Pope calls for investigation into characteristics of genocide in Gaza
Pope Francis has called for an investigation to determine if Israel’s attacks in Gaza constitute genocide, according to excerpts from a book based in interviews with him to be released tomorrow. “Hope never disappoints: Pilgrims towards a better world”, by Hernán Reyes Alcaide, Vatican correspondent for Religion Digital, includes a passage where the Pope mentions the humanitarian crisis in Gaza saying that what has happened must be investigated. Speaking of nations receiving war refugees, he says: “In the Middle East, where the open doors of nations like Jordan or Lebanon continue to be a salvation for millions of people fleeing conflicts in the region: I am thinking above all of those who leave Gaza in the midst of the famine that has struck their Palestinian brothers and sisters given the difficulty of getting food and aid into their territory. According to some experts, what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of a genocide. It should be carefully investigated to determine whether it fits into the technical definition formulated by jurists and international bodies”.
Runnymede Trust CEO says Islamophobia has become brutally divisive in Britain
Islamophobia has become “brutally divisive” in the UK and failure to challenge its root causes will lead to more racist riots, according to Shabna Begum, chief executive of the Runnymede Trust. Speaking to The Guardian amid the launch of the Runnymede Trust’s report on Islamophobia, she said the war in Gaza and the response to the ceasefire protests in the UK meant the issue had become “inescapable” and had to be confronted. She said: “The way politicians talk about Muslims now is so derogatory, it’s in the most brutally divisive terms.” She predicted that unless something was done about political rhetoric and policy, last summer’s riots would not be a one-off.
European chief rabbi holds talks over Amsterdam football violence
The President of the Conference of European Rabbis, Chief Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, met the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs, Caspar Veldkamp, following the attack on Jews and Israelis after the Ajax-Maccabi Tel Aviv football match in Amsterdam on Thursday 7 November. He had earlier condemned the attack as a “21st-century pogrom” and called for Europe to take decisive action against an increasing threat to Jews. He urged immediate and visible action to prevent similar incidents and to protect Jewish citizens from escalating hostility. He said: “Ensuring Jewish safety is not just a Jewish issue, it is a test of Europe’s stability and value”.
Trump: “Without religion, there’s no real guardrails”
Premier Christian News reports a podcast interview given by Donald Trump to Lex Fridman. Trump said: “If you’re religious, I think you have a better feeling about it. You’re supposed to go to Heaven ideally, not Hell, but you’re supposed to go to Heaven if you’re good… Our country is missing a lot of religion. I think it really was a much better place with religion. It was almost a guide. You want to be good to people. Without religion, there’s no real guardrails… I’d love to see us get back to religion, more religion in this country.” Podcast is here.
Medieval statue of Mary and Child returns to Notre Dame
A medieval statue of the Virgin Mary and Child, known as “The Virgin of Paris,” has returned to Notre Dame cathedral, rescued from the fire five years ago and in time for the official opening on 8 December. AP reports that the statue, standing at six feet tall, was paraded with a torchlit procession to the cathedral’s where Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Paris led a blessing ceremony, followed by a vigil.
Angela Rayner discusses social cohesion with Muslim and Jewish women
Jewish and Muslim women in the Nisa Nashim network have met the deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner to disucss the impact of the Gaza conflict on women living in the UK, and the work of their organisation in creating bonds and community links. The women al;so presented ideas on how best to promote successful interfaith engagement. Ms Ratyner pledged to ensure that their voices and experiences were at the heart of the government’s work to promote social cohesion.
Festivals in Downing Street
Downing Street has apologised to British Hindus after meat and alcohol were served at an annual Diwali celebration. In a statement, No 10 said that the mistake would not happen again. Downing Street has held a Diwali celebration for the last 15 years and invites the many religious traditions who observe the festival to attend. Meanwhile the Sikh Federation has complained that No 10 did not mark the 555th birthday of Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh tradition, on 15 November, saying the government was taking Sikh support for granted.
Prayer and body slams at Christian wrestling in Bradford
The Times reports that once a month, St Peter’s Church in Shipley on the outskirts of Bradford, hosts Kingdom Wrestling, a Christian professional wrestling charity, which puts on a curious mixture of prayer, worship, testimony – and slams. The report describes a temporary ring between tall stone columns in front of a large stained-glass window, with “Star Killer” shouting: “Is this your saviour? Is this your saviour? You have no God. These people have no God. The Star Killer is now your God.” Then his opponent, Gareth “Angel” Thompson, stands up and pins him to the floor, with good triumphing over evil. Angel explains: “Any Christian will tell you that when you go through life, you wrestle with stuff, you wrestle with your faith. And when you face a really tough challenge, how do you see God in that challenge and how do you continue to remain in faith? I really feel that wrestling gives us that opportunity to tell those stories.” Story is in The Times here.
Turmoil in the Church of England
Bishops are silent because they want the top job
The Bishop of Newcastle, Helen Ann Hartley, has given an interview to Trevor Phillips on Sky News, saying she called for the Archbishop to resign, thinking she would be joined by colleagues who agreed silently that he should go, but found she was alone, describing this as an unhealthy culture in the CofE. She said: “Silence speaks in many ways. Some are silent, perhaps because they see themselves as succeeding to be the new Archbishop of Canterbury. Others are fearful of being reprimanded and rebuked because I know that colleagues have received letters similar to mine, which are quite heavy in tone. So I think genuinely they’re motivated by a fear of just keeping their heads down and not feeling able to speak out.” She said there are times when a prophetic voice is needed. Fear and silence is complicit with unhealthy theology which sees gender, sexuality and ethnicity as a problem, but the report and resignation had “blown the lid off a lot of that dysfunction”.
Channel 4’s source
Cathy Newman, the Channel 4 journalist who broke the Makin story, told the Sunday Times that her source was a man who met her in a café in Exmouth Market, London, and passed over a brown envelope containing the Ruston Report, an account of the Smyth abuse compiled by the Rev Mark Ruston in 1982, and hidden since then. Story is here.
Winchester College apologises
The Times reports that this weekend Winchester College issued a statement apologising for the college’s part: “We wish to acknowledge the courage and determination of the victims in pursuing the truth about John Smyth, and we apologise unreservedly for the college’s part in their terrible experiences.” It pointed to a review from 2022 which found that “the school failed significantly by not consulting all parents about whether to go to the police, and that there was a reasonable prospect Smyth could have been convicted had the school done so”.
Archbishop’s son said his father was right to resign
The Archbishop of Canterbury’s son, the Rev Tim Welby, has told The Mirror that his father was right to resign because his position had become “untenable.” He said his father was “appalled and embarrassed” by the way the shocking abuse scandal has been handled and that he would now “spend much of remaining time in office helping the victims” of John Smyth. His father felt deeply upset personally at not raising the alarm much sooner.
Resignation a bitterly ironic moment
Prof Alec Ryrie, professor of the history of Christianity at the University of Durham, told Radio 4’s Sunday programme that Welby’s resignation was a turning point, a bitterly ironic moment showing that the church culture had changed so much that insufficient steps to deal with abuse is now a resigning matter.
CofE needs more urgency to deal with safeguarding
Richard Scorer, an abuse lawyer, told Sunday that the CofE needs to develop more urgency to deal with safeguarding, especially over implementation of the Jay report that recommends independent safeguarding. The Iwerne Christian summer camps, run by members of the Church of England, were an organisation within the church, similar to Soul Survivors, but independent oversight was needed.
Appoint the next archbishop from outside the CofE
Who will be the next archbishop? In a debate on the Sunday programme, Susie Leafe, director of Anglican Futures, said the successor must be godly, have overseen a healthy growing church and the process must move away from seeing a bishop as a manager. There had been so much political infighting, it may be very difficult to find a bishop in the Church of England to take on the role and she suggested it could be someone from outside England in the wider Anglican communion. The Rev Marcus Walker, rector of St Bartholomew the Great in London, wanted the next archbishop to re- establish trust which had collapsed between laity, clergy and bishops, and to be s omeone who actually loves the Church of England. It will be important to plug back into the parishes and a person from any church tradition could accomplish that. Rev Dr Michael Banner, Dean and fellow Trinity College Cambridge, wants the next archbishop to maintain a local caring presence in every parish, but nationally someone with the charisma to speak out on issues affecting society such as immigration, poverty, foodbanks, debt and climate change.
Kaya Burgess on Justin Welby’s legacy
“Justin Welby changed the Church of England, for better and worse”: Kaya Burgess, in The Times, assesses Justin Welby’s legacy, the workaholic, a good man, a decent man, convinced of the need for reconciliation, facing intractable conflicts and the struggle to introduce improvements.
Welsh Lib Dem leader told to reflect over handling of safeguarding case
Jane Dodds, the leader of the Welsh Lib Dems, has been told to “reflect on her position” over her handling of a sexual abuse case when she worked for the Church of England. A 2021 report found she had made a “grave error of judgement” by not organising a meeting to discuss a particular case of abuse by the late former bishop of Chester, Hubert Victor Whitsey, who sexually abused at least 18 victims between 1966=1981. The BBC reports that Jane Dodds accepted there were shortcomings but said she will stay on. Tim Sly, president of the Welsh Lib Dems, said the board had expressed its “complete confidence” in Dodds as leader and considered the matter closed. Lib Dem leader, Ed Davey , told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg: “I accept that she has apologised, but this is such a serious issue, so I think she does need to think about what else she may need to do”.
Yesterday was “Safeguarding Sunday”
Of all weeks, this Sunday was marked as “Safeguarding Sunday, when churches are encouraged to consider safeguarding and pray about it. There were some reflections on Twitter about the difficulty of saying anything in prayers or sermons, post Welby resignation. But among the many reflections, the Bishop of Norwich, Graham Usher, named as a possible successor, said local churches work hard to get safeguarding right, but he as the bishop is crucial in “setting the culture, including being survivor-focussed”. The Bishop of Manchester, David Walker, said the timing was very appropriate: “a good moment to recommit ourselves to being a church where safeguarding is all of our business”. The Bishop of Edmonton, Anderson Jeremiah said: “May we as a Church commit ourselves to a path of transparency, healing, and listen to the voices of the abused and work tirelessly to restore love faith and trust”. In a sermon at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Cathedral, Aberdeen, Martyn Percy said: “It does feel like that end-time for the church has come much closer”. And Andrew Graystone, who wrote about the abuse in his book “Bleeding for Jesus”, said: “It has taken the courage of survivors to uncover the secrets of abuse in the Church of England. If you are looking for Christ, don’t look in palaces where the powerful live. You will find Christ among the poor, the shamed and the broken”.
Theoretical probability of the next archbishop
The Online Betting Guide says: “As bookmakers currently aren’t taking bets on this event, odds have been compiled as theoretical probability from an entertainment perspective only and come from an industry expert. What the expert says…Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani is now given a 50% chance of being the next Archbishop of Canterbury with the latest odds suggesting it may be a woman who gets the role for the first time in history. Reports say that many people in the Church would be happy with the big change going forward. Jake Ashton – Senior News Editor – OLBG.co”.
