Soul Survivor founder Mike Pilavachi resigns
The Rev Canon Mike Pilavachi, the founder of Soul Survivor, has resigned by issuing a statement on his private Instagram account, picked up on social media, seeking forgiveness for anyone he may have hurt in the course of his ministry. He started summer festivals 30 years ago which attracted tens of thousands of young people, attracted by his teaching and worship in a charismatic evangelical style. He went on to become ordained and the associate pastor at Soul Survivor in Watford. He stepped back in April as stories emerged of him gathering a coterie of attractive young men, giving them full body massages and engaging in wrestling matches with them. There are several church investigations underway into the story.
Employers say faith is part of diversity like race and gender
Twenty-four representatives from British companies gathered at Number Ten yesterday to share their experiences of embracing faith in the workplace. They were addressed by John Glen, MP for Salisbury, Chief Secretary to the Treasury and a member of Christians in Parliament. Natasha Whitehurst, diversity and inclusion leader at Rolls Royce, shared her company’s strategy and approach to faith in the workplace. The meeting followed a similar session the previous evening, including many of the same people, when employers discussed a growing recognition that faith was now being seen as much a part of diversity as race and gender. Read Catherine Pepinster’s report here.
CofE wedding fees scrapped in experimental pilot
£600 wedding fees charged by the Church of England are to be scrapped in one region for a time limited project, to see if this makes church weddings more popular. The church’s general synod approved the proposal after hearing their generosity could increase the number of couples coming forward to get married in church. The idea was proposed by the Rev Dr Tom Woolford who said couples could make a voluntary donation instead. The percentage of opposite-sex weddings in England and Wales held in a religious setting fell from 18.7 per cent in 2019 to 15 per cent in 2020.
UN to vote on tightening laws against burning the Quran
The United Nations is expected to vote today on a resolution to prevent the burning of the Quran. The proposal has been promoted by Pakistan and Palestine following several incidents when the Quran has been burned in public protests, including one event in Stockholm which has led to protests from Muslim led countries. In the debate, western countries condemned the intolerance but affirmed the right to freedom of expression, while predominantly Muslim countries wanted laws tightened up to ban such acts. Volker Türk, the U.N. human rights chief, said the manufactured stunts were intended to drive a wedge between communities and showed a lack of respect.
Newly promoted Argentine archbishop admits mistakes in sex abuse case
Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernández, the new leader of the Vatican department for the Doctrine of the Faith, has admitted making mistakes in handling a 2019 case of a priest accused of sexual abuse of minors. BishopAccountability.org in Massachusetts, says he refused to believe victims who accused a priest of sexually abusing boys in the La Plata archdiocese, in Argentina, and accused him of protecting the priest, a charge the Archbishop denies. He told the Associated Press: “Today I would certainly act very differently and certainly my performance was insufficient”.
Church of England to bring back defrocking of clergy
Clergy may in future be “defrocked”, stripped of their holy orders, if found guilty of serious misconduct. Defrocking was abolished 20 years ago but re-instated by the General Synod in York this weekend, following a recommendation from the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse. Guardian report here
Move to seek planning review for solar panels on churches
The Church of England’s General Synod has agreed to ask the government to review planning regulations to aid the installation of renewable technology on church buildings that are listed or in conservation areas. The proposal was brought by the Diocese of Oxford, which has already promised £10 million expenditure on environmental works to improve the carbon footprint of vicarages in the Thames Valley.
UK ambassador to the Holy See outlines key global concerns
Chris Trott, the British Ambassador to the Holy See, has spoken to the all party parliamentary group on the Holy See, on the areas of public life shared between the Vatican and the UK parliament. These included tackling sexual violence in conflict, and interreligious dialogue and “inclusive citizenship” in the Middle East. The Catholic Union helped to arrange the meeting and it was attended by staff from the Bishops’ Conference. Chris Trott is taking part in a Catholic Union webinar tomorrow, on his life and work.
Hong Kong’s new cardinal appeals for leniency to protesters
Hong Kong’s bishop Stephen Sau-yan Chow, recently appointed as cardinal, has re-iterated his appeal for leniency towards young people arrested in the 2019 anti-government movement. The Associated Press reports that he hoped for reconciliation and that young people would have hope. One of his predecessors, Cardinal Joseph Zen, was found guilty of failing to register a fund for pro-democracy protesters and fined $512. But Bishop Chow is widely seen as a moderate, politically neutral figure.
Richard Coles speaks of humiliation in accounting for his sex life to a bishop
The broadcaster and Anglican vicar, the Rev Richard Coles, has shelved plans to become a prison chaplain because he would have to submit to humiliating questions about his same sex relationship. Speaking on the White Wine Question Time podcast he said he was aware that going into that work would involve him “having his credentials examined”, with an examination of his private life in a conversation with a bishop. He was not willing to do this as a man aged 61 in a relationship. But he admitted missing very much being a vicar, being part of a community, involved in the lives of families, but was proud of his new life.
