Welcome back to the Religion Media Centre in 2023
Thousands queue to pay respects to Pope Benedict XVI
Tens of thousands of people are queuing at the Vatican to file past the body of Pope Benedict XVI, lying in state at St Peter’s Basilica. He died on new year’s eve at the age of 95 and his body was ceremonially moved to the Vatican on Monday morning, where he will lie in state for three days until the funeral on Thursday. It is estimated that more than 60,000 people have already filed past.
The Religion Media Centre is hosting an online media briefing on the legacy of Pope Benedict XVI today (Tuesday 3 Jan) at 1200. link via [email protected]
Benedict’s loyal servant publishes tell all book
Pope Benedict XVI’s personal secretary, Archbishop Georg Gaenswein, is to publish a book about his decades of service. Piemme, the publishers of Nothing But The Truth: My Life Beside Pope Benedict XVI, say it will pay tribute to “the greatness of a mild man, a fine scholar, a cardinal and a pope who made the history of our time!. But it will also reveal “dark manoeuvres”, scandals and lies which sullied Benedict’s reputation./ Associated Press report here
Jewish faith shapes the life of new parliamentary commissioner for standards
Daniel Greenberg takes up his role as parliamentary commissioner for standards today, a role in which he will investigate alleged breaches of the code of conduct for MPs and offer advice and guidance to the Commons. In an interview with Rosie Dawson, he explained how his devout faith as a member of the orthodox Jewish community, has shaped his life and work. He will be keeping a rabbinic principle at the forefront of his mind: Derech eretz kadma, which can be translated as “decency before religion”. View the interview on our YouTube channel here, and read Rosie’s report here
Archbishops’ solution to England’s broken social care system
The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby used his new year message to curtain raise his forthcoming report on the state of social care in England, to be published on 24 January. In a film broadcast widely, he said that “we know our care system is broken” but he believed that “caring goes to the heart of what it means to be human”. Care and Support Reimagined was commissioned by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York to address the challenges of the social care system and offer a vision of what it should be like, giving choice and control to the vulnerable and offering support to carers. His film includes interviews from a Methodist Home for the Aged in Whitstable.
Exiled chief rabbi appeals to Jews to leave Russia
The exiled chief rabbi of Moscow, Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, has advised all Jews in Russia to leave, warning they will be made into scapegoats for the hardships created by the war in Ukraine. In an interview with the Guardian, he pointed to a rise in antisemitism in Russia and said since the war began, 25 to 30 per cent of Russian Jews had either left or were planning to do so. He left for Hungary in March.
New Year’s Honours for faith leaders
- The Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, was knighted in the New Years Honours List, for “significant services to the Jewish community, to interfaith relations and to education”. Jewish Chronicle story here
- Jasvir Singh, family law barrister, founding chair of City Sikhs, contributor to BBC Radio 4’s ‘Thought for the Day’, co-founder of South Asian Heritage Month and on the advisory board of the Religion Media Centre, received a CBE
- Chris Bryant, Labour MP and a former Anglican priest who resigned to enter politics, is awarded a knighthood.
- Dr Eve Poole, former Third Church Estates Commissioner and Gordonstoun’s first female chair of governors, received an OBE for services to education and gender equality.
- Clive Foster, Multi-Faith Manager and Executive Dean for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at Nottingham Trent University, senior minister at Pilgrim Church, Nottingham and one of the main organisers of the RMC’s Creating Connections project in the city, received an MBE for helping to set up the Windrush response project.
Comprehensive honours report by the Church Times is here
First openly non binary priest tells story to Liverpool Echo
The Liverpool Echo reports on Bingo Allison, thought to be the first openly non-binary priest to be ordained in the Church of England. A parent of three, Bingo grew up in west Yorkshire and held conservative theological views which changed when meeting gay Christians, prompting a realisation that life might have to be turned upside down. The Echo reports Bingo saying: “I try to get involved in, not just in my religious work but outside it, with the local secular LGBT youth groups. One of the biggest things is just being a visual representation in my community and going into schools, doing assemblies and making a huge difference in normalising it for children. When I’m wearing my collar, it lets children know that is ok and that there is a place in church and the outside world for people like me”.
The 6 year old boy from a Tibetan monastery who switched to a life in Ibiza
The remarkable journey of a Spanish boy sent to a monastery aged six after being recognised by the Dalai Lama as the reincarnation of a revered Tibetan lama, but who left aged 18 for a life of partying in Ibiza, is told in a film on HBO Max in Spain. Osel Hita Torres told the Observer he went from one extreme to another, from complete isolation to a life of distractions and no control. He is glad of the experience, despite describing it as suffering, and is still connected to Buddhism.
Jolt of love leads to marriage for a monk and nun
The BBC tells the romantic story of a nun in Preston who fell for a monk as she accidentally brushed his sleeve and “felt something of a jolt”, leading to his proposal one week later. Sister Mary Elizabeth joined the Carmelite order aged 19. She fell in love 24 years later as she offered hospitality to Robert, a visiting friar. In an episode of Radio 4’s Beyond Belief, they describe their emotional roller coaster as they changed their lives – he is now a vicar in Yorkshire and she is a hospital chaplain.
