Rabbi defends Suella Braverman after security breach
Rabbi Jonathan Romain, from Maidenhead, has defended the new home secretary, Suella Braverman, who was brought back into the cabinet six days after being forced to resign for a security breach by sending confidential information to an MP. Her re-appointment has caused anger in Parliament with Labour and the Liberal Democrats calling for a Cabinet Office inquiry. Speaking on LBC radio, Rabbi Romain said Braverman had made a mistake, but she had owned up to it immediately, which was a refreshing difference to others in the past four years. Challenged on Braverman’s hardline policies on immigration, he said there was an expectation that people who are from immigrant families would be more compassionate to current immigrants, but he explained “they see themselves as British”.
Rishi Sunak’s Hindu faith shows Britain “lets people be”
Rishi Sunak’s appointment as Prime Minister indicates a shift in the understanding of religion in British society. Professor Chakravarthi Ram-Prasad, from Lancaster University, told the RMC briefing on Tuesday that being religious now means being spiritual, or to have multiple religious affiliations, or where cultural and racial identities are proxy for religious diversity. In short, “Letting people be” is the new norm. Read our full report here>> and view the briefing on our YouTube channel here >>
Church Housing Foundation set up to provide affordable homes
The Bishop for Housing in the Church of England, Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani, is setting up the Church Housing Foundation, to work with partners creating homes and communities throughout England. In an article in ViaMedia news, the bishop describes a scheme in Keswick where Church of England land was released for affordable housing, encouraging other denominations to follow suit. She said: “We would love to see many more grass roots initiatives like that”. The bishop describes homelessness as a matter of social justice, with 8 million people in England living in overcrowded, unaffordable or unsuitable housing, and said there is a “clear call” for Christians across all denominations to work towards housing provision.
Breakaway Anglican church in England appoints new bishops
The Anglican Network in Europe, an alternative Anglican structure for Christians with conservative views on same sex relationships and the Bible, has created new bishops to supervise existing congregations and extend out to a further 50 locations in England. The Network was started in 2020 and has two parts – the Anglican Mission in England, conservative evangelical, with 23 congregations; and the Anglican Convocation in Europe, Anglo Catholic, which has 11. The whole organisation has five bishops for 34 congregations. An article by the Rev Dr Andrew Atherstone on the Psephizo website, says the group reports a steady stream of clerical enquirers seeking admittance, with the prospect of more joiners if the General Synod next year votes in favour of same sex marriage. He reports that churches which have left mainstream Anglicanism for the new groups have experienced bullying, browbeating, and cool hostility, which he says must stop. He suggests the CofE should officially recognize the validity of the Network’s orders. The bishops are: Andy Lines, former director of Crosslinks, a Church of England mission agency; Tim Davies (Sheffield); Lee McMunn (Scarborough); Stuart Bell (Wales) and Ian Ferguson (Scotland).
Tear gas used on 40th day of hijab protests in Iran
Protests continued in Iran to mark 40 days since the death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman who died in police custody after being arrested for not wearing her hijab correctly. The Guardian reports that Iranian security forces clashed with protesters, shots were fired and teargas was used.
Evangelical vote once more key in American elections
Abortion is a key issue in the American mid term elections and the Christian vote is coming out in favour of choice. The Religion News Service reports a survey by 19th news, an online news service focusing on gender and politics, which found all Christian groups except Mormons and evangelicals were in favour of making abortion legal. But the article quotes the conservative Faith and Freedom coalition saying the pro-choice argument is not cutting through as expected and the outcome remains uncertain.
Pope warns nuns and priests not to watch porn
Pope Francis has warned priests and nuns against viewing pornography online, saying it is a vice and weakens the soul. He was speaking to hundreds of seminarians in a response to ten questions they had posed, including one on digital and social media . He told them to delete pornography from their phones and protect themselves against temptation. “It is a vice that so many people have — so many lay men, so many lay women, and even priests and religious sisters… The devil enters from there. It weakens the priestly heart”.
