Carmelite priest and Baptist minister arrested at Palestine Action protest
Carmelite priest, Fr John McGowan, from St Joseph’s Parish, Chalfont St Peter, Gerrards Cross, and Rev Dr Sally Mann, of Bonny Downs Baptist Church, East Ham, were arrested at the Palestine Action protest in London at the weekend. In a signed article for Independent Catholic News, Fr McGowan explained that he had worked in Jerusalem for five years and came to love the country and its people, but he is upset that the UK government “is not doing enough to stop the massacre of the people in Gaza and the last straw was to call Palestine Action a terrorist group”. He said he set out from his parish nervous, but determined to get arrested. He held a sign saying “I support Palestine Action” and “quietly asked a policeman to arrest me, which he duly did”. He was taken to a police van, filmed by protesters who applauded: “I had been arrested for the first time in my life, yet I felt calm, even serene”. As he was being processed, he saw a Baptist minister, the Rev Dr Sally Mann, wearing her clerical collar. He has been bailed to appear at Poplar Police Station in late September. “I am prepared for anything, even going to prison. As soon as I could I contacted a friend in the West Bank who is helping Palestinians; I felt I could now look him in the eye. I have no regrets about what I did. My conscience is clear. Indeed, when I told the people at Mass the following day what I had done, they applauded me. It wasn’t easy to do this, but I am happy I did”. Dr Sally Mann told The Independent: “I am aware there will be repercussions in my life if I am successfully convicted but I felt completely at peace with both my actions and my decision. It’s the right side of history. Even if I knew I was going to prison for this I would do it.”
Catholic priest attacked at his last Mass before retirement
Police in Northern Ireland say an attack on Catholic priest, Fr John Murray, who was hit on the head with a bottle while preparing to celebrate his last Mass before retirement at St Patrick’s Church in Downpatrick, is being treated as attempted murder. Bishop Alan McGuckian told the BBC that Fr Murray was beaten around the head, his hands had broken bones from defensive injuries, there was a lot of blood and it looked very serious at first, but after hospital treatment, he is not said to be critical. The bishop said that Fr Murray has served the diocese for 50 years and is due to retire next weekend, reflecting that “a very special moment was just shattered”. A 30-year-old man is being held on suspicion of murder after a man’s death in Downpatrick, and police said that it may be linked to the attack on Fr Murray.
500 Israeli mothers set up a peace camp near Gaza border
The Jewish Chronicle reports that 500 Israeli mothers have taken part in a march and set up a peace camp near the border with Gaza, calling for an immediate end to the war and the return of the hostages. They are part of a new protest group, “Mothers on the Front”, inspired by the 1997 Four Mothers movement, which called on Israel to withdraw from southern Lebanon. The report says the women marched past a memorial for the female soldiers killed at Kibbutz Nahal Oz on 7 October. Their camp is at Kibbutz Sa’ad, three kilometres away from the border and 700 metres from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, where 62 people were killed and 19 taken hostage in the 7 October attack.
Pope’s general audience to be held inside because of the heat
The Pope’s General Audience today will be held in the Paul VI Audience Hall and not outside, because of the heat. The temperature is expected to reach 37 degrees in Rome today. The Vatican says that the weekly papal audience will also be broadcast on the giant LED screens set up in St. Peter’s Square. Following the audience, the Pope will go into St. Peter’s Basilica to greet those who could not find a place in the Hall.
Orthodox church in Ukraine part of any ceasefire deal
The Russian state news agency TASS reports that the Orthodox church in Ukraine will feature in the forthcoming discussions between Trump and Putin in Alaska. It says guaranteeing the rights of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which has ties to Moscow, would be a necessary condition for a ceasefire, along with the Russian language. The Church Times reports that a Ukrainian state official said that the Russian Church would remain banned, because it had “inspired and directly participated in the murder of Ukrainians”. It would only be free to operate once it severed its link to Moscow. Another denomination, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, was set up in 2018 marking independence from Russia, and has ties to Constantinople.
Rabbi loses employment tribunal case against dismissal
London Rabbi, Dr Moshe Freedman, has lost a disability discrimination case after being dismissed for sexual misconduct. He was sacked in 2022 from the New West End Synagogue in west London, after “transgressing appropriate boundaries” with a woman. Police took no action, but the synagogue and Westminster council, which investigated the case as a safeguarding issue, found the allegation substantiated. Dr Freedman claimed his autism caused “difficulties recognising social boundaries” and sued United Synagogues and two disciplinary panel members for unfair dismissal, wrongful dismissal, and discrimination. An employment tribunal rejected all claims, ordering him to pay £20,000 in legal costs. He had led the congregation since 2015. Telegraph report here
Billy Graham Evangelistic Association sets up fund to help ‘persecuted Christians in Europe’
The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association has established a legal defence fund to help cover the legal expenses of “persecuted Christians in Europe”. In an interview with Christian Daily International, the Association’s legal counsel, Justin Arnot, explained it was set up after Franklin Graham’s evangelistic mission to the UK from 2018-2020 was cancelled because of his views on LGBT issues. The organisation sued various venues and won compensation totalling £500,000, which has been put back into the defence fund “to help Christians who are threatened or intimidated into silence and or into not expressing their faith” in the UK and other European coutrneis. International Christian Concern says the fund wants to focus on educating police officers on the rights of street preachers, and assist Christian targets of cancel culture.
Arkansas judge blocks move to display Ten Commandments in schools
A judge in Arkansas has issued a preliminary injunction blocking the implementation of a law requiring the state’s public schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom. The law was signed in April by the Arkansas Governor, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and follows similar laws in several other southern states – Louisiana, Texas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Alabama – all being challenged in the courts. In Arkansas, a group of parents sued saying the law was a clear violation of the Constitution, which prohibits the government from establishing a religion. An article in Huffington Post says legal experts suspect the goal is to get the Supreme Court to undo decades of precedent that bars religion in public schools.
Priest in Nigeria calls for government action after another deadly attack on Christians
Women and children in Yelewata, Nigeria, have blocked roads in a protest after another assault left three dead and three critically injured. The town is 98 per cent Chistian and has faced repeated attacks. In June, Islamists shot dead or burned alive 271 people, and in May, extremists slaughtered a father, teenage boy, and a two-year-old child. Parish priest Fr Ukuma Jonathan Angbianbee told Aid to the Church in Need that the community has been decimated, and its residents feel traumatised and abandoned despite a security presence. Farmland abandoned after the June massacre has been targeted again, with attackers killing those who resisted. He said the violence was multi-dimensional, with religion, politics and the economy playing a part. He urged prayers and stronger government action, warning that fear is driving people away.
China suspends ties with Czech president over his visit to the Dalai Lama
China has suspended all ties with Czech President Petr Pavel over his recent meeting with the Dalai Lama. The Associated Press reports that the meeting took place during Pavel’s private visit to India, when the Dalai Lama was celebrating his 90th birthday at his home in the Himalayan town of Dharamshala. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said the meeting “seriously contravenes the political commitment made by the Czech government to the Chinese government, and harms China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. In light of the severity of Pavel’s provocative action, China decides to cease all engagement with him.”
Bishop raises £35k after charity run on the Pennine Way
The Bishop of Kingston, Dr Martin Gainsborough, has raised £35,000 for charity after running the 268 miles of the Pennine Way in ten days, accompanied by his dog. The money will go towards education in the diocese of Matabeleland, in Zimbabwe, with which Southwark diocese is linked. He told the Church Times the challenge was “pretty brutal” but “deeply exhilarating”. Story is here
