Sometimes a combination of news stories crop up that so perfectly sum up the spirit of the age, its absurdities and hypocrisies, that there ought to be a name for it. This week, for instance, I learned that the Home Office had barred three Iraqi and Syrian bishops from entering the country, the same department that quite merrily welcomes some of the most unpleasant hate preachers from the Islamic world. Elsewhere, there was also a report about racial and religious segregation in schools and the need to teach something called ‘British values’ to children to help them integrate. And finally, the winner of the country’s most prestigious art award was announced, beating competition from the other shortlisted works, which included a gigantic anus.
In the News
-
December 7th, 2016
-
December 7th, 2016
Yesterday, our own Rev Jules Gomes set out in alarming detail the extent of the failure of some Muslims from Pakistan and Bangladesh to integrate into British life.
The Casey Review reveals, in particular, gross abuses against Muslim women in these communities, most of which are never pursued by the police who are either too inept to care or too afraid of being labelled racist.
The abuses include husbands forbidding their wives from leaving the house, genital mutilation, forced marriage, honour killing and about 30 to 85 Sharia courts in Britain ‘that have been supporting the values of extremists, condoning wife-beating, ignoring marital rape and allowing forced marriage’ with ‘100,000 sharia marriages in the UK, many of which are not recognised under UK laws and leave women without full legal rights upon divorce.’
-
December 7th, 2016
The Home Office has announced that it will review a decision to prevent a delegation of Pakistani Christians visiting Glasgow.
The move follows accusations that bureaucracy is harming the ability of churches to build links internationally.
Two senior members of the Church of Pakistan had been invited to the city as part of a twinning project with the Church of Scotland’s Presbytery of Glasgow.
-
December 7th, 2016
A woman has described her joy at giving birth to her own grandson after stepping in as a surrogate for her cancer survivor daughter.
Julie Bradford, 45, said she felt compelled to carry Jack for daughter Jessica Jenkins, 21, who was left unable to have children after fighting cervical cancer.
Ms Jenkins was just 18 when she had her eggs frozen before the treatment began and her own mother has had her healthy baby three years later.
-
December 7th, 2016
A five-year-old Australian child born genetically male will grow up as a sterilised female after a court agreed to her having surgery.
The child, known only as Carla, identifies as a girl but has no female reproductive organs, Family Court documents show.
The court approved a request by Carla's parents to surgically remove male gonads inside her body.
-
December 7th, 2016
A senior Catholic bishop has said he is “disappointed” at Nicola Sturgeon’s claims that she is willing to explore meeting the cost of abortions for women from Northern Ireland who come to Scotland.
John Keenan, the Bishop of Paisley, said it was not for the Scottish government to go against the wishes of people in Ulster, where abortion is illegal.
The first minister revealed last month that she was willing to risk a diplomatic row with Northern Ireland by asking the Scottish NHS to explore ways of providing free, safe and legal abortions for those deprived of the service in their home province.
-
December 7th, 2016
The husband of a British man who died while they were on their honeymoon in Australia has welcomed the passing of South Australian legislation to establish a relationships register.
Marco Bulmer-Rizzi said it was the most humiliating time of his life when SA authorities informed him his partner David's death certificate would read "never married" because the state did not formally recognise same-sex relationships.
In the wake of the case almost a year ago, legislation to allow same-sex couples to have their relationships legally recognised passed the SA Parliament this week.
-
December 6th, 2016
Malta has become the first European country to ban gay conversion therapy.
The bill against the practice, which aims to "cure" a non-heterosexual person of their sexuality, was voted through unanimously.
Under the new law, anyone who tries to "change, repress or eliminate a person's sexual orientation, gender identity and/or gender expression" will be fined or even jailed.
-
December 6th, 2016
Hundreds of terrorists could be using British benefits to fund their extremist activities after the Government admitted it did not know the true scale of problem.
There have been calls for a thorough investigation into the issue after two men were convicted of channelling thousands of pounds of fraudulent housing benefits to the Islamist fanatics beind the Paris and Brussels terrorist outrages.
-
December 6th, 2016
To the Faithful of the GAFCON movement and friends from Archbishop Nicholas Okoh, Metropolitan and Primate of All Nigeria and Chairman, the GAFCON Primates Council.
My dear people of God,
As the season of Advent begins, I am calling on all of us who belong to the GAFCON movement to make this a time when we focus our prayer and our giving on the great work God has called us to do.
At the heart of our mission is the task of restoring the Bible to its rightful place at the centre of the Anglican Communion and if we really believe its message, then everything we do will be shaped by the promise of Christ’s glorious, personal and universal return as Saviour, Judge and Lord. In an uncertain world, this is certain. The election of an outsider as the next President in the United States and the upheaval of the UK’s vote to leave the European Union earlier this year remind us of the uncertainty of human rule and the urgency of proclaiming God’s rule and kingdom.