The organisers of the largest petition in European history which called for an end to European funding of research that destroys human embryos have taken their case to the General Court of the European Union after the European Commission vetoed the initiative in May.

On July 25th, members of the Citizen’s Initiative “One of Us” lodged an application before the court in Luxembourg against the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, and the European Parliament, asking for the annulment of the Commission’s veto…

• Pope Francis on Sunday made another urgent appeal for an end to the conflicts in the Middle East, in Iraq and in Ukraine. Speaking after his regular Angleus address to thousands of people gathered in a hot and sunny St Peter’s Square, the Pope spoke of the victims of war, in particular the children who die or are injured and orphaned by the violence…

“….bambini morti, bambini feriti, bambini mutilate….”

I think especially, the Pope said, of the children whose hopes for a dignified future are taken from them, dead children, injured and mutilated children, orphans and children who have bits of weapons as toys, children who don’t know how to smile…

“I have received with some concern the news from the Christian communities of Mosul, Iraq, and from other parts of the Middle East who, ever since the beginnings of Christianity, have co-existed there alongside their fellow citizens, making a significant contribution to the good of society”, said the Pope after Sunday’s Angelus prayer. “Today they are persecuted. Our brothers are persecuted, they are cast out, they are forced to leave their homes without having the chance to take anything with them…

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that no right to same-sex “marriage” can be imposed by the EU on member states, and that to say otherwise would be a breach of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The Court said in a ruling in Strasbourg on July 16 that the Convention cannot be interpreted “as imposing an obligation” on states that are signatories to the treaty “to grant same-sex couples access to marriage.”

Although the Court had previously found no such right exists in the Convention, it went further in its latest ruling, stating that in Article 12 the treaty “enshrines the traditional concept of marriage as being between a man and a woman [and] cannot be construed as imposing an obligation on the Contracting States to grant access to marriage to same-sex couples.”

In addition, it found that no consensus in favour of same-sex “marriage” exists in Europe because only ten of the 47 signatories to the Convention have legalised it…

Following last Sunday’s heartfelt appeal for continued prayer for peace in the Holy Land, this morning the Holy Father Francis personally telephoned President Shimon Peres of Israel and President Mahmoud Abbas of Palestine to share his very serious concerns regarding the current situation of conflict involving in particular the Gaza Strip which, in a climate of growing hostility, hatred and suffering for the two populations, is claiming many victims and giving rise to a serious humanitarian emergency…