Three faith development charities urge government to invest in peace for South Sudan
Christian Aid, Cafod and Tear Fund are calling on the government to commit to financing the peace process in South Sudan. Their call comes as the Pope, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Moderator of the Church of Scotland arrive in Juba, South Sudan, for a three-day visit called a “pilgrimage of peace”. They will meet government and religious leaders for talks and be present at a mass prayer-for-peace service, which is expected to attract 60,000 people. The three development charities have written an open letter to the Prime Minister warning of a hunger crisis, as millions have been displaced through conflict, floods and loss of livelihood. They say that “despite the deteriorating situation, the UK aid budget for South Sudan was cut by 59 per cent in 2021”. They are calling on the government to invest in “peacebuilding, conflict management and reconciliation” in South Sudan. A podcast of our briefing on the visit is here>>
Pope thanks priests and religious in DR Congo for serving in difficult conditions
Pope Francis is travelling to Juba from DR Congo, where has spent three days encouraging the 52 million Catholics in the country — half the total population. In a service at Our Lady of Congo Cathedral in Kinshasa, he thanked the country’s 18,000 priests and religious for serving others in “difficult and often dangerous conditions”. Up to 5.5 million people have been displaced causing a humanitarian crisis. The congregation prayed in Lingala, Kikongo, Swahili, Tshiluba, and French.
Polarising legacy of Cardinal George Pell erupts at his funeral
Cardinal George Pell, once one of the highest-ranking people in the Roman Catholic Church, has been laid to rest at Sydney Cathedral. He held office as Archbishop of Melbourne, then Sydney, before becoming head of the Vatican’s finances. But in 2017 he was convicted of abusing two choir boys in Melbourne and spent 13 months in prison before the conviction was dramatically overthrown. During the funeral, there were loud protests outside the cathedral against his conservative views, opposition to same-sex marriage and women’s rights, and inaction on clergy sex abuse. But inside, the Archbishop of Sydney Anthony Fisher, denounced the process that led to his conviction, saying his imprisonment for crimes he did not commit followed a “media, police and political campaign to punish him whether guilty or not”.
Appeal for unity at National Prayer Breakfast organised by new Congress-led group
President Joe Biden used his address at the annual National Prayer Breakfast at the US Capitol in Washington, to appeal for unity and respect. Speaking to an audience of 450 members of Congress, government officials and guests, he said: “In our politics and in our lives, we too often see each other as opponents and not competitors. We see each other as enemies, not neighbours.” This was the first prayer breakfast to be organised by a new group led by members of Congress, following the founding principle of bringing people together across partisan lines. For 70 years, the breakfast was organised by the International Foundation, also known as The Family, which was exposed by Jeff Sharlet, a reporter and author, who claimed it was secretive, with opaque funding, espousing “biblical capitalism, military might, and American empire”. Refusing to stand by, the International Foundation held its own parallel breakfast at a nearby hotel with an audience of 1,300 and an extensive programme of events called The Gathering. They watched President Biden’s speech via video link.
Express marriages in UAE overturn traditional Islamic law
The Times reports that Dubai is preparing to offer express mixed-faith marriages, following a popular scheme introduced in Abu Dhabi last year. A civil wedding licence will be made available within 24 hours overturning traditional Islamic law requiring a woman’s father or male guardian to give approval. UAE lawyer Hesham El-Refai is quoted saying the change “reshapes the relationship between the law and a 1,000-year-old religious opinion which was hijacked by extremists”.
Global spread of ayahuasca churches fuelled by a hallucinogenic drug
Michael Casey, writing for the Associated Press, reports that there is a growth of new churches based on the use of ayahuasca, an hallucinogenic drug taken in a cup of tea, which is said to engender religious experiences making people feel closer to God. He visited the Hummingbird church on the border between Arizona and Utah, where “the gentle sounds of a guitar were drowned out by people vomiting”, followed by crying, laughing and babbling. In 2006 the US Supreme Court ruled that an ayahuasca church had the right to use the drug as a sacrament. But churches are complaining that their supply is being seized at ports as the drug is illegal. Casey says the movement has its roots in the Amazon among indigenous groups, where ayahuasca is legal. The Ayahuasca movement has no written text but there are prayers, chants and songs. The feature is here >>
Changes to review of safeguarding issues in Martyn Percy case
The Archbishops’ Council has announced that the review of the handling of safeguarding issues regarding Dr Martyn Percy, the former Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, will not now be led by the Church of England’s Independent Safeguarding Board, but by another person. The case was referred to the board in early 2022, but work was paused in the autumn in part due to finite resources and current workload. In a statement, the Archbishop’s Council also said that three members of the Safeguarding Board should enter into a dispute resolution process to ensure effective collaborative working. In a separate development, the Church Times reports that the General Synod, meeting next week in London, will be challenged as to why papers on safeguarding make no reference to the Independent Safeguarding Board. Instead, members will be asked to simply take note of a report on the work of the National Safeguarding Team.
You can sweat but don’t swear in a gym that used to be a church
A man who converted a disused Methodist chapel into a gym has banned customers from swearing. Premier Christian News reports that Joe Newbold bought Culmstock Methodist Church in Devon to set up in business. The inside still looks like a chapel, with the addition of gym kit. He told Premier that clients are asked to keep cursing to a minimum when they’re encouraged to exercise hard. They have to remember that it was once a church, he said. More pics here>>
