malwaian government to overturn its anti-homosexuality laws, which date from colonial times. The White House has also welcomed the release of the two men and called for an end to "the persecution and criminalization" of gays and lesbians in Malawi and across the world. Meanwhile, Malawi's minister for gender has told the ´óÏó´«Ã½ that the Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza if they return to a same-sex relationship upon release.

On Sunday's programme, we'll debate the Northern Ireland culture minister's suggestion that the newly refurbished (pictured) should include exhibits that recognise "alternative" accounts of the origins of the universe. to the trustees of National Museums Northern Ireland (NMNI) does not explicitly mention "creationism", but he has not challenged that reading of his proposal.

Wallace Thompson, chair of the , a fundamentalist Christian campaign group, will be my guest on Sunday, alongside , a leading historian of science . The Caleb Foundation say they wrote to Nelson McCausland and to the NMNI chief executive Tim Cooke some weeks ago to express about the Ulster Museum's Nature Zone exhibits. They regard Nelson McCausland's controversial intervention as a direct and positive response to their initial communication with the minister.

In a press statement, Caleb say, 'We fully accept that the theory of evolution is the view of the majority of scientists, but it is important to note that evolution is a theory and not a fact. A visit to the Ulster Museum would not give that impression. Indeed, the very clear assertion is made across the entire "Nature Zone", that evolution is a fact. This, presumably quite deliberate, error is further compounded by the complete absence of even the merest mention of any other theory of origins such as the Biblical account of creation, for which there is strong scientific evidence.' (Read their statement in full .)

suggested that 25 per cent of the population of Northern Ireland believe the universe is less than ten thousand years old.

Meanwhile, have argued that a modern museum's science exhibits cannot be determined "democratically". An "alternative theory" (whether it is creationism or astrology) may enjoy some measure of popularity with the public, but that popularity cannot be taken as grounds for including the theory in a scientifically-respectable exhibition.

Those, then, are the two contrasting positions we will be debating on Sunday. The argument starts at 8.30 a.m. Set your alarm clock; you won't want to miss it.

Read a ´óÏó´«Ã½ briefing on the central claims of creationism, intelligent design, and evolution.

Read "", a report by the religious think tank . (Summary notes .)

How might an atheist answer the question, What is "holy"? Here is 's answer: "My sense of the holy is bound up with the hope that some day my remote descendants will live in a global civilization in which love is pretty much the only law."

Few Christian theologians would take issue with the moral ambition driving . Sacredness, the space around that which is holy, appears to be an irreducibly religious category, but some post-religious thinkers wish to hold onto it, particularly in moral discourse, as a vehicle that expresses value, meaning and hope. In this respect, they are heirs of John Calvin and the tradition that erases the distinction between the sacred and the secular.

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The death of , after a short illness, has shocked so many of us. His loss will be felt particularly by the Corrymeela Community, which he led for the past six years. Those who care about peace-building throughout Ireland will also mourn the loss of his contribution, because David brought unique intellectual and communicate gifts that established his reputation as one of Ireland's most skilled public theologians. In books, articles, speeches, sermons and personal conversations, his voice was always distinctive, original and stimulating. David could take a postcard representation of a work of art, pass it around the room, and have twenty people, new to the subject, discussing political theology within minutes. Twenty minutes later, they'd be studying the Bible and talking about their own country, their own lives, the powers that govern their world, and the values that shape the Christian within the world. By the end of the hour, some may even have made decisions about their careers and vocations as a result of the conversation. He was a master of respectful listening, and, by nature, he appreciated the contributions of those who struggled most to contribute. I admired him greatly as a person, as a thinker, as a theologian and as a communicator able to translate complex ideas into movements of change.

A family funeral will be held today. My thoughts are with David's wife, Mathilde, and their children Thomas and Naomi. Following the funeral, at 2.30 pm today, there will be a public Service of Thanksgiving at St John's Presbyterian Church, 374-378 Ormeau Road, Belfast (directions ).

has been established for those who wish to share their memories of David and pay tribute to his life and work.

Meet J. Craig Venter, who may one day win a Nobel Prize for the breakthrough his team of researchers have announced this week. The potential for overstatement when dealing with the is hard to overestimate. Have the scientists ? Or is it a profoundly important -- but not that important -- ? Those with a science background might start by reading the actual paper ; most of the public will rely on sometimes inaccurate summaries and mischaracterizations of the research. (Read the Institute's )

Let's be clear that all talk of creating artificial human beings is wildly off the mark, and that much is accepted by the researchers. What they have done is use chemicals to make up ("chemically synthesize") the DNA that controls the heart of a cell and managed to insert that DNA into an actually existing cell with the result that the bacterial cell continues to live and replicate. In fact, we're told that the new bacteria replicated over a billion times. "This is the first time any synthetic DNA has been in complete control of a cell," according to Dr Venter. And that simple and accurate claim sums up the momentous advance with which the world is now confronted.

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Human around the world are outraged that two gay Malawian men have been . Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza have been in jail since they were arrested in December. This picture shows them being mocked by members of the public as they were driven in the back of a pick-up truck to a magistrates court in Blantyre on Tuesday. told them he had handed down a "scaring sentence" so that the public would not be "tempted to emulate" their "horrendous example". This couple's "crime" was to have taken part in a public commitment ceremony during which they pledged their lives to each other and announced their plans to hold Malawi's first same-sex wedding.

To date, Sixty-seven British MPs have signed (EDM 564), which condemns the arrest and trial of Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga, Amnesty International has adopted the two men as , and there have been street and other cities. Some have expressed particular concern for the welfare of Steven Monjeza, who faces hard labour while being very ill. An eye-witness who saw him last weekend reports that he is thin and weak and has jaundiced eyes.

Below the fold: The human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell has been supporting and advocating for the jailed men since their arrest and detention in December last year; helping arrange prison visits and the delivery of food parcels, medicine, letters of support and clothes to the detained men. Many supporters are now writing to Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza, at Chichiri Prison in Blantyre, Malawi, to express solidarity. Read Peter Tatchell's comments on this case below the fold.

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The Catholic primate, Cardinal Sean Brady, that he plans to stay in his job in the face of mounting calls for his resignation. He has already for his role in the , widely regarded as the most prolific child abuser in Irish criminal history. But his decision to remain as head of the Catholic Church in Ireland has been severely criticized by victims and survivors of clerical abuse. Marie Collins, to request his resignation, says she is not surprised by Dr Brady's decision and notes that his statement fails to mention the two children abused by Brendan Smyth who were sworn to secrecy in 1975 at meetings attended by the then Fr Brady. Survivors of Child Abuse spokesman John Kelly says Cardinal Brady

The archbishop's statement, which was issued in response to the annual report of the church's child protection watchdog, also reveals that Cardinal Brady has asked Pope Benedict XVI to appoint a new bishop to his archdiocese to assist him "in addressing the vital work of healing, repentance and renewal, including engagement with survivors of abuse, as well as the many other challenges and opportunities which confront the Diocese of Armagh and the Church in Ireland at this time".

We may expect critics to express surprise that at a time when many are calling for a reduction in the number of Irish bishops, as part of a major organizational overhaul, the cardinal is requesting an additional bishop's appointment. The cardinal's supporters, however, will be quick to argue that such a dedicated appointment represents a serious commitment by the archbishop to address the abuse crisis in Ireland very directly.

There has been some public speculation, ahead of this statement, that Cardinal Brady might ask Pope Benedict to appoint a "" bishop who would shadow him for a time before officially succeeding him as Archbishop of Armagh. There is no indication in this statement that the new bishop to be appointed to Armagh should be regarded in any respect as a successor-in-waiting. In any case, the process of identifying a coadjutor can take more than a year, whereas this appointment -- perhaps at Auxiliary Bishop level -- could be made very speedily.

The cardinal's decision today means that he will be in place in 2012 when the 50th is held in Ireland. The event was last held in Ireland in 1932, and it represents a major milestone in the history of any national church. One might expect that the timing of the congress was a significant consideration in the cardinal's decision to remain in office for the next few years.

Read the cardinal's statement in full below the fold.

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A campaign group opposed to the has of 1,000 former Scientologists who have publicly speak out against the church. The campaign group known as "Anonymous" researched and compiled the list. They say, "have spoken out under their real names against the abuses seen and experienced within the so-called church despite being subjected to which gives members permission to destroy its critics. Most former members do not ever speak out against the church, largely because of this policy."

The Church of Scientology deny that their rules permit any former members or critics to be attacked or abused in any way.

This latest Anonymous campaign follows a number of , and , regarding the practices of the Scientology movement.

Watch the 2007 ´óÏó´«Ã½ Panorama investigation .

After her episcopal consecration in California tomorrow, will become the second openly gay and partnered bishop, and the first openly lesbian bishop, within the Anglican Communion. She also becomes the 17th female bishop with The Episcopal Church. Predictably, her election proved controversial both within the United States and internationally.

Today, in a jointly issued statement, the committees of the Church of Ireland Evangelical Fellowship, the Evangelical Fellowship of Irish Clergy, New Wine (Ireland) and Reform Ireland said the "elevation to senior church leadership of a person whose lifestyle is contrary to the will of God revealed in Scripture is both wrong and disappointing." That statement is published in full below the fold.

Update: The Episcopal Church announces (shown on the right).

The ordination of Anglicanism's second openly gay and partnered bishop was immediately condemned by , a traditionalist campaign group. They say, "Sadly, this shows that TEC has now explicitly decided to walk apart from most of the rest of the Communion. Since that decision by TEC has to be respected, it should result in three consequences. First, TEC withdrawing, or being excluded from the Anglican Communion's representative bodies. Second, a way must be found to enable those orthodox Anglicans who remain within TEC to continue in fellowship with the Churches of the worldwide Communion. Third, the Anglican Church of North America (ACNA) should now be recognized an authentic Anglican Church within the Communion."

Those words follow , issued ahead of the consecration, that the move would further alienate traditionalists within the Communion.

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Divorce rates in England and Wales

These are the summary figures from the Office of National Statistics: "Between 2007 and 2008, the number of divorces granted in the UK fell by 5.5 per cent to 136,026, from 143,955. This is the fourth consecutive fall in the number of UK divorces and the lowest number since 1976 (135,960). The figure is 25 per cent lower than the highest number of divorces, which peaked in 1993 (180,523). In 2008 in England and Wales the number of divorces fell by 5.0 per cent to 121,779, in Scotland they fell by 10 per cent from 12,810 in 2007 to 11,474 in 2008 and in Northern Ireland they fell by 4.8 per cent from 2,913 in 2007 to 2,773 in 2008."

What do we make of that? Some have suggested that divorce rates fall during periods of national financial crisis (where they may rise during periods of personal financial crisis), and if that is true one could speculate about the reasons. Perhaps couples are more 'together' in the face of an external challenge and more 'apart' during a challenge within their home or marriage.

Social changes must also be considered, such as the increased number of working women within our society. And practical issues play a significant role too. If a man plays his part in sharing the housework, it appears that this significantly reduces the likelihood of a divorce -- especially if his wife has a job outside the home. Divorce rates rise very significantly where both couples are working and only one partner is carrying out the housework duties at home.

All of which makes perfect sense. Relationships are more likely to succeed when there is perceived equality, open communication and mutual respect. When one partner feels that their other half is taking them for granted, or taking advantage of them, resentment grows and a break-up becomes more likely.

Here's the t which created the UK's first coalition government for seventy years. The agreement is predictably focused on economic measures, but there are also commitments on education, civil liberties, immigration, banking reforms, constitutional reforms, and climate change. Many of these commitments involve not only political judgments on the part of the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, but moral judgments as well.

There will be other decisions to be taken in the UK's first fixed-term Parliament about - for example, the right of faith schools to select pupils on the basis of faith group membership (currently permitted in law buy opposed by the Lib Dems in their manifesto), and medical-moral issues which may emerge, such as abortion, assisted suicide and euthanasia debates, or bio-medical research funding. Presumably, the two coalition partners will offer their members a free vote on some of those issues, though whether there would be a free vote on issues related to the rights of British gays became an issue for David Cameron in the lead-up to the election.

Which moral issues would you identify as the likely key ethical debates of this new Parliament?

We take it for granted these days that the Pope is a media figure. Some popes, like John Paul II, seemed to understand, effortlessly, the place and the power of television and their media profile. Others - perhaps we would include Benedict here - have struggled to relate to the media. This film shows the first pope to come face to face with the new medium of moving pictures. , filmed here in 1896, was born in 1810 and elected pope in 1878. He reigned until the age of 93. He's the pope who gave the church the encyclical , which set out Catholic social teaching on defeating poverty and challenged the exploitation of the poor. (Read it .) He also wrote a controverisal encyclical dealing with the moral issue of "" in Ireland. In all, during his reign, which I suspect is a record (though Leo's encyclicals were sometimes as short as a modern e-mail, in contrast with today''s set-piece papal productions). , you'll also find impressive assaults on the institutions of slavery (both in "civil" society and within the church's missions), and - less well-received in England - an attack on the validity of Anglican orders.

Some prefer the term "balanced parliament", just as they prefer the phrase "intelligent voting" over "tactical voting" - and for the same reasons. But there is nothing necessarily pejorative about the term "hung parliament". American juries that are unable to reach a unanimous verdict have been described as "hung" since the 1850s. The term "hung" is first used in Britain to mean "indecisive" or "full of suspense" as far back as the 14th century. There is clearly a lexical connection between "suspense" and "suspended" and some may hear the term "hung parliament" to mean an assembly suspended by its neck from a rope; but the origins of the phrase conjure up the image of a person "hanging" on another's every word as a thrilling story unfolds. A hung parliament is a parliament in limbo, suspended between two worlds - and a country frozen between election and government. It's appropriate, then, that we are also hanging on every word that emerges from the Tory, Labour and Lib Dem camps and analysing their intended and unintended meanings for signs of thawing.

As Bill Clinton observed following the confused outcome of the Bush-Gore campaign, "The American people have spoken. We're just trying to work out what they've said." And so to the United Kindom in 2010. A hung -- or balanced -- parliament. Talks now underway between the Conservatives and the Lib Dems. Experts in constitutional law popping up on TV screens to descibe ever more enticing theoretical scenarios.

Meanwhile, in Northern Ireland, the DUP leader after 31 years at Westminster -- defeated by Naoimi Long of the Alliance Party -- and the . In the corridors and lifts at the ´óÏó´«Ã½, my colleagues and I are asking each other, "When did you get to bed last night?" The most common answer seems to be 5am, but some were up even later watching and analysing ever move.

One thing is beyond question: this was one of the most gripping elections anyone can remember, both nationally and locally. Did the contours of the political landscape in Britain and in Northern Ireland just shift? How will politics be changed by ? Is Britain now poised for an electoral revolution with the advent of proportional representation as price to be exacted by the Lib Dems for their support?

So, the public has spoken -- sort of. But what have they really said?

took some of us by surprise. The Pope has accepted the resignation of Bishop Joseph Duffy, left, who reached retirement age , and rather speedily appointed his number two in the diocese as his successor. Monsignor Liam Seán MacDaid has served as Chancellor of the diocese of Clogher since 1994. In addition to his duties as a priest, Monsignor McDaid has worked as a teacher, school principal, and marriage guidance counsellor. He is also a former chairman of the diocesan Council of Priests.

, the Pope also accepted the resignation of the retiring Auxiliary Bishop of Derry, Francis Lagan, pictured right. But, perhaps significantly, Bishop Lagan's position was left unfilled. Has the Vatican now decided that Ireland's auxiliary bishops are to be retired into the history books as part of a re-organisation of the Irish hierarchy?

I heard a fascinating documentary on Radio 4 yesterday which examined the clinical and ethical issues attending the diagnosis of a "persistent vegetative state". When I first learned about PVS, while studying medical ethics twenty years ago, I was assured that a PVS patient was "beyond consciousness". New science has questioned that previous understanding of the condition, and raises moral questions for both clinicians and a patient's loved-ones. The new research, also challenges us to explain perhaps the most complex phenomenon of all -- consciousness itself. What does it mean to be conscious in the world and of the world? While thinking that one through, you can listen "PVS: The Search for Consciousness" on the ´óÏó´«Ã½ iPlayer.

Picture: Tony Bland, who was diagnosed PVS after he was crushed during the Hillsborough Stadium tragedy in 1989. A High Court ruling, upheld by the House of Lords, permitted doctors at the Airedale Hospital trust to remove his feeding tube. He died nine days after the tube was removed.

Two years after his death, the Vatican has decided that Fr Marcial Maciel Degollado, the founder of the and the Regnum Christi lay movement, was a criminal, a liar, a child abuser, and a man who had no real faith. The religious congregation he founded says it can no longer look to Fr Maciel as a model of faith or a positive image of the priestly life. If the are anything to go by, both judgments are a serious understatement.

It appears that the Vatican was from as long ago as the mid-50s. There were allegations of sexual abuse, drug-addiction, and financial mismanagement, but, every time, Fr Maciel managed to persuade his colleagues that he was the victim of character assassination. It turns out that the stories were true. And more. It is thought that Fr Maciel fathered as many as six children, sexually assaulted scores of children over five decades, and built a personal religious empire that paid for his profligate lifestyle and provided a protective cover. The congregation he founded now has 800 priests around the world, with 70,000 members of its lay order, and estimated assets of 25 billion euro. At a time when priestly vocations were in crisis, Fr Maciel raised up an army of priests who were ultra-traditional in theology and liturgical practice -- much to the admiration of Pope John Paul II, who now emerges as Fr Maciel's most highly-placed supporter in Rome. It is claimed that the future Pope Benedict was eager to deal with Fr Maciel, but felt unable to do so because he enjoyed the confidence and protection of Pope John Paul. Fr Maciel was the church's most successful fundraiser, and the wealth he offered appears to have . Some of those highly-placed Vatican officials were cleared duped: they actually regarded Fr Maciel as a living saint and dismissed rumours as a devilish attack on a good man. Others may have looked the other way as the Legion of Christ's influence grew.

When Cardinal Ratzinger was elected Pope, he acted to remove Fr Maciel from public life: he proposed that the man described by his followers as "Our Father" should commit himself to a life of prayer and penance and avoid any ministry whatsoever. Following Fr Maciel's death in 2008, Pope Benedict sent apostolic visitors to every house, college and mission of the Legion of Christ, and to interview hundreds of legionaries. are devastating:

"The very serious and objectively immoral behaviour of Fr. Maciel, as incontrovertible evidence has confirmed, sometimes resulted in actual crimes, and manifests a life devoid of scruple and of genuine religious sentiment. The great majority of Legionaries were unaware of this life, above all because of the system of relationships created by Fr. Maciel, who had skilfully managed to build up alibis, to gain the trust, confidence and silence of those around him, and to strengthen his role as a charismatic founder."

The Legionaries of Christ . Meanwhile, the Vatican officials who gave Fr Maciel their support in the face of a mountain of evidence against him will now have some serious questions to answer.

Pictures: Fr Maciel, right; and, left, 60 Legionaries are ordained to the priesthood in St Peter's Basilica by Pope John Paul II in 1991.

: An ABC news reporter has his hand slapped by the then Cardinal Ratzinger when he tries to ask a question about Fr Maciel.

from Fr Thomas Reese, SJ.

Read " in The New York Review of Books.