Andy Burnham urged to promote peace and social justice
As Andy Burnham prepares to take office as the new Prime Minister, nine Christian networks and churches have written to him urging that he prioritises peace, sustainable economics and tackling root causes of social unrest. It highlights the vital role the UK will have in electing a new Secretary General of the United Nations, calls for an economy turning away from arms manufacture and towards the common good, says migrants and refugees must not be scapegoated and the economic inequality must be addressed. The signatories are: The Religious Society of Friends, the Community of Christ, the Anglican Pacifist Fellowship, the Methodist Peace Fellowship, the Iona Community Peace Common Concern Network, Quaker Asylum and Refugee Network and Ekklesia Network. It came about from a conversation among members of the Network of Christian Peace Organisations.
View our briefing on Andy Burnham’s Catholic faith roots and his work with interfaith grassroots communities in Manchester here >>
England and France players pray together after World Cup match
England and France players huddled together and prayed after the World Cup third place bronze play off. The moment was picked up on TikTok and the BBC Sport’s Instagram account, showing Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Trevoh Chalobah (Chelsea), Eberechi Eze (Arsenal), Dayot Upmecano (Bayern Munich and France), Maxence Lacroix (Crystal Palace and France), and Jean-Phillipe Mateta (Crystal Palace and France), praying after full time. The players are known to be in Christian groups at their clubs, who pray and read the Bible together, and post Bible verses on social media. Arsenal has the “Bible Brothers” and all are part of “Ballers in God”. A survey for Christians in Sport found that 75 per cent of all football clubs in the national leagues in England and Wales have Christians playing in their first team squad. People from 134 clubs responded to the survey, including 90 per cent of Premier League clubs. Bijan Omrani in The Telegraph says the prayer shows that immigration has had a profound impact on English Christianity.
Three quarters of Brazil’s national side are evangelical Christians, but the Religion News Service reports that fans are blaming the club’s demise on the rise on religious fervour. In the World Cup, Brazil was knocked out by Norway, failing to reach the quarter finals. The fans are reported to say that the rigid structure of evangelical belief has led to a “more structured, austere, rigid way of playing”. RNS story is here
Bishop fears CofE ‘hearing’ Palestinian Christians document will add to antisemitism
The Bishop of Blackburn Philip North has told The Telegraph that Synod’s decision to “hear” the Kairos II document from Palestinian Christians entitled “A Moment of Truth: Faith in a Time of Genocide”, would add to “a growing tide of anti-Semitism in our country.” The document has been criticised for wording including describing Israel’s actions as “genocide, ethnic cleansing and forced displacement”. The synod motion called on the church to affirm the dignity and equal worth of all peoples in the region; reject antisemitism, anti-Muslim hostility and all forms of prejudice; hear and engage with the testimony of Palestinian Christians through the Kairos documents; encourage deeper theological reflection and understanding across the church; and review ethical investment policy. The bishop said his diocese has a large network of Muslim communities with intense antipathy to Israel, and a small Jewish community which feels terrified and beleaguered: “We’ve been forced to take a binary position, and whatever binary position we take, one side celebrates and the other feels bitterly betrayed. The situation we’ve seen is there’s a Palestinian Muslim and Christian side celebrating, and I fear what this vote has done is add to a growing tide of anti-Semitism in our country.” The bishop was interviewed on BBC Radio 4’s Sunday programme, in conversation with the Bishop of Southwark, Christopher Chessun.
Consultation on marriage may enable Humanist weddings
The government has published a consultation document on marriage “Tying the knot: reforming weddings law in England and Wales”, proposing a new legal structure which would enable Humanist weddings and allow more choice over location. It will also protect against forced, predatory and sham marriages by strengthening safeguards through more checks. The consultation ends on 24 September. The document outlines two developments: “a move away from a system based on the building in which a wedding takes place towards one focused on the officiant responsible for the ceremony. Secondly, the introduction of universal rules applying across different types of wedding (with the exception of Anglican weddings), reducing disparities between groups”.
Vatican diplomat visits Kyiv
Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Holy See’s secretary for relations with states and international organisations, has visited Kyiv to meet church leaders whose communities have been devastated by ongoing Russian military strikes. He visited St Nicholas Church, which is undergoing restoration after a strike in 2024, a nearby area where an attack in May killed 24 people, St Thomas Aquinas Dominican Institute of Theology hit by missiles in May, and Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, Ukraine’s oldest Orthodox monastery damaged by an attack in June. A local UNHCR official told Vatican News that since June, 300 civilians have been killed and thousands injured, the highest number recorded since 2022. The Archbishop was born in Liverpool and has been a Vatican diplomat since 1984.
Christian climate protesters fined
A retired Church of England vicar and three Christian climate activists have been convicted of aggravated trespass after dropping a huge banner saying “Don’t Crucify Creation” from the tower of Bath Abbey last September. The Rev Bill White, 71, from Macclesfield; Emma Ireland, 41, a mental health worker from Bristol; Stephen Pritchard, 66, a former parish councillor from Radstock, Somerset; and Kate Chesterman, 60, a retired university worker from Hythe, Kent, were part of Christian Climate Action’s protest urging the church to speak out about climate change causing an existential threat to people and all life on Earth. Thery asked to speak to the bishop, but the police were called and they were arrested. A district judge at Bristol Magistrates Court fined each of the defendants £200 and ordered them to pay £700 in court costs and victim surcharge. CCA says similar protests took place at Canterbury, York, Winchester, Westminster Abbey, Durham and Southwark cathedrals, but there were no other arrests.
Grand Mosque of Paris celebrates 100th anniversary
The Grand Mosque of Paris, built to honour Muslims who fought in World War One, celebrated its 100th anniversary with prayers on Friday. A well known landmark, its 108-foot-high minaret overlooks the River Seine River. Visitors included Muslims born in France and those from Algeria, Senegal and beyond. The Rector Chems-eddine Hafiz told the Associated Press that when it was built, the French president declared that “France’s diversity could only reinforce its national community”. But today, the Rector said, anti-Muslim acts are still being committed, Islam is often misunderstood and “talking about Muslims or Islam can trigger hostility.’’
South Korean politician jailed over links with Unification Church
Kweon Seong-dong, a South Korean politician, has been sentenced to two years in prison after being convicted of accepting 100 million won (about US$67,000) in illegal political funds from an official of the Unification Church, founded by Sun Myung Moon. Prosecutors said the money was given in return for seeking favours from the administration of the former president Yoon Suk Yeol, who is himself in jail after a failed attempt to impose martial law in 2024. The government has launched an investigation into the Unification Church and other religious organisations over alleged bribery and corruption of politicians. Hak Ja Han, the 83-year-old leader of the Unification Church, is in detention in South Korea awaiting judgment on charges including bribery and illegal political funding.
