Help for people leaving abusive, controlling religious groups
A report from the government’s outgoing faith adviser, Colin Bloom, recommended that a programme should be set up to support vulnerable people leaving cults, now described as high-demand, high control groups. Typically, these groups demand unquestioning obedience to leaders. hold a passionate belief they are right and exhibit coercive emotional control. The harm within religious groups has been the concern of the educational charity Inform for more than 35 years. But as abuse cases become more frequently reported, its role is expanding to harmful behaviour not confined to “cults” but found in groups within established religious organisations. In July, Inform ran a seminar “Harm in New and Minority Religions: Sources of Support”, bringing together academics, supporter networks and survivors, to discuss how a programme to help people leave abusive groups might work. Suggestions included peer group support so people could share stories, practical help to provide a home, and better education for professionals supporting them. View the briefing again on our YouTube page here and read our report on the briefing here.
White evangelical support for Trump challenged after criminal charges
As Donald Trump prepares to appear at a federal court house in Washington DC today, facing charges related to the uprising on Capitol Hill in January 2021, evangelical leaders are speaking out against him. 83 per cent of white evangelicals voted for him in 2016 but the movement is being challenged to reconsider its support. Russell Moore, editor of Christianity Today, an evangelical publication started by Billy Graham, said: “I don’t endorse candidates, but I believe Trump to be a unique threat, both to American institutions and to the church’s witness”. The publisher of Baptist New Global, Mark Wingfield, a journalist and Baptist minister, is astonished at Trump’s continuing support, believing him to be a liar, con man, crook and evil, someone he considers an anti-Christ: “What in the name of everything righteous and holy is wrong with 30 per cent of Americans?”, he asked. The Rev Dr. Russell J. Levenson, President George Bush’s pastor for 11 years, has made an impassioned plea for the Republicans to ditch Donald Trump and find a presidential candidate who understands “the importance of grace, morality, decency and dignity”. Read a selection of comments is here
Pope meets survivors of clerical abuse in Portugal in advance of world youth day
Pope Francis has arrived in Portugal for World Youth Day and has spent one hour on his first evening, meeting 13 victims of clerical sexual abuse. The Independent Commission for the Study of Sexual Abuse of children in the catholic church in Portugal, has reported that there were 4,800 victims of abuse over the past 70 years. A total of 25 cases have been passed to public prosecutors, but many others fell outside the statute of limitations. The Pope had earlier spoken at Vespers at Lisbon’s Jeronimos Monastery, where he called on clergy and religious orders to combat clerical sexual abuse and always listen to the victims. He also met the President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, at the Presidential Palace, and a gathering of diplomats and civic dignitaries, where he spoke of the positive contribution young people can make towards a more peaceful world. The Pope will greet the estimated one million young people at world youth day in Lisbon this afternoon and speak to them each day until Sunday.
INEQE appointed to conduct Church of England safeguarding audits
The Church of England’s Archbishops’ Council has appointed the INEQE Safeguarding Group to carry out the next round of independent external audits of dioceses and cathedrals, starting in January 2024. A CofE statement says independent safeguarding audits were first commissioned in 2015 with a pilot scheme which was then rolled out across the church. The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, IICSA, recommended this should continue. The audits will focus on diocesan and parish interaction and review the quality of safeguarding practice in a small sample of parishes. The process will take four years to complete.
Bristol diocese links with Uganda paused over anti homosexuality bill
The Church Times reports a statement from the Bishop of Bristol, Vivienne Faull, that the diocese’s links with Uganda are to be reviewed because of the recent anti-homosexuality act, which includes the death penalty, and its endorsement by Archbishop Stephen Kaziimba. Bishop Faull said the Diocesan Link Committee will cease to meet, for the time being, and the diocese will be reviewing all institutional links set up since 1969. She said it was disappointing that church leaders in Uganda “have not been able to stand against decisions made by their government, which endanger the lives of vulnerable people on the grounds of their sexuality”.
Gunman who killed 11 Jews in a Pittsburgh synagogue is sentenced to death
The gunman who shot dead 11 Jews worshipping in The Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018, has been sentenced to death by lethal injection. Robert Bowers, a lorry driver, had posted white supremacist ideas and hatred of Jews on social media before carrying out the attack. The court heard that he reloaded his gun and stepped over bloodied bodies only stopping when his ammunition ran out. The people who died were aged between 54 and 97. It was the deadliest antisemitic attack in American history.
Series of attacks against Muslims in India
A speight of attacks against Muslims in India has been reported this week. The BBC reports that on Monday a mosque was set on fire and a Muslim cleric killed during religious clashes that broke out after a procession by Hindu nationalist groups in the northern Indian state of Haryana. Also on Monday, The Hindu reports that an Indian Railways security guard shot dead a colleague and three Muslim passengers on the Japiur Mumbai express train, quoting a railways inspector saying this was a hate crime and the dead were targeted because of their religion. The former director of Human Rights Watch, Kenneth Roth, tweeted that it was a bad week for Muslims in India, with disturbingly little press coverage.
Bishop George Bell name restored to Chichester Cathedral guest house
A guest house owned by Chichester Cathedral is to have its name “George Bell House” restored, seven years after it was removed when allegations came to light against George Bell, the bishop of Chichester from 1929-58. He was accused of abusing a young girl in the 1940s, and she was given compensation in a case made public in 2016. But a review said the church’s investigation into the claims was deficient and the decision against the bishop was taken without serious investigation or inquiry. The Archbishop of Canterbury apologised and Sussex Police closed an investigation. The house at 4 Canon Lane is an eight bedroom former Archdeaconry and is in the Cathedral precincts.
