Day 21: War in the Middle East
UN says aid is ‘barely trickling’ into Gaza as EU joins calls for pauses in the shelling of Gaza to allow aid through. The Gaza health ministry says more than 7,000 people have been killed. A Hamas delegation travelled to Moscow for talks on hostages in Gaza, now put at 224. Israeli tanks and armoured bulldozers took part in an overnight ground raid as “preparation for the next stages of combat”
The King meets representatives of British charities working in Gaza
Buckingham Palace has said that the King, as President of the British Red Cross, met representatives of charities operating in the Middle East, including Gaza, to discuss the acute humanitarian situation. They included Medical Aid for Palestinians, the British Red Cross, Christian Aid and UNICEF UK. Afterwards, the British Red Cross tweeted their gratitude to the King “who has generously donated to our Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territory appeal”. Medical Aid for Palestinians tweeted that they had briefed the King on the “grave humanitarian situation in #Gaza” and shared a note from a 9-year-old girl displaced by the war. They said “His Majesty’s concern is deeply appreciated by our staff”.
Pope Francis calls Catholic church in Gaza “practically every afternoon”
Father Gabriel Romanelli, the parish priest of The Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza, has given an interview to Vatican News, revealing that the Pope calls him or his church community nearly every afternoon. More than 700 people are in his parish seeking refuge and nuns are staying put to care for the refugees and 54 children needing special care. The article says that “the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, has provided the precise coordinates of the church to the Israeli authorities to prevent an accidental airstrike hitting them”. Father Romanelli said the people sheltering, both Catholic and Orthodox, pray all day. He is quoted saying the Pope “calls us almost every afternoon. He calls me, and if he doesn’t reach me, he calls the parish. It’s a great sign of generosity, of goodness. We know that he is close to the entire population, everyone without distinction.”
Survey showing drop in Muslim support for Labour and Tories criticised as rubbish
A “voting sentiment survey” by Muslim Census and MEND, which showed a drop of 66 per cent in support for Labour has been criticised as not being representative. Responses showed a drop in potential Labour votes, from 71 per cent to 5 per cent. The Conservative vote also dropped from 9 per cent to 0.6 per cent. The most popular response was not to vote at all. Professor Rob Ford, Professor of Political Science at the University of Manchester who researches public opinion and voter behaviour, took to Twitter / X saying the survey was completed by an unrepresentative sample of self-selecting people and was “complete rubbish”. It highlighted the need for better representative polls of Britain’s Muslim community and ethnic minority communities more generally. The survey ran from 17 – 26 October and got 30,000 responses.
Pope calls President Erdogan of Turkey to discuss the war in Gaza
The Pope has also called President Erdoğan of Turkey to discuss the situation in Israel and Gaza. The Vatican’s press secretary said the Pope re-iterated the Vatican’s position for a two-state solution and hoped for a special statute for the city of Jerusalem. The Turkish government said the President expressed great concern to the Pope about what is happening in Gaza.
Call for prayer and fasting for peace today – Friday 27th October
The Pope has called for today, Friday 27 October, to be a day of prayer, fasting, and penance for peace. There will be an hour of prayer in St Peter’s Square at 5pm British time and the Pope is asking other churches around the world to organise similar initiatives. Once more he has called for people to lay down their weapons and do everything possible to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe.
Other news
New US House speaker says God is behind his election
Mike Johnson, the newly elected speaker in the House of Representatives, has said that God is behind his election. In his inaugural speech to the House, Johnson, who represents Louisiana and is a devout Baptist, said he did not “believe there are any coincidences in a matter like this” and “the Bible is very clear that God is the one that raises up those in authority…I believe that Scripture is very clear that God has ordained and allowed each one of us to be brought here for this specific moment and this time.” He believed God called Congress to help ensure that the Republic “remains standing as the great beacon of light and hope and freedom in a world that desperately needs it.” He vowed that his office “will be known for trust and transparency and accountability. For good stewardship of the people’s treasure. For the honesty and integrity that is incumbent upon us, all of us here in the people’s House”. CNN transcript here
Delay on same sex blessings guidance shows “complete failure” of bishops
A detailed report in the Church Times indicates that votes in the Church of England’s House of Bishops on the controversial plans for prayers for same sex blessings, were apparently reversed in the documents sent to synod for its meeting in November. The report uses information from letters and papers to conclude that a “majority of C of E bishops support a move towards allowing priests to enter into same-sex marriage, and the immediate adoption of stand-alone services of blessing for same-sex couples”, but the House of Bishops voted to slow progress on both issues because of the complexity of the topics. The delay has incensed Labour MP Ben Bradshaw who told the Church Times that the majority of the Church was “fed-up with the complete failure of the leadership of the Archbishops and the Bishops, and their repeated pusillanimity in the face of extremely aggressive behaviour of a small group of completely unrepresentative evangelical conservatives”.
Pope warns against clericalism as a form of worldliness
Addressing the General Synod of Bishops in Rome, Pope Francis warned against clericalism saying that when you want to know what the Church believes, go to the Magisterium (doctrine/teaching authority) but when you want to know how the Church believes, go to the faithful people, who do not err in belief. Christopher Lamb reports that the Pope said the church is “a simple and humble people who walk in the presence of the Lord” and he believed women are a reflection of the church. He said the hierarchy and church members have generally received the faith from their mothers and grandmothers. Speaking about clerics trying on robes in the shops in Rome, he said “clericalism is a whip, it is a scourge, it is a form of worldliness that dirties and damages the church”.
The vicar in Shropshire who pulls the pints in his local
Premier Christian News tells the story of the Rev Gary Ward, the vicar of All Saints Church, Claverley in Shropshire, who works two nights a week in his local, pulling pints in exchange for a contribution to church funds. He says he’s been helping out at The Crown Inn for six or seven years and meets people who wouldn’t normally cross the church threshold. Wearing his clerical collar, sometimes his conversations run deep and while it hasn’t led to more people in the pews, connections have resulted in weddings and christenings. When his work is done, he sits down with locals and enjoys his favourite tipple – a lager called Hell. He says: “I think working in the pub helps people see that vicars are just normal”.
