Catholic church allows same sex blessings
The Vatican’s department for doctrine has announced that priests will be allowed to bless same sex couples, without them being part of a regular church ritual or related to civil unions or weddings. The announcement, made with the approval of the Pope, said it was a signthat God welcomes all, but remains firm on the traditional doctrine of marriage as between one man and one woman and the blessing does not indicate approval of the union. Priests must decide who to bless on a case by case basis, but people receiving a blessing “should not be required to have prior moral perfection”.
CofE evangelical leader blames bishops for exporting division over same sex blessings
John Dunnett, National Director of the Church of England’s Evangelical Council, has told Premier Christian News that division over allowing prayers for same sex blessings in his denomination was exported by the bishops “to every single local parish”. The CofE decision followed seven years of discussion to try to find a compromise, but it entrenched views on either side. Mr Dunnett said there would be “fractious debate at parochial church council meetings”, with vicars having to explain themselves to congregations who disagree. He said the Council tried to warn the bishops this would cause painful division in local churches, but it was ignored.
Muslim representatives meet BBC to discuss concerns at coverage of war in Gaza
The Centre for Media Monitoring, a project of the Muslim Council of Britain, has issued a statement on Twitter / X saying that representatives held a meeting last week with Tim Davie, the BBC director general; David Jordan, director, editorial policy and standards; Richard Burgess, Director of News Content; and Alice Macandrew, corporate affairs director, “to share our concerns at the coverage of Israel’s war on Gaza”. The statement continues: “We shared serious concerns on impartiality and lack of consistency (framing, context, language, sourcing and platforming), supported by an extensive evidence base of examples and data, some of which we had shared in advance. The discussion was valuable with identified next steps. We will continue to engage constructively to identify issues, raise concerns and work to improve coverage”. The Centre says its mission is to highlight negative trends in the media and promote good practice, in order to “change the narrative surrounding Islam and Muslims”. It says academics and specialists across the world “recognise that mainstream media reporting of Islam and Muslims is contributing to an atmosphere of rising hostility towards Muslims in Britain”.
Political parties court Christians at “Advent receptions”
The Labour party held an Advent reception yesterday, addressed by Sir Keir Starmer, with faith representatives including the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, Gavin Calver, CEO of the Evangelical Alliance, and the director of Theos, Chine McDonald. She writes on Twitter / X that Sir Keir said: “Faith communities are the glue that holds our society together…I’ve always maintained that faith is very important in politics.” Number Ten held an Advent reception last week, with many guests tweeting pics of themselves standing outside the front foor, including the Rev Matthew Firth a clergyman in the evangelical Free Church of England, who revealed there were “scrumptious canapés, lashings of mulled wine, and fascinating chat”.
Slovenia Loyola community ordered to close after sex abuse claims
The religious Loyola Community in Slovenia, founded by a controversial former Jesuit artist who has been accused of spiritual, psychological and sexual abuse, has been closed down by order of the Vatican. The archdiocese of Ljubljana said there were serious problems in the exercise of authority and the community had to close by October next year. The Associated Press reports that its founder, the Rev. Marko Rupnik, a once-famous creator of mosaics, was excommunicated in 2020 and removed from the Jesuit order, after complaints were made. The Pope has recently re-opened an investigation into the abuse claims.
Final stages in construction of $6billion Hindu temple in Ayodhya
Reuters reports on the final stages of the construction of a $6billion Hindu temple in Ayodhya, north eastern India, which is deeply controversial, as it lies on a site where a mosque stood for 450 years. The mosque was demolished in 1992 riots by nationalists who said it was originally a Hindu site, but the case was contested in the courts for decades and caused riots in which 2,000 died, until in 2020, Hindu groups were allowed to build the temple. The Ram Mandir temple is built of white marble and pink sandstone and is due to open on 22 January, with an expectation it will stand as a landmark akin to Vatican city. Ayodhya has a population of 3 million, and a new international airport, parks, roads and bridges are all being built to cope with the expected 4.5 million tourists a month.
