Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options

While applauding the recognition by the European Court of Human Rights of the right of a British airline employee to wear a cross on her uniform, the Vatican lamented the court’s denial of the full right of conscientious objection in other cases involving claims of religious discrimination in the United Kingdom. The court on Jan. 15 dismissed cases brought by a British relationships counselor fired after he objected to offering therapy to same-sex couples, a registrar who objected to presiding over same-sex civil partnership ceremonies and a nurse forced from her job for wearing a cross in breach of uniform policy. Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, the Vatican secretary for relations with states, said on Jan. 16 that the cases demonstrate how “questions relating to freedom of conscience and religion are complex,” in particular in European society, marked by religious diversity and “the corresponding hardening of secularism.” But “regarding morally controversial subjects, such as abortion or homosexuality, freedom of consciences must be respected,” the archbishop said.

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks with other members of the House July 3, 2025, on Capitol Hill in Washington after final passage of U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping spending and tax bill. (OSV News photo/Jonathan Ernst, Reuters)
“Deep cuts” to SNAP and Medicaid will “inflict real suffering on these families…. SNAP and Medicaid are not luxuries, they are lifelines for millions of children across our country.”
Kevin ClarkeJuly 03, 2025
It was one of the first times Leo has spoken unscripted at length in public, responding to questions posed to him by the children.
The Vatican has named the judges that will preside over the trial of disgraced Father Marko Rupnik.
For so many of us, Roger Haight marked off a breathtakingly wide horizon in which we, agreeing with him or not, could fulfill our mission for God’s people.