Hi there,

To many of us the maintenance of standards in written if not spoken English is no light matter, though I have treated it with a certain amount of levity in my piece on the Queen’s English. Next to the moral issues featuring in other articles today, however, the state of the English language is a mere featherweight.

Many Australians will be feeling the same indignation as Amin Abboud following the Australian government’s conferral of the country’s highest honour on Peter Singer, the rogue philosopher who justifies infanticide. Fr Abboud draws a telling comparison with another headline news story in his country this week.

Two articles cover this week’s big news on the social science research front: the publication in the United States of two studies that cast serious doubt on claims that there is “no difference” in outcomes for children between lesbian or gay parenting and mum and dad parenting. The authors of the peer-reviewed studies, two young men working at different universities, are facing a severe backlash from the psychological establishment and the other usual suspects in gay rights debates. Read our articles by Michael Cook and Walter Schumm -- they are not the last word on the subject -- but they will help you get a handle on the facts of the matter. Needless to say, common sense is not enough when debating these issues in the public square; one needs to know the science.

George Friedman meanwhile updates us on the European crisis and the significance of the Spanish bailout. Somehow we seem to be witnessing the endgame of a western culture that has come adrift from its moorings in the family and the Christian faith. How long will it take leaders to recognise that?

Till next week,

Carolyn Moynihan,
Deputy Editor,
MercatorNet