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In the News

  • Christian Today: Bishop Leads Charge For Church's 'Radical Inclusion' Of Gay Couples
    February 22nd, 2017

    The Bishop of Manchester is calling for the Church of England to move forward in its acceptance of gay couples after a report keeping the traditional teaching on marriage was thrown out.

    Rt Rev David Walker says the Church must offer gay people 'much, much more than the maximum freedom' recommended in a largely conservative report rejected by its ruling body last week.

    In a growing sign senior figures may be moving towards an increasingly liberal attitude towards gay relationships, he said the CofE must be 'purposefully paradoxical'.

    Read more. 

  • BBC: Killed for Christ in the Amazon
    February 22nd, 2017

    In January 1956, five American Christian missionaries were brutally killed by members of a remote Amazonian tribe.

    The missionaries had made contact with the Auca, or Huaorani tribe a year earlier, in an attempt to convert them to Christianity.

    A small nomadic tribe, the Huaorani were notoriously suspicious of outsiders.

    Read more. 

  • BBC: NICE advice to look for 'soft' signs of child abuse
    February 22nd, 2017

    Teachers, police officers, nursery staff and other professionals should look for "soft" signs that could indicate that a child is being abused or neglected, new guidelines suggest.

    Signs may include excessive clinginess, low self-esteem, recurrent nightmares or over-friendliness towards strangers.

    The draft guidance from NICE - the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence - is open for consultation.

    Read more.

  • BBC: Transgender dolls: Breaking the mould or just a fad?
    February 22nd, 2017

    A new toy billed as the world's "first transgender doll" has created a buzz on social media.

    Thousands of tweets about the product unveiled by the Tonner Doll Company have been posted since it was announced that the doll would make its first appearance at this week's New York Toy Fair.

    The doll is modelled on a teenage activist who was born a boy, but lives as a female. Jazz Jennings shot to fame when she was interviewed about her gender dysphoria by US TV presenter Barbara Walters.

    Read more. 

  • Telegraph: Sussex University under fire over workshop on how to 'deal with right-wing attitudes in the classroom'
    February 21st, 2017

    Sussex University has been accused of undermining free speech after one of its leading professors held a workshop for academic staff of how to "deal with right-wing attitudes in the classroom".

    The event stoked controversy among students and staff, who complained that the institution was revealing its political bias.

    Read more. 

  • Taipei Times: Legislator calls for separate law for same-sex marriage
    February 21st, 2017

    Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chao Tien-lin (趙天麟) said it would be a progressive step for Taiwan to implement a separate piece of legislation governing same-sex marriage, as many of the nations that have such rules started with civil unions, which would be unprecedented in Asia.

    President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Saturday met separately with groups supporting same-sex marriage and others opposed to it.

    Read more. 

  • Council of Europe: Access to registered same-sex partnerships: it’s a question of equality
    February 21st, 2017

    There is a growing trend in Europe and beyond towards granting same-sex couples legal recognition for their relationships, which confers certain specific protections. The first country to provide "registered partnerships"” was Denmark in 1989, while The Netherlands was first to adopt same-sex marriage in 2001. Today, 47 countries in the world, 27 of which are in the Council of Europe, provide some form of legal recognition for same-sex couples.

    Read more. 

  • Irish Examiner: Bill to reduce abortion prison sentence to €1 fine to be brought before Dáil
    February 21st, 2017

    A Bill to reduce the 14 year prison sentence for women who have abortions down to a €1 fine is to be brought before the Dáil, writes Elaine Loughlin, Irish Examiner Political Reporter.

    People Before Profit have launched the bill in a bid to address a law which they claim is "utterly draconian and barbaric".

    The group had tried to introduce a Bill which would have totally decriminalised abortions in Ireland, but were prevented from doing so as it was deemed unconstitutional.

    Read more. 

  • Telegraph: It is unfair and illogical to deny someone a civil partnership just because they happen to be straight by Tim Loughton MP
    February 21st, 2017

    The debate over same sex marriage is over. Over 15,000 couples have taken advantage of the new opportunity and the world has not fallen in. However, as some of us argued at the time, the extension of marriage unwittingly created a new inequality. Marriage is now available to same sex and opposite sex couples, while civil partnerships are still available only to same sex couples.

    Read more. 

  • Spectator: The Church of England should be agnostic towards homosexuality by Theo Hobson
    February 21st, 2017

    Let me state the obvious for a moment: the Church of England does not know what line to take on homosexuality. The traditional line, that it is contrary to God’s will, is opposed by most Anglicans. The clergy in General Synod showed their opposition last week by refusing to approve a report by the bishops that upheld the old line. But the minority that likes the traditional teaching is not for budging.

    Read more.