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In the News

  • Church of England: Statement from the House of Bishops
    November 24th, 2016

    The House of Bishops of the Church of England met at Lambeth Palace on Wednesday 23 November.

    The formal meeting was preceded by a Eucharist where the Bishops remembered St Clement. Prayers were said for those across the globe who are persecuted for their faith, victims of religious violence and those with responsibility for Government.

    The meeting received an update on the work of the Bishops' Reflection Group on Sexuality by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York in September 2016 to assist the process of consideration.

    Read more.

  • Christian Today: Church of England issues fierce rebuke to conservative body GAFCON UK
    November 24th, 2016

    The Church of England's top lay official has issued an extraordinary admonishment to the conservative Anglican body GAFCON UK after it published a list of clergy and church leaders in same-sex relationships.

    The astonishing rebuke was in a letter published on Tuesday evening from William Nye, secretary general to the Archbishops' Council, a senior leadership body of the Church. It was addressed to Andy Lines, chairman of GAFCON UK.

    GAFCON UK's document painted a "significantly misleading picture both of the teaching and practice of the Church of England", Nye wrote.

    Read more.

  • National Secular Society: Britain has "turned a blind eye" to abuse of women by sharia 'courts'
    November 24th, 2016

    Powerful testimony from Muslim women has been published by MPs on the Home Affairs Committee as part of their investigation into sharia, while activists have warned that its approach so far has favoured those who support sharia councils.

    Submissions received from Muslim women on their experiences of sharia 'law' have now been published by the Committee. The evidence was gathered by One Law For All, who sent the personal testimonies to the committee for their investigation into sharia 'law' in the UK.

    One woman whose evidence was included for the Select Committee's consideration is Habiba Jan who was trapped in an abusive Islamic 'marriage' and was unable to escape without a sharia 'divorce'. Jan ended up being referred to Anjem Choudary for a 'divorce', without knowing who he was.

    Read more.

  • Telegraph: Westminster lit up for victims of violence
    November 24th, 2016

    Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament and a string of other landmarks around Britain are turning red to draw attention to the plight of people around the world being killed or persecuted for their faith.

    Churches, mosques and synagogues are among buildings being illuminated as part what is being dubbed "Red Wednesday" to honour the victims of religious hatred in an initiative conceived by the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need.

    Although November 23 was initially chosen because of Saint Clement's Day, which celebrates the early Pope and Christian martyr, it also comes ahead of the publication on Thursday of a major report warning that religious freedom is under threat in one in five countries around the world.

    Read more.

  • Anglican Communion: Faith communities unite on Red Wednesday for victims of religious persecutions
    November 24th, 2016

    London’s Westminster Abbey will be lit up in red tonight in an act of solidarity with people around the world who are persecuted for their faith. It is one of a number of religious buildings that are joining the #RedWednesday campaign by the Roman Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). As part of the campaign, one of London’s iconic red busses is taking part in a faith-buildings tour today, to spread the "Stand up for Faith and Freedom message".

    After setting off from Westminster Cathedral – the seat of Cardinal Vincent Nichols, leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales – the bus will call at the Imam Khoei Islamic Centre, St Paul’s Cathedral, and the Liberal Jewish Synagogue in St John’s Wood, and Westminster Abbey before returning to the Cathedral where a gathering and service will be held.

    Read more.

  • Don't Screen Us Out: Press Release: Isle of Man government should revoke decision to roll-out new Down's syndrome prenatal test without consultation and ethical review
    November 24th, 2016

    Down’s syndrome advocacy group Don’t Screen Us Out are calling on the Isle of Man government to revoke a decision to roll-out a new-prenatal test that is projected to lead to a profound increase in the number of children with Down’s syndrome screened out by termination.

    The group are very concerned that this announcement has been made without consultation with people with Down’s syndrome and their families. They are similarly very disappointed that there appears to have been been no assessment made by the Manx Department of Health and Social Care of the impact that the roll-out will have on the lives of people with Down’s syndrome. There also appears to have been no ethical review of the proposed roll-out.

    In a recent report the International Bioethics Committee (IBC) of the United Nations Educational, Social, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) issued a stern warning about the drive to adopt NIPT in national screening programmes, "the potential ethical disadvantages of NIPT can be summarised as routinisation and institutionalisation of the choice of not giving birth to an ill or disabled child".

    Read more.

  • University Times: The current campaign to repeal the eighth is fatally flawed
    November 24th, 2016

    Abortion rights have become an international issue in recent weeks with US President-elect, Donald Trump, suggesting that Roe v. Wade may be overturned under his presidency, along with the right-wing Polish government attempting to bring in stricter abortion laws. Opinion polls at home suggest that the majority of Irish people do, however, want to see some form of alteration in our abortion laws, although the level of change desired is varied. As the Citizens’ Assembly continues to deliberate on whether a referendum should be held on the eighth amendment, one thing remains clear: the campaign advocating for repeal is largely failing to engage in any proper discussion, is speaking to itself and has been engulfed by voices on the far left.

    Read more.

  • Guardian: Irish trade unions call for referendum on abortion rights
    November 24th, 2016

    Irish trade unions have launched a campaign for a referendum to abolish an amendment to the Irish constitution that pro-choice campaigners say prevents serious reform of strict anti-abortion laws.

    The leaders of some of the country’s biggest unions gathered on a bridge over the river Liffey in Dublin on Wednesday morning to call for the repeal of the eighth amendment, which gives an unborn child the right to life, for the first time since it was passed more than three decades ago.

    The amendment was introduced through a referendum in 1983. Ireland’s then politically influential anti-abortion lobby, in alliance with the Catholic church, forced the Fine Gael-Labour coalition to hold a national vote to in effect make an embryo into an Irish citizen. It passed with 67% voting in favour.

    Read more.

  • Christian Today: Education secretary praises'hugely popular' Christian and other faith schools
    November 24th, 2016

    England's church schools are "hugely popular" and "significantly more likely than other schools to be rated by Ofsted as good or outstanding," the education secretary Justine Greening MP has said.

    She was speaking after the Government decided to relax selection rules for new pupils. The rules have been changed after it became clear that a cap on admissions to new faith schools, restricting them to taking only half their intake on the basis of faith, had failed.

    In a letter to Sir Edward Leigh MP, Greening said she hoped the end to the 50 per cent cap on faith-based admissions "will give more organisations the opportunity to establish new faith schools".

    Read more.

  • Guardian: James Purnell to head BBC religious affairs programming
    November 24th, 2016

    The former Labour minister who is now the BBC’s head of radio and education, is to take on responsibility for its religious affairs programming amid criticism that recent cuts have hit coverage.

    James Purnell will add the role to his existing responsibilities, said the director general, Tony Hall, following the departure earlier this month of Aaqil Ahmed, who was the corporation’s head of religion and ethics.

    Hall said the decision meant the BBC was taking "one of the big issues of our times" seriously, and told an invited audience Purnell would make sure BBC output in television, radio and news was "joined up".

    Read more.