CofE bishops discuss same sex relationships again
Church of England bishops meet again this week to continue their discussion of same sex marriage and how the church should respond, given strong disagreement among members. A process of consultation “Living in Love and Faith” has ended and the bishops are deciding on a resolution to put to the general synod in February. Their meeting this week will produce draft outcomes, to be decided upon next month. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has told The Times that he will keep his views on same-sex marriage in church a secret as long as he is in post. LGBT campaigner Jayne Ozanne has written an open letter saying the church had spent hours discussing certain biblical texts, but precious little time discussing the harm that the church has inflicted on some of its most vulnerable members.
Report challenges New York Times podcast account of Trojan Horse affair
The think tank Policy Exchange has produced a report critical of the New York Times podcast coverage of the 2013 Trojan Horse affair, when there were allegations in a letter that Islamists were attempting to take over schools in Birmingham. In January this year, the NY Times podcast argued that the episode was an Islamophobic hoax. But in a foreword to the Policy Exchange report, Birmingham MP Khalid Mahmood MP said the podcast had thrown fuel on the fire of conspiracy theories about a supposed witch hunt of Muslims, and was uncritically embraced and promoted by activists. He said the report provided a much-needed corrective to the podcast which risked diminishing the truth. The New York Times is quoted in The Times saying it was proud of its coverage and did not think the Policy Exchange report was written in good faith.
Campaign to ensure high quality education in religion and worldviews
The Religious Education Council of England and Wales is mounting a campaign to ensure high quality education in religion and worldviews, by well qualified teachers. Earlier research showed some schools ignore the law and do not timetable RE in year 11. The campaign highlights that 40 per cent of primary teachers have from zero to three hours training in teaching RE, and there is a national shortage of qualified RE teachers in secondary schools. The campaign is seeking a national standard to provide a benchmark for the teaching of RE. It says education in religion and worldviews is vital for young people in a diverse society and 64 per cent of parents think the subject is important.
Could parish magazines take the place of local papers?
Former journalist, the Rev Peter Crumpler, writing in the Church Times, reports on the dwindling number of parish magazines, as news moves online while editors and resources are hard to come by. He charts the history of the parish mag from its beginnings in 1859 to a 1.3 million readership in 2009. The covid pandemic forced a temporary lull as magazines could not be handled or distributed. But with the demise of local papers, he says there is a need for local news which the parish magazine could fill.
Catholic bishop resigns as role is “too great a burden”
The Catholic bishop of Hexham and Newcastle, Robert Byrne, has resigned at the age of 66 – four years earlier than the set church retirement age. In an open letter, he said: “It is with a heavy heart that I now find the office of the diocesan bishop has become too great a burden and feel I can no longer serve the people of the Diocese in the way I would wish. I propose to return to my Oratorian Community in Oxford”.
Pope asks world leaders to pardon prisoners
The Catholic News Agency reports that Pope Francis will send a letter to the world’s heads of state asking them to pardon prisoners. The invitation to make a “gesture of clemency” will be sent in the days leading up to Christmas and will invite world leaders to grant leniency to “those of our brothers and sisters deprived of their liberty whom they deem fit to benefit from such a measure, so that this time marked by tensions, injustices, and conflicts may be opened to the grace that comes from the Lord.” The agency says there are an estimated 11.5 million prisoners worldwide.
British Sikhs affected disproportionately by long covid
Long covid is affecting 2.2 million people in the UK, according to the latest Office of National Statistics data for November. And the British Sikh Report suggests that Sikhs in the UK have been affected disproportionately by the lingering virus, which causes fatigue, a struggle to concentrate and anxiety. The report is based on data from 2000 Sikhs and suggests 59 per cent of British Sikhs have had covid-19 since the start of the pandemic, with 21 per cent believing they now have long covid. Jasvir Singh OBE, chair of the British Sikh Report, said the statistic is of deep concern and more research is needed. Almost a third of Sikhs volunteered during the pandemic providing sewa, selfless service, to others. The report also showed almost four in every 10 Sikh women are finding it difficult to pay their bills, and that women are more concentrated in lower paid jobs than men.
Shocking hate crime on a mosque in Manchester
A pig’s head has been left on the roof of a mosque and Muslim centre in Stockport, in a deliberate Islamophobic hate crime. One of the trustees of the Heaton’s Muslims Community Trust building is quoted in the Daily Mail: “We are not allowed to eat pig’s meat or handle it in any way so someone has done it specifically” to cause fear and distress. The centre has been going for more than ten years but in the last 12 months, there have been two burglaries where a TV and donation box were stolen.
