Violent vicar with naked “healing ministry” abused congregation for 19 years
A Church of England safeguarding review has reported that a vicar abused his congregation spiritually, physically and emotionally for a period of 19 years from 1981 – 2000. The Rev Michael Hall, vicar of St Margaret’s Tylers Green, near High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, was found to have been a bully with “simmering violence”, who punched a worshipper leaving church, threw parking cones, shut people in rooms, humiliated and belittled parishioners, and emotionally and spiritually abused people using scripture and fear of hell to control them. Young people saw him and other members of the congregation together completely naked, touching one another and having naked saunas together in parish rooms. He said this was “healing ministry”. Complaints were made but not followed up and the extent of the behaviour was not realised until a former congregant took his own life. The review recommends greater awareness of spiritual abuse and advises church members to come forward with complaints. Michael Hall died aged 88 in June 2021.
Government inquiry into the number of prisoners killed by Nazis on Alderney
A government inquiry is to be held into the Nazi concentration camp on Alderney, Channel Islands, to establish the number of prisoners killed. The Observer reported that the review will be announced by Lord Pickles, the UK’s Holocaust envoy, later this summer. The report says only eight Jews are officially recorded as dying on the island, but Professor Anthony Glees, security and intelligence expert and formerly adviser to the war crimes inquiry in the Home Office, told the Observer that it could run into thousands, with many buried in mass graves. Dame Margaret Hodge, the Labour MP whose father fled Nazi persecution in Germany, welcomed the review saying the British government and Alderney authorities should finally face up to the horror of what happened and there could be no more lies or cover-up.” Observer story is here
Odesa Cathedral badly damaged in Russian rocket attack
The Transfiguration Cathedral in Odesa was badly damaged in a Russian missile attack in the early hours of Sunday morning. It is the port city’s largest church building and lies in the city centre, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Orthodox place of worship was consecrated in 1809, destroyed during the Soviet era in 1936 and rebuilt when Ukraine became an independent nation. One person was killed in the attack which destroyed other historic buildings nearby, and several people were injured. The Times has the story and pictures here
Bhagavad Gita in “Oppenheimer” sex scene scandalises Indian government commissioner
Uday Mahurkar, the Indian government’s information commissioner and founder of the Save Culture Save India Foundation, has called on the director of the newly released film “Oppenheimer” to remove a sex scene, during which Oppenheimer reads verses from the Hindu sacred text, the Bhagavad Gita. The film tells the story of J Robert Oppenheimer, the inventor of the nuclear bomb. A professor of physics, he was also a poet, linguist and secular Jew. His fascination with Hinduism is well documented and was developed while at Berkeley university, where he learned Sanskrit. Reflecting on the effect of the Hiroshima bomb, he quoted a verse of the scripture: “Now I Am Become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds”. The inclusion of the quote in the film may have scandalised some, but Yahoo News reports that the film is a box office success in India, grossing $3.6 million in its first two days of release, comfortably outperforming “Barbie,” which collected $1.2 million.
“Barbie” delayed in Pakistan and postponed in middle east
The Guardian reports that the launch of “Barbie” has been delayed in Pakistan’s Punjab province over “objectionable content”. It quotes the secretary of the Punjab film censor board saying the film will be reviewed before release to see whether it violates social, cultural and religious values. Its release has also been postponed by middle eastern countries including the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.
Network of Sikh Organisations takes issue with Sikhs in law over Bloom report
The Network of Sikh Organisations, whose director is Lord Indarjit Singh, has strongly criticised “Sikhs In Law”, for its negative review of the Colin Bloom report “Does the Government do God”. The report dedicates eleven pages to Sikhs in Britain, saying that despite the overwhelmingly positive contribution of Sikh communities to society, there was concern over “an extremist fringe ideology within the pro-Khalistan movement” which attracts disproportionate amounts of attention and stokes divisive sentiments in sectors of Sikh communities. The Council of “Sikhs in Law” (BBC Radio 4 Sunday 23July) has said that the Bloom report is fundamentally flawed with zero evidence. But the Network of Sikh Organisations has issued a statement questioning the lawyers’ knowledge of the Sikh community, saying they are biased and ignorant.
Conservative Councillor suspended and “criminalised” after Pride Tweet
The Christian Conservative councillor suspended for tweeting that Pride is a sin and quoting the Bible, has told the Sunday programme on Radio 4 that he felt he had been criminalised. Councillor King Lawal, from Northamptonshire Unitary Council, said he had stated Biblical views that were shared by millions of people and had been around for thousands of years and this was a question of free speech. Following the tweet, he has been cancelled from many trustee boards and “brutally dropped” from his home care company. He is taking legal action, supported by the Christian Legal Centre.
Archbishop rides to defence of cleric abused for having tattoos on her arm
Rev Wendy Dalrymple, the new canon responsible for worship at Canterbury Cathedral, has run into a twitter storm because she has tattoos covering her arm. Summarising the abuse she has received as “charming feedback”, she was criticised for wearing a top that was too tight and being an idiot. Her new boss, Dean David Monteith, said he was saddened by the abuse she had received. And the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said it would be a privilege to serve alongside her.
