Religion news 23 February 2026
Bishop of Lincoln suspended and arrested; Rabbi suggests ceremony for assisted dying deaths; £73.4 million for faith communities’ security; Bones of St Francis of Assisi on public display in Italy
Bishop of Lincoln suspended and arrested; Rabbi suggests ceremony for assisted dying deaths; £73.4 million for faith communities’ security; Bones of St Francis of Assisi on public display in Italy
Vatican declines to join Trump’s Board of Peace; Bishop of Blackburn calls for conversation on national identity; Latin Mass breakaway group will consecrate bishops despite Vatican objections; Next Bishop of Durham is local Archdeacon
‘Ashes to Go’ – clergy mark shoppers with the sign of the cross on Ash Wednesday; New Moon has been sighted over Britain and Ramadan has begun; King Charles supports Jewish backed refugee jobs fair; All Nations Christian missionary college moving out of Gothic estate in Hertfordshire
US civil rights leader Rev Jesse Jackson has died aged 84; BBC leaders speak of ‘huge importance’ of religious broadcasting; Lent – a time of spiritual renewal and reflection; Royal Observatory live astronomy show to seek the crescent moon
Ramadan and Lent due to start tomorrow, depending on the moon; Man who burned Quran prepared to flee to the US if convicted again; Caribbean archbishop backs CofE’s ‘Project Spire’ reparations for slavery; Traitors star Harry Clark presents documentary on visit to Rome
New Catholic Archbishop of Westminster urges church to “speak into the public square”; Board of Deputies ‘deep concern’ at lifting of Palestine Action ban; Scientist questions whether point of death is an instant moment; The Imam and the Rabbi promoting understanding in Manchester
CofE ‘Living in Love and Faith’ project on sexuality is closed down – but discussion continues; Church ‘must resource interfaith work’; Epstein and Bannon discussed ‘taking down’ Pope Francis; British Muslim Trust launch event
By Ruth Peacock Modern slavery is rising worldwide. An estimated 50 million people are trapped in slavery, 28 million of them in forced labour. Women
CofE clergy will be trained to deal with mental health; Synod agrees new CofE safeguarding structure, with new charity and leader; Pew Research finds white evangelicals constant in support of Trump; Hindus ‘devastated’ as council sells only temple in East Anglia
Archbishop of Canterbury sets tone for her leadership of the CofE; Buddhist monks’ pilgrimage of peace ends in Washington DC; Spike in antisemitic incidents after Manchester synagogue attack; St Bride’s celebrates 650th anniversary of Guild of St Bride
