Pope Leo welcomes ceasefire agreement
Pope Leo has welcomed the ceasefire announcement in the Middle East and asked all parties to engage in prolonged dialogue to reach an end to the conflict. At the conclusion of his General Audience yesterday, Pope Leo greeted the news “with satisfaction and as a sign of deep hope”. He also invited “men and women of goodwill across the world” to join him in prayer for peace on Saturday 11 April at 6pm Rome time. However, the ceasefire is fragile – Israel has continued to attack Lebanon, leading to Iran stopping oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
Christian nationalism and the US war in Iran
WBUR, a National Public Radio station in Boston, Massachusetts, has produced a two part series of podcasts on religious fundamentalism in Iran and the USA. Two guests – author Katherine Stewart and president and founder of the Public Religion Research Institute, Robert Jones – describe evidence of Christian nationalism in the US Department of War and how this underpins the US war in the Middle East. The US Secretary for War, Pete Hegseth, who belongs to a church founded by a self-avowed Christian nationalist, wrote a book “American Crusader” framing a civilisational struggle for Christian supremacy. His department has sacked military chaplains for their secular humanism and made religious justifications for the US war in Iran. The podcast considers the Christian nationalist ideas of the end of time, based on Biblical stories that Jesus will return, Jerusalem will be saved and Christianity will reign. They review the nationalists’ “thirst for the levers of power”, and hierarchies of race and gender among adherents. They say three in 10 Americans share this Christian nationalist worldview. The podcast is here.
Pastor charged with manslaughter after man drowned during baptism
A pastor has been charged with gross negligence manslaughter following the death of a man during his baptism in a paddling pool in a back garden in Erdington, Birmingham. Cheryl Bartley, 48, pastor with the Life Changing Ministries church, was charged in relation to her role in the baptism on 8 October 2023. The man who died was Robert Smith, aged 61, from Brixton, London, said to have suffered from Parkinson’s. Emergency services were called to the address but he was pronounced dead at the scene. Telegraph story here.
CofE to apologise for its role in historical forced adoption
The Church of England is planning to issue an apology for its role in historical forced adoption, according to a report by the BBC. Tens of thousands of babies were taken from their mothers for adoption from the end of World War II until 1976, because the women were unmarried. The Church ran about 100 mother and baby homes across England where unmarried pregnant women were sent to work and give birth. The BBC reports that it has seen a draft of an apology prepared by the church, in which it says “we are deeply sorry”. Report by Duncan Kennedy is here.
Sarah Sands appointed CEO of Hymns Ancient & Modern
Hymns Ancient & Modern, which publishes the Church Times, has appointed Sarah Sands as its new CEO. She is the former editor of The Standard and BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, and has served on the boards of Channel 4, the Science Museum Group, and the Berkeley Group, and is a partner at Hawthorn Advisors, a communications consultancy. She said: “It is a privilege to join this wonderful publishing organisation. Hymns Ancient & Modern is at the heart of the nation’s choral tradition, a publisher of literature for the soul, an independent chronicler of the Church, a help-meet to clergy and laity, and a convener of live events for reflection and joy. We have never needed it more.” Church Times story here.
Bishop says Wireless Festival events ‘cannot be morally neutral’
In the aftermath of the Wireless festival being cancelled after its star performer, the rapper Kanye West was denied entry to the UK for his antisemitic statements, the CofE’s lead bishop for interfaith engagement said such platforms cannot be morally neutral. The Bishop of Willesden, Lusa Nsenga-Ngoy, said the curation of platforms such as the Wireless Festival play a significant role in shaping culture and community. He said: “they bring together diverse audiences, especially younger generations, and therefore carry a profound responsibility”. Statement here.
American astronauts’ tendency to quote scripture in space
The pilot of Artemis II, Victor Glover, quoted Jesus’ commandment to love God with all your heart and love your neighbour as yourself, just before the space craft disappeared on the far side of the moon and out of communication with earth for 40 minutes. The significance of another American astronaut quoting scripture is drawn out by RNS reporter Jack Jenkins, who wrote his graduate thesis on religion in space. He notes that whereas in 1968 all three astronauts read about creation from Genesis, this time there is a plurality of belief on board. Glover attends a church in Texas, but the commander, Reid Wiseman, addressed his comments to a diverse world in a press conference before they left. He said: “We have our own different opinions, our own individual opinions and our own individual beliefs. I think that’s one of the best parts about this mission right now: As we have said from the beginning, we really are for all, by all, and we want to take the whole world along with us.” Read Jack Jenkins’ report for the Religion News Service here.
