Faith adviser’s anger at government’s failure to tackle forced marriage
The government’s outgoing faith adviser Colin Bloom told a RMC briefing that he was very angry at the lack of progress in preventing forced marriage and he hoped his recommendations to streamline government response would make a difference. He said successive government ministers had ducked the issue, but it had to be tackled. The recommendation was one of 22 in the report “Does the Government Do God?”, which considered improvements in areas of public life which religion intersects, including freedom of religion or belief in the UK, tackling faith extremism, preventing radicalisation in prison, bolstering religious education and regulating schools which provide religious instruction. Colin Bloom is leaving his role in a few weeks and the report will go to Number Ten and Michael Gove for action. His parting words were that he hoped the report would make a difference and that the government would be bold and courageous. Read our report and view the briefing here
Sudanese woman cleric in Bradford leads vigil for her homeland
The Rev Ludia Shukai, of Great Horton and Lidget Green near Bradford, thought to be the first Sudanese woman ordained in the Church of England, has led a vigil for Sudan at Bradford Cathedral. The Church Times reports that she gave information to the congregation, from the eye witness accounts of her sister in Khartoum. It was a bleak picture of people trapped in their homes without water or electricity, unable to leave to buy food with bodies massing in the streets. She said she had also spoken to the Archbishop of Sudan, Ezekiel Kondo, who fled to safety two hours away from Khartoum after the cathedral was raided. He spoke of cars and homes destroyed in the fighting, and no electricity for hospitals, threatening a public health catastrophe.
Women allowed to vote at Vatican synod of bishops
Pope Francis has introduced changes to the synod of bishops, meeting in October, which will allow women, lay people and young people to vote. The synod will take crucial steps forward on the synodical path, taking views of all church members into account in decision making. At a press conference announcing the change, cardinals said: “This is not a revolution but an important change”. The 70 non-bishop members will be chosen by the Pope from a list of 140 prepared by the bishops’ conferences from around the world. They will make up one fifth of the total number of votes. The synod will also include facilitators.
Evangelicals feel grief, dismay and betrayal at CofE’s same sex blessing plan
The Church of England Evangelical Council, which sent representatives to the meeting of Gafcon, the rival worldwide group of Anglicans opposed to same sex relationships, has spoken of the “sense of grief, dismay and betrayal expressed by delegates from all around the Communion towards the English bishops and the Archbishop of Canterbury”, which they say was both palpable and profound. The meeting followed the Church of England General synod’s decision to allow same sex blessings in church, a decision which outraged evangelicals who read the Bible literally. In a statement CEEC said the Church of England should step back and find a settled way forward to ensure unity. It should also change its structures to accommodate them. The CEEC was started in 1960 by the Rev John Stott, former rector of All Souls Langham Place. Its president is the former bishop of Blackburn and it has 50 members including organisations, networks, institutions and churches.
Jehovah’s Witness elder rape case says organisation not liable
The Associated Press reports that the UK Supreme Court has ruled that the Jehovah’s Witnesses organization isn’t liable for an elder who raped a member of his congregation more than three decades ago. The case concerns a Welsh woman raped by an elder in 1990, after they had been out proselytising. He was sentenced to 14 years and she was awarded £62,000 for emotional harm. The Supreme Court ruled that the employer as not responsible for the actions of its employee because it took place at his home and he was a close friend. The woman’s lawyer said the judgment was devastating.
GB Taekwondo hold iftar event to encourage Muslim athletes
GB Taekwondo held an iftar meal at the end of Ramadan where athletes and members of the public swapped ideas and ate to break the daily fast. They included Khadijah Mellah, the first hijab-wearing jockey to take part in competitive horse racing events in Britain; and taekwondo fighters Mohammed Nour and Farzad Mansouri. A report on the website Inside the Games quotes GB Taekwondo’s chief executive Paul Buxton saying: “Muslim communities are not only under-represented in Olympic and Paralympic sport but are often misrepresented in society” and he hoped the event would help change that.
