1.2 million people gather for Pope Leo Mass in Madrid
Pope Leo attracted a congregation of 1.2 million people to the Corpus Christi Mass in the Plaza de Cibeles square in Madrid yesterday. He challenged Europe to recognise its Christian heritage and encouraged young people not to treat the faith as merely a relic of the past. He said that God stands with the poor and preached that Christians must engage with society, expressing their faith through service to others, especially the poor, suffering and marginalised. When he arrived in Spain on Saturday, he received an official welcome from King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia and held meetings with members of the royal family and political leaders. He warned against “polarising narratives” and urging people to pursue unity and dialogue. Today he is due to address the Spanish parliament, described as an historic first. Later on his six day tour, he will visit a migrant centre and inaugurate the tallest tower of the Basilica of the Sagrada Família in Barcelona, completing the world’s tallest church.
Archbishop warns regulation of AI is ‘wholly inadequate’
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, has warned the House of Lords that the current regulation for artificial intelligence is “wholly inadequate” to prevent harm, and it needs to be overseen by a “pro human framework”. In a debate on Friday, she said AI is offering ways of degrading or violating human dignity, citing chatbots which allow roleplays of rape and child sexual abuse, which she said risks normalising and legitimising it. She acknowledged the benefits of AI, such advances in science, medicine and nursing, but said AI also sometimes invents false information. There is a risk that this will lead to a “fundamental breakdown in trust across society”, leading to people not trusting or believing anything, and a breakdown in democracy. She also raised questions on the implications of AI for warfare or climate change. Referring to Pope Leo’s encyclical on Artificial Intelligence, published a week ago, the Archbishop echoed his call for urgent action to safeguard humanity from threats, and his view that “our vision of what it is to be human, of our glorious humanity, must inform the rest of our debate about technology and AI.” Hansard account of the debate is here.
Bishop of Durham: Abuse of power and lack of humility are ‘massive issues‘
The new Bishop of Durham, Rick Simpson, was installed at Durham Cathedral yesterday. Formerly the Archdeacon of Auckland within the same diocese, he has become the fourth most senior bishop in the Church of England, but in his sermon, he said “I’m just Rick” and he had come to the role with “immense surprise”. He was glad this was installation, not enthronement, “because that risks making it sound like the church thinks bishops are important for all the wrong reasons, which could seduce some bishops”. He said: “The church not handling power well, and leaders forgetting humility, remain massive issues we have to remedy”. He said he was deeply saddened by the church’s failures, particularly where the abuse of power had harmed others. He also spoke of declining church membership, which he said can make it seem as though the church is at risk of vanishing and leave local congregations struggling to survive. He was realistic about the challenges ahead but “not cast down” and prayed for renewal every day. There will be change ahead, he said, but the hope was for churches, schools and chaplaincies to thrive as “pipelines for the grace of God to flow”.
CEO of debt-hit Catholic academy trust resigns
The Chief Executive of the St Ralph Sherwin Catholic Multi Academy Trust in the Catholic Diocese of Nottingham, Kevin Gritton, has resigned with immediate effect, after the Trust showed £9.5 million in debt and announced job closures and staff changes. The Tablet reports that more than 1,200 parents signed a petition this week calling for the removal of Mr Gritton and board members, and nine East Midlands MPs have written a letter to the chair of trustees after parents complained at the impact of job cuts on children. Teachers have come out on strike at nine of the Trust’s 25 schools and unions have complained about treatment of staff. The Catholic Diocese of Nottingham has issued a statement saying it is aware of the concerns and is in contact with the Trust, but made it clear that the Catholic Multi-Academy Trusts were created by the Diocese of Nottingham as separate legal entities overseen by a Board of Directors, which have responsibility for operational and financial matters.
Pentagon drops 180 religious groups from ‘recognised faith’ list
The US Department of Defense has announced a reduction in the number of religious affiliations recognised by chaplains as they plan their service. According to the website Military.com, the new list of 31 is down from more than 200, and no longer includes Atheists, Asatru, Deists, Druids, Eckankar, Heathens, Humanists, Magick, New Age churches, Pagan, Rosicrucianism, Shaman, Spiritualists, Troth, Unitarian Universalists and various Wiccans. There is controversy around the categorisation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as apart from a list of Christian denominations, with the Republican Representative for Utah, Mike Kennedy, asserting that “We stand with Christ. We are Christians”. A US Defense spokesperson said the list is designed to allow chaplains to review the religious composition of their units and determine how they deploy resources, but he stressed that there is freedom of religion and chaplains enable the armed services to exercise their religion – or none at all. The change was directed by US Secretary for War, Pete Hegseth, to streamline and enhance chaplaincy services.
