Ethics underpinning financial decisions – where’s the justice?
Panellists at the latest Religion Media Centre briefing identified the ethics on display in the current UK financial turmoil. They heard that it’s assumed that the market and banks are ethically and morally neutral, but the economist Nick Silver was clear the whole of finance is premised on an ethical position – they’re buying into the idea that the goal of their work is to improve society, to make people better off. The problem is, the panel concluded, that it isn’t working and the ethical decisions they could identify in the current meltdown were negative – lack of justice, less love for the neighbour, personal independence at the expense of communities, decisions without evidence and a democratic deficit. All of which pointed to an even more fundamental question – what kind of society do we want to live in? The panellists were: Eve Poole, former Third Church Estates Commissioner; Rachel Muers, Professor of Theology University of Edinburgh; Rachael Saunders, deputy director Institute of Business Ethics; Nick Silver, economist , director of Callund Consulting and Trustee of the think tank Radix; and Omar Shaikh, Managing Director of the Global Ethical Finance Initiative. Read the full report of the briefing here and watch the film here
Buffer zone outlaws vigils outside abortion clinic in Bournemouth
A buffer zone is due to be set up around an abortion clinic in Bournemouth, banning prayer vigils, protests and handing out of leaflets. The local council for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, took action after people reported to be alarmed and distressed by protesters outside the clinic, who stood at the door making access difficult, knelt in prayer and asked why people were visiting. The order bans interference with visitors or staff, intimidation, harassment, taking pictures of people going in and out, displaying pictures of a termination and holding vigils including prayer and singing. Failure to comply could be met with a £100 fixed penalty notice or court action.
Pope decries divisions since Vatican II
Pope Francis has appealed to the church to avoid polarisation and “preserve our communion”. In a homily to mark the 60th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council, he asked how often Christians had preferred to choose sides, “progressivism that lines up behind the world and traditionalism that longs for a bygone world”. Such divisions were not evidence of love, but of infidelity. The Council had discovered the ” living river of tradition without remaining mired in tradition” and sought to return the church to what is essential: “a Church that is rich in Jesus and poor in assets” and “free and freeing.” Full text here
Switzerland draft law to ban burqas
Arab News reports that Switzerland’s government has drafted a new law to issue 990 Swiss franc fines to women wearing burqas in public. There are exemptions for example, in diplomatic premises and religious sites. Face coverings in public were banned in a binding referendum in 2021. New minarets were banned in 2009. The report says that around 5 percent of Switzerland’s population is Muslim and quotes a Cabinet statement saying: “The ban on covering faces aims to ensure public safety and order. Punishment is not the priority.”
Jewish movement concerned at moving embassy to Jerusalem
The Movement for Reform Judaism has joined voices of concern over the Prime Minister’s support for moving the British Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The Board of Deputies welcomed the suggestion, but church leaders here in the UK and in Jerusalem have cautioned against the move. The MRJ said in a statement that it was “unequivocally Zionist” and committed to Israel’s security, but it was also committed to a two state solution and would “caution against the government taking action that might undermine peace in the region.”
US lawyer faces $400,000 fine after revealing name of church abuser
The Guardian reports that a lawyer from New Orleans, who represents victims of clerical sexual abuse, faces a $400,000 fine after alerting a local Catholic high school that a priest who worked there once admitted to fondling and kissing a teen girl he met at another church institution 30 years before. A federal judge ruled that the alert violated confidentiality rules in a bankruptcy case filed by the local archdiocese. The lawyer will appeal.
$100 million campaign to rescue authentic Jesus brand
An advertising agency executive is behind a $100 million campaign to rescue the brand of Jesus from followers who have weaponised his name in culture wars, to judge, harm and divide people. Jon Lee, from the Dallas based agency Lerma, is placing ads on billboards and online videos with messages such as “Jesus let his hair down, too” and “Jesus was a refugee”. The Religion News Service reports that the “He Gets Us” campaign is funded by the Christian organisation Signatry which funnels money from wills to good causes. It has a website where caps, tshirts and other gifts with the ad slogans are given out in exchange for a good deed done.
