Anglican priests may be classified as ‘employees’
In his first day as temporary head of the Church of England, the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, says priests could be classified as “employees” to make it easier to discipline them. This may help to “increase accountability, including that of bishops”, Archbishop Cottrell said, noting that more must be done to “become a safer and more accountable church” in the light of repeated abuse scandals. Priests are not employees but “office holders” and the money they receive, an average of £29,243 annually, is a stipend and not a salary. In a letter issued yesterday, just hours before he assumed the Archbishop of Canterbury’s duties as a caretaker, Archbishop Cottrell said: “It may be the time to look again at clergy terms of service to increase accountability.” The Times report here.
France marks decade since Hebdo attacks
France has marked 10 years since the attacks on the Charlie Hebdo satirical newspaper in which 12 people, including some of the country’s most famous cartoonists, were murdered by Islamic extremists who stormed their office in Paris. President Emmanuel Macron and Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, led the ceremony in the French capital, AP reports. The attack, carried out in retaliation for the newspaper’s caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad, was the start of a year of terror, culminating in the November 2015 attacks, when Islamic extremists opened fire on cafés in Paris before massacring spectators of a concert at the Bataclan, killing 130. The French interior minister, Bruno Retailleau, used the anniversary yesterday to demand that Muslim women should be barred from wearing veils when they accompany children on school outings. Report in The Times here.
Deepfake Sheeran ‘an opportunity for believers’
A video showing Ed Sheeran seeming to sing a Christian song has been exposed as an AI deepfake. A close imitation of Sheeran’s voice can be heard singing of an encounter with a whispering voice that tells him he is not alone and that Jesus is with him. Research shows the video was created using authentic footage, with some AI images added. A Premier Christian News report quotes UK justice minister Alexandra Davies-Jones promising to crack down on anyone creating fake images such as this, but an AI expert, James Poulter, who is a Christian, said the video presented an opportunity for believers to have a dialogue with the public about “what it really means to be a human person, and what it means for AI to come alongside us and be a help and not a hindrance”.
Orthodox church celebrates Christmas
The Orthodox church celebrated Christmas yesterday with church services globally. The world has an estimated 20 million Orthodox Christians, who follow the Julian calendar. The Gregorian calendar was introduced in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII to replace the Julian calendar, established by Julius Caesar, which is different by 13 days, and places the birthday of Christ on 7 January. Celebrations were made in Georgia, Armenia, Serbia, Moscow, Ethiopia, Egypt and Bethlehem, among other countries. BBC report here.
Earthquake damages Tibetan holy city
One of Tibet’s holiest cities was badly damaged by an earthquake early yesterday. News coverage from Shigatse — about 50 miles from Mount Everest — shows hundreds of homes in the remote area have been destroyed and scores of people killed and injured. Shigatse is famous for the Tashilhunpo monastery, home to the Panchen Lama, second in spiritual authority only to the Dalai Lama. Vatican News report here.
Pastor accused of voyeurism after camera found
A pastor in Phoenix, Arizona, is due to appear in court today, to answer four charges of voyeurism, after a camera was found in the women’s lavatories at his church. Arturo Laguna Camas, 55, was arrested after a camera fell out of a hand dryer while a female worshipper was changing her baby’s nappy. Camas has been charged with unlawful recording. Report here.
Death of Derby’s Muslim pioneer
One of the founding figures of the Muslim community in Derby has died. Qari Ismaeel Khandian set up the city’s first mosque in a terraced home in Dairyhouse Road in the 1960s and became its first imam. He later played an important part in the development of the Jamia Mosque in Rose Hill Street, Derby, which has become a focus of Muslim worship and learning. Its chairman, Nazir Hussain, described Khandian as “a pivotal person and a pivotal leader in the community”. Report here.
I’m a “good judge of character” says priest on Traitors
The Rev Lisa Coupland, 62, an Anglican priest from Cornwall who is among the 25 contestants on the BBC One series of The Traitors, says she will be good at spotting liars, because she has a “really good memory” and is a “good judge of character”. In the show, a small number of “traitors” are picked to “murder” the other contestants, known as “faithfuls”. Ms Coupland, a fan of murder mysteries, has not revealed she is a priest to the others and, asked by the host, Claudia Winkleman, “Can you lie?” she replied: “Yes. I’m a priest, not a saint.” Church Times report here.
Bishop of St Albans to retire
Dr Alan Smith, the Bishop of St Albans, is to retire at the end of May. Dr Smith, 67, was consecrated by George Carey, then Archbishop of Canterbury, in 2001 and became Bishop of Shrewsbury, moving to St Albans in 2009. He said the past 16 years had been “full of challenges, opportunities and surprises” and he planned to retire to Wiltshire, where he was born and brought up, and where most of his extended family live.
Bishops on solidarity trip to Holy Land
Two Catholic bishops from the UK are travelling to the Holy Land next week, to show solidarity with Christians who remain there after the violence suffered since the Hamas attacks on Israel in October 2023. Bishop Nicholas Hudson and Bishop Jim Curry will join 12 other bishops in Jerusalem at the Holy Land Co-ordination, organised by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. Bishop Hudson said: “The devastation of war and suffering in the Holy Land is heartbreaking. The trauma felt in the region, especially that of children, is beyond measure; and the need for prayer, support, and to find ways to end the violence has never been more urgent.” Independent Catholic News story here.
