Theos UK survey suggests 11 per cent identify as Christian nationalists
A Theos report into Christian Nationalism in the UK suggests 11 per cent of those surveyed could be identified as Christian nationalists. The report ‘Beyond Christian Nationalism’, says this group has a strong sense of national identity and is deeply concerned about the state of the nation with hostility to immigration, asylum and Islam. Members are likely to be older, from C2DE social groups, and white, and are likely to vote Reform. Although 81 per cent say they are Christians, only 13 per cent attend church weekly. Theos gleaned this information from a survey of 1,765 people in the UK, which identified five different ways of understanding the relationship between Christianity and Britishness. Christian nationalist ideas were the least common. The findings form part of a larger study of the phenomenon across six European countries, with further results to be published later. The RMC is running a briefing on the report tomorrow, Tuesday 13 October, at 1200 with guests including report author Dr Nick Spencer, and US president of PRRI, Dr Robert P Jones. Get the zoom link from: [email protected]
Pope Leo to undergo surgery for ‘localised nodule’ in his lung
Pope Leo has revealed that his doctors have found a “localised nodule” in his lung and he will be operated on in a few days. The operation will take place at the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic Hospital in Rome, early this week. He gave the news in an announcement during the Sunday Angelus in St Peter’s Square. He said: “Dear friends, during some recent medical examinations, the doctors found a small, localized nodule in my lung. It was detected at a very early stage and is well-localized. The doctors believe that it is best to intervene, so, following their advice, I have decided to undergo surgery to remove it. The operation is already scheduled to take place in the coming days. I thank you for your spiritual closeness and entrust myself to your prayers. Thank you, and happy Sunday!”
Catholic church in Glasgow and Dunbarton will halve the number of parishes
The Catholic Church is to halve the number of parishes in Glasgow and Dunbartonshire, with 24 churches earmarked for closure amid falling attendance and a shortage of priests. Archbishop William Nolan said there were “too many parishes but too few people”, describing the closures as painful but unavoidable. The number of active priests in the archdiocese has fallen by a third in five years, and officials warn Glasgow could have just eight priests in 20 years. Scotland’s 2022 census found a majority of people identified as having no religion, while 456 church buildings have closed across Scotland since 2020. Attendance figures for weekly mass in the Archdiocese of Glasgow show a 55 per cent drop over 20 years, from 52,347 in 2005, to 23,301 in 2025.
Jewish communities furious with Green party councillors ‘no better than Mosley’s fascists’
Jewish News reports that the Jewish community in Hastings and Highgate have written to the Green councillors controlling their local councils, in fury at the Greens’ conference vote conflating racism and Zionism. Hastings community said the Green party was no better than Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists. Their letter “demands urgent clarification about the implications of the party’s policy for Jewish residents, particularly those who identify as Zionists or support Israel”. In Highgate, north London, the community rejecteda letter from the leader of the council that it remained committed to fighting antisemitism and prioritising community safety for all. The community said the Haringey branch of the Green Party had aligned itself with Hamas, “a genocidal, homophobic and misogynistic Islamist terrorist organisation” responsible for the 7 October attack and “countless murders and torture of its own people”. In Barnet, the three Labour MPs have written to Green councillors who supported the conference motion asking how they can reconcile their position with a duty “to represent a diverse and tolerant community.”
US public execution plan a ‘barbaric promotion of culture of death’
The US Conference of Catholic Bishops has denounced the Pentagon’s plan to live stream the execution of a murderer, Nidal Hasan, by a firing squad on 3 December. The Conference Archbishop Paul S. Coakley said it was “a barbaric promotion of a culture of death” that must be reconsidered and would damage the country’s moral fabric and Americans’ conscience. The Catholic Mobilizing Network, a US national organization that mobilizes Catholics and people of goodwill to end the death penalty, said: “It’s appalling that a public official would try to introduce it as a livestream arcade. It’s been almost a century since our country’s last public execution, and we must not fall into the abyss of such a vengeful practice.” Pastor Robert Jeffress, senior pastor of First Baptist Dallas, has backed the plan. Franklin Graham, president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and of Samaritan’s Purse, asked for the public’s thoughts via a Facebook post, saying it was ironic that Hollywood and the media, which often glorify death and violence, are expressing outrage at the public execution plan. Hasan was an army psychiatrist who shot and killed 13 people and injured 32 others at Fort Hood US Army base in Killeen, Texas, in 2009, motivated by opposition to the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and a desire to protect Muslims from American military action.
Drumcree parade march decision in the courts again today
Two court cases in Belfast on Monday will determine the next steps in the Drumcree parade dispute over an Orange Order march through a predominantly Catholic area of Portadown, Northern Ireland. The proposed procession along Garvaghy Road would be the first since 1998, reviving longstanding tensions over Protestant unionist parades through nationalist neighbourhoods. Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Chris Bryant has intervened to ban the march, citing police warnings of serious disorder and injury after talks between marchers and residents failed. The Orange Order is challenging his decision, while residents are separately seeking to overturn the Parades Commission’s original decision to permit the march. The Catholic Primate of All Ireland, Archbishop Eamon Martin, told BBC Radio Ulster that he backed Chris Bryant’s decision, as it gave an opportunity to step back from the tension and allow time for dialogue to deal with the issues in a calm, reconciliatory way.
