Christian Aid lecture issues call for aid to be based on respect not paternalistic patronising
The shadow foreign secretary, David Lammy, has called for international development delivery to be modernised. Aid in the 2020s must not be patronising or paternalistic, he said, but should instead build new relations of equals, based on respect and mutual trust. Speaking at the Christian Aid annual lecture in London last night, he said Christian values should call out what is wrong in society. The climate emergency is the greatest challenge the world faces and developing countries and the poor are most exposed to its consequences. Poverty should be tackled in the UK and globally with an ambition to redistribute power to people at the sharpest end of inequality. No child should be hungry anywhere when we live in a world of plenty, he said. An incoming Labour government would fix “the government’s botched merger” of the Department for International Development and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and he outlined three priorities for reform: setting up a new taskforce to coordinate private sector support for development, legislating to put climate action at the heart of the aid budget, and leading as a global convener in development. Multilateralism, development and diplomacy were still the best tools to create lives of dignity and opportunity, he said.
Pope ousts leadership of Caritas Internationalis after external review
Pope Francis has ousted the management of the Vatican’s international charity Caritas Internationalis after an external review found management and morale problems at its head office. The secretary general, Aloysius John, has gone and Dr Pier Francesco Pinelli will become the temporary administrator. The Vatican says the President, Vice-Presidents, General Secretary, Treasurer, and Ecclesiastical Assistant will also “cease” from their duties. A Vatican statement says the review found no evidence of financial mismanagement or sexual impropriety, but there were “real deficiencies” found in management, prejudicing team spirit and staff morale. Caritas Internationalis has 162 national development and relief organizations around the world but the changes do not affect their leadership.
Faith groups say Cop27 decision to compensate for climate change is matter of justice
Faith groups represented at the Cop27 climate change conference have been reflecting on its outcome and the work left to be done. In a Religion Media Centre briefing, Omar Shaikh, Managing Director of the Global Finance initiative, said the agreement to provide a loss and damage fund, compensating poorer countries for disasters brought by climate change, was fundamental to the future success of international action and was a matter of justice for the developing world. The briefing heard that it was an issue not felt at Cop26 in Glasgow last year, but it is widely supported especially by young activists. Cop27 disappointed many by failing to take action to ensure global warming is limited to 1.5 degrees. Veteran environment journalist Alex Kirby said he was hearing the same arguments over and over again and concluded: “We can’t solve it or surrender to it, all we can do is adjust to it”. The briefing is on our YouTube channel here
Buildings to be lit in red highlighting persecution of Christians
Cathedrals and landmark buildings around the world will be lit in red today, Wednesday, for the annual campaign of Aid to the Church in Need UK, which draws attention to the persecution of Christians. Its report “Persecuted and Forgotten” together with a UK report on religious freedom, says that persecution has increased in 75 per cent of countries surveyed over the last two years, especially in Nigeria, north Korea, India, Sri Lanka, Syria, Iraq and the Middle East, where it is in danger of disappearing.
Catholic bishop from Nigeria appeals to the world to stop the evil of genocide in his country
The Catholic bishop of Ondo, Nigeria, Jude Arogundade, has given an address in the Houses of Parliament on the persecution of Christians in his country, which he described as genocide. Launching the report from Aid to the Church in Need, he described the most recent murderous attack on Christians while they were in church for Pentecost Sunday, leaving 41 people dead and 73 injured. He traced the history of the movement to establish an Islamic caliphate in Nigeria back to the 19th century and said the struggle for religious domination has led to violence by terrorists such as Boko Haram, who have never been charged. He described the feeling of impotence in the face of continuing attacks, with police and government unable to stop the insurgents and he appealed to the parliamentarians to tell the Nigerian Government to stop the genocide: “The world must stop this evil and hold the perpetrators accountable”.
Police called in after LGBT Muslim speaker at a school event is intimidated on social media
An LGBT rights campaigner who lectured 6th form students in the Midlands, on coming out as a Muslim, has received intimidating online abuse and the police have been called in. Reports suggest there was robust questioning by students who disagreed with his understanding that being gay was compatible with Islam. A teacher addressed the students, speaking about tolerance, but the exchange was filmed, went viral and led to complaints against the school. A statement from Wood Green Academy in Wednesbury, apologised for distress caused and said investigations were underway and appropriate bodies informed. The intention, it says, was to prepare students for life in modern Britain, promoting tolerance and respect for different views.
Town in Wisconsin rejects proposal for Muslim call to prayer to be heard
Somalis living in the town of Barron in northwest Wisconsin have withdrawn a request to play the Muslim call to prayer, after the idea met strong opposition in the local community. National Public Radio in Wisconsin reports that the proposal was objected to by all speakers in the city council debate. The local paper said they were concerned the call to prayer would trigger PTSD in veterans who had served in Muslim countries. Another said they were against the mosques trying to indoctrinate youth who aren’t Muslim. The town has a growing community of Somalis who were first attracted by job opportunities at a nearby factory 30 years ago. A local Somali councillor said he was told “Go back to Somalia if you want to practice religion or worship”, which he found offensive as he is American, but he said the community did not want to be the target of trouble or conflict so backed down. Minneapolis became the first major city in the United States to allow the Muslim call to prayer.
