Dublin
Abortion in some cases: Overwhelmingly Catholic Ireland has legalized an exception to the country’s blanket abortion ban, allowing abortion if it is necessary to save a woman’s life. The law was prompted by international outrage over the death last fall of Savita Halappanavar, a 31-year-old Indian woman living in Ireland. She began miscarrying in her 17th week of pregnancy and became gravely ill, but doctors refused to terminate and she died of sepsis four days after her fetus died. Abortion is still illegal in all other cases, including rape and incest, and any woman who obtains an illegal abortion is subject to up to 14 years in prison.
Vatican City
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Online indulgences: Catholics can earn an indulgence by following the pope’s live Twitter feed of next week’s World Youth Day. Catholics believe indulgences reduce the time they will have to spend in purgatory before going to heaven. The church grants them to believers who perform certain tasks, such as climbing the Sacred Steps in Rome or attending World Youth Day. This year, the Vatican said those who can’t attend in person can still earn an indulgence by following along online, as long as they are truly penitent. “What really counts is that the tweets the pope sends from Brazil or the photos of the Catholic World Youth Day that go up on Pinterest produce authentic spiritual fruit in everyone’s heart,” said Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, head of the pontifical council for social communication.
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