Archbishop of Canterbury says illegal migration bill is morally unacceptable
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has told the Lords that the illegal migration bill fails to live up to the nation’s “history, moral responsibility, and our political and international interests” and must be reconsidered. He was speaking in a debate on the second reading of the bill, which will not allow people arriving illegally to stay, but will detain and remove them to their home or a safe third country. The proposal has provoked fury from churches and human rights groups. Eighty peers spoke in an 11 hour session, including the Bishops of Durham and Gloucester. But a motion to stop its progress was defeated and the measure has gone through to the next parliamentary stage. The Archbishop said the bill ignores the reality that migration must be engaged with at source: “It is isolationist, it is morally unacceptable, and politically impractical, to let the poorest countries deal with the crisis alone”. The Immigration Minister, Robert Jenrick, told the BBC there was “nothing moral about allowing the pernicious trade of people smugglers to continue”.
6.5 million people volunteered in The Big Help Out
Brendan Cox, co-founder of the Together Coalition which helped organise the Big Help Out over the coronation weekend, has said that 6.5 million people participated , representing 10 per cent of the population. They took part in community volunteering and a wide variety of local events. In a twitter thread, he said 18-24 years olds were the most likely age group to participate. “When we started work on #TheBigHelpOut we thought tens of thousands of volunteers would be good, 6.5 million is beyond anything we expected, we’re now thinking about making it an annual event. Would love your views”. The figure comes from a survey of 2,000 people.
SNP’s Kate Forbes says hounding people who disagree is dangerous for democracy
SNP leadership candidate, Kate Forbes, has warned that silencing, de-platforming and hounding people because they disagree with a particular view, is “very dangerous for democracy”. Speaking at an online event “No-platforming versus Freedom of Speech”, organised by the think tank Reform Scotland, she said her own supporters had backed off because of fear of being hounded and harrassed. Kate Forbes is a member of the “Wee Frees”, a strict Presbyterian church, who has said she would vote against gay marriage, she would not have had children outside marriage and she would have voted against the Scottish Government’s gender recognition measures, if she had not been on maternity leave at the time. SNP members attempted to have her investigated for alleged “transphobia”. She said the public were fed up of being scared and intimidated on the issue of self-identification for transgender people.
CofE prayers for blessing same sex couples may not be complete by July
The Church of England has indicated that the prayers and pastoral guidance promised after the vote to allow same sex blessings in church, may not be fully completed by 7 – 11 July, when the General Synod meets. In a statement, the CofE says steering groups doing detailed work are making good progress to report back in July and it assures that work to refine the prayers, provide guidance and reassurance will be in place before July. But “recognising the complexity of the matters being considered, we anticipate that time could be made available at the November meeting of Synod (13-15 November) for any further work required.”
New Methodist breakaway church in the USA
White’s Chapel, a large Methodist church in Dallas with a congregation of 2,000, has published plans for a new nationwide Methodist organisation which rejects extreme doctrine and exists to provide a space for people of different views. The network is to be called the Methodist Collegiate Church and will link “Colleges”- conferences covering geographical areas- each of which will have a Dean, like a bishop. Fifty congregations in six states have already expressed an interest in joining. The Religion News Service reports that the Methodists in America are fracturing over theological differences on same sex relationships. The United Methodist Church has delayed a decision on whether to allow same sex relationships, marriage and ordination, but the tension has already caused one split with the Global Methodist Church, which is against same sex relationships, breaking away. The United Methodists had 35,000 churches, Global Methodists have 2,000 and the new Collegiate organisation 50.
Southern Baptists’ rapid decline
Half a million people have left the Southern Baptist Convention in one year, the largest drop in more than a century, according to research from Lifeway, a Christian research organisation. In 2021 it had 13.68 million members but the Religion News Service explains that the decline in 2022 followed Covid, an older generation dying, and a constant state of crisis including sex abuse scandals, controversies over race and an ongoing feud over the denomination’s leadership and future direction.
Coptic Orthodox head addresses crowd in St Peter’s Square
Pope Tawadros II, the head of the Coptic Orthodox Church, has addressed a crowd in St Peter’s Square, the first time the head of another Church has done so. He has spoken to the Pope on 10 May every year for ten years, a day of Coptic Catholic friendship. He thanked Pope Francis for his visit to Egypt in 2017, recalling that the country, where his Church is based, has ancient Christian roots, was the birthplace of monasticism and the two churches are united in their commitment to the life of Jesus Christ., The Pope said he hoped the two churches would grow in communion.
