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In the News

  • The Gospel Coalition: I am not disgusting. I am not alone. I am redeemed.
    February 14th, 2017

    I was 17, and nothing in my life up to that point shocked me as much as this slow and gradual realization: I was gay.

    I had always liked boys, but I never knew there was a word or even a category for my specific experiences. I’d grown up in a Christian environment where gay people were dehumanized and called "zombies." Christians had always given me the impression that it was impossible to struggle with homosexuality and to love Christ at the same time. I was taught to fear people who weren’t straight, and so my own sense of self-worth plummeted when I realized the portrait of homosexuality they painted was actually a mirror I was looking into.

    Read more.

  • BBC: Swipe right for new 'mum friends'
    February 14th, 2017

    A new app aimed at mothers has launched in London and New York, aimed at helping mums build friendships.

    Peanut adopts the format of dating apps such as Tinder where mothers upload profiles and pictures and "swipe" to register their interest in each other.

    Co-founder Michelle Kennedy was deputy CEO of European dating app Badoo and was also on the board at Bumble.

    Read more. 

  • Independent: £100,000 lottery funding given to suspected illegal faith schools
    February 13th, 2017

    Suspected illegal schools have been awarded more than £100,000 in public funds despite being flagged on a government watch list, The Independent can reveal.

    The Big Lottery Fund has awarded £116,750 to seven ultra-Orthodox Jewish schools that the Department for Education has identified as suspected illegal schools. 

    Read more. 

  • Mail: Rise in parents on drugs or drunk in charge of children
    February 13th, 2017

    Rising numbers of parents are being reported by friends, neighbours or witnesses because they are drunk or drugged while in charge of their children, a charity report said yesterday.

    It said it had gathered 25,000 complaints of alcohol or drug abuse by adults looking after their children over the past three years.

    The level of neglect by intoxicated parents reported to the NSPCC has gone up by 16 per cent since 2014 and is now running at one incident every hour, the charity said.

    Read more. 

  • Telegraph: Church of England ministers could work beyond the age of 70 to ease recruitment crisis
    February 12th, 2017

    Senior Church of England ministers look set to be allowed to work beyond 70, as its ruling body votes on the issue for the first time amid concerns about a shortage of clergy.

    The Anglican Church faces a recruitment crisis as hundreds of ministers are due to retire over the next decade and there is not enough younger staff to replace them.

    A vote on the new rules, due to take place on Tuesday at the Church of England synod, will come after the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, addresses the meeting on Monday.

    Read more. 

  • Mail: Extreme porn fuelling a surge in sex attacks by children
    February 12th, 2017

    Extreme pornography is fuelling an alarming rise in the number of child rapists, a minister has warned.

    Criminal convictions for rape by those aged under 17 have almost doubled in just four years, according to the latest figures.

    Experts said vile internet material was influencing children to act out the depraved scenes they saw on mobile phones or tablets.

    Read more.

  • Telegraph: Divorced parents who pit children against former partners 'guilty of abuse'
    February 12th, 2017

    Divorced parents who "brainwash" their children against ex-partners are guilty of “abuse”, the head of the agency that looks after youngsters' interests in family courts has said.

    Anthony Douglas, chief executive of the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), warned against the danger of "parental alienation".

    He said the deliberate manipulation of a child by one parent against the other has become so common in family breakdowns that it should be dealt with like any other form of neglect or child abuse.

    Read more. 

  • BBC: Church of England 'not listening to gay Christians', say retired bishops
    February 12th, 2017

    Fourteen retired bishops have accused Church of England leaders of not listening to the voices of gay Christians.

    The bishops said in an open letter that a new report on the Church's stance on homsexuality tells of gay people's pain, but has no "authentic voices".

    The former bishop of Worcester said some people felt "betrayed". 

    Read more. 

  • Guardian: C of E warns of 'corrupting pressures of politics' in response to Trump fears
    February 12th, 2017

    The Church of England has responded to concerns over the election of Donald Trump by drawing attention to the "corrupting pressures of politics" and the "temptations of high office".

    In an unusually pointed formal reply to a question referring specifically to the US president, the church said it could "offer an example and encouragement to all those who confront the potentially corrupting pressures of politics – not least those who bear the burdens and face the temptations of high office".

    The written answer was issued by Alan Smith, the bishop of St Albans, on behalf of the C of E's mission and public affairs council, before the general synod, which starts on Monday.

    Read more. 

  • Telegraph: Mother who let her two boys sleep in her bed has them taken away by judge
    February 12th, 2017

    A mother who allowed her two children to sleep in her bed has had them taken away from her by a family court judge after social workers raised concerns.

    The boys, who are both under four, have been placed for adoption following the court proceedings, which began when authorities spotted bruises on them.

    Judge Peter Greene said the youngsters' mother had failed to act on professionals' advice against "co-sleeping" and continued to reject advice about feeding. 

    Read more.