Bishop says government is “burying its head in the sand” over health inequalities
The Bishop of London, Sarah Mullaly, has accused the government of “burying its head in the sand” over health inequalities, according to an exclusive report in the Guardian. It says a white paper on widening inequalities between rich and poor, the north and south and among black and ethnic minorities, was promised in the spring but has still failed to appear. It has been told that the white paper has been scrapped by this government, but the Department of Health and Social Care denies this. The Bishop, a former chief nursing officer for England who is about to publish her own health inequalities paper for London, is quoted saying immediate action is required to tackle increasingly visible health inequalities: “It’s my sincere hope that the government joins us in looking for solutions, rather than burying its head in the sand”. Recent reports that the white paper has been shelved are “tough to swallow”.
Bishop says people “living through nightmare” after blast kills ten people
The Catholic Bishop of Raphoe, Alan McGuckian, has paid tribute to the people killed in an explosion in Creeslough in County Donegal, Ireland, on Friday. Ten people died in the blast at a petrol station, which had a forecourt shop, and while the cause is unknown, the garda (police) say it is believed to be a tragic accident. The dead included a father and daughter, mother and son and a teenage girl. One man in his 20s remains in a critical condition in hospital. Speaking during a Sunday mass in the village, the bishop said people are living through a nightmare and he offered prayers for those who died, their families, the emergency services and all the community caught up in the tragedy. Ten red candles have been lit inside the church in tribute to those who lost their lives.
Pope condemns exclusion of migrants as scandalous and disgusting
Reuters reports that Pope Francis has made an impassioned defence of migrants, calling their exclusion “scandalous, disgusting and sinful”. His comments were made in St Peter’s Square on Sunday, as right wing politician Giorgia Meloni prepares to become Italy’s prime minister, with a promise to crack down on immigration and tighten Italy’s borders. Speaking in a ceremony to canonise two men including the 19th century bishop Giovanni Battista Scalabrini, known as the “father of migrants”, the Pope said: “The exclusion of migrants is scandalous. Indeed, the exclusion of migrants is criminal. It makes them die in front of us. And so today the Mediterranean is the world’s largest cemetery. The exclusion of migrants is disgusting, it is sinful. It is criminal not to open doors to those who are needy”.
Research into mental health provision for Muslims
The Woolf Institute, based in Cambridge, has launched a research project to study UK mental health services from the perspective of Muslim, Christian and Jewish communities. Early interviews with Muslims included an account of a young woman wearing a hijab asked by a counsellor why she didn’t “just take it off”. The Institute says such attitudes may explain findings from the Muslim Youth Helpline, that more than one third of 16-22-year-olds with mental health needs did not approach anybody for support in 2019. The project will look at the reasons why people in faith traditions don’t access mental health services and it will address issues of faith illiteracy and cultural insensitivity. There have been several initiatives within Muslim communities to set up counselling services and the research will look at the relationship between them and NHS provision. It says there has been concern that Muslims face additional mental health issues and anxiety due to racism, discrimination and deprivation.
Archbishop of Canterbury concerned at proposal to move embassy to Jerusalem
The archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has added his voice to concerns about moving the British embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Liz Truss said she was considering the move when she met Israeli leader Yair Lapid at the UN last month. Last week at the Conservative party conference, the Board of Deputies president Mari van der Zyl, backed the move. On Thursday, the head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, expressed “profound concerns” about the review. The next day, a spokesperson for Justin Welby told Jewish News: “The archbishop is concerned about the potential impact of moving the British embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem before a negotiated settlement between Palestinians and Israelis has been reached. He is in touch with Christian leaders in the Holy Land and continues to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.”
Martyn Percy questions how long CofE bishops can remain in the House of Lords
The former Dean of Christ Church College Oxford, Martyn Percy, has said that the continuing presence of Church of England bishops in the House of Lords is difficult to defend, in a society where church affiliation is in decline and where there is a “rising tide of cultural disenchantment with its leaders”. In an article for Prospect, he says a constitutional crisis is emerging over the place of the church with the monarchy. The bishops’ presence in the Lords can only be explained, he says, as “an accidental residue of former constitutional arrangements”. He continues that the Church does not seem credible or relevant to the public’s daily lives, as it “continues to discriminate on grounds of sexuality and gender” while alienating potential supporters. He concludes: “There is no appetite for a church that embodies privilege and the power to discriminate while lacking proper accountability or transparency”.
Diwali in Trafalgar Square
The Evening Standard reports that Diwali was celebrated in Trafalgar Square London this weekend, with 200 dancers and performances on stage. Hindu, Sikh and Jain communities were represented and marquees were set up with food, comedy acts, children’s activities and yoga. It was a vibrant mix of colours and sounds on a glorious sunny day which ended with a light show at dusk. The actual date of Diwali, the festival of lights, is Monday 24 October.
The Jewish festival of Sukkot this week
Jewish people celebrate another festival this week – Sukkot, the feast of Booths or Tabernacles. It remembers the Exodus, the 40 years journey from Egypt to the promised land, and in origin, involved celebrating the festival under the shelter of a sukkah, a shelter made from palm leaves or discarded branches after harvest. Special prayers are said, work is forbidden on certain days and at the end, during a service in the synagogue, worshippers circle the raised reading desk, or bimah, seven times. The festival closely follows Yom Kippur, which also closely followed the Jewish new year, Rosh Hashanah.
Muslims communities celebrate birth of Prophet Mohammed
The birth of the Prophet Mohammed was celebrated round the world on a date determined by scholars who observe the crescent moon. In Bolton, a “faith walk” was held, with Muslims travelling from America, Scotland, Birmingham, and Coventry to join in. The celebrations included special prayers alongside a community event, with food and drinks. Residents handed out sweets and chocolates to the people on their celebratory walk, as they passed by.
Three men charged with murder after attack outside mosque
Three people have been charged with the murder of a man who was stabbed outside the Jamiah Masjid and Institute in Coventry a week ago. The BBC reports that two men accused are aged 23 and a third is 29. The man who died has been named as 52 year old Haji Choudhary Rab Nawaz.
Prime Ministers and God – inner secrets laid bare
Seances when glasses moved, dinner with Billy Graham and a Catholic wedding for a twice divorced man, the religious inner lives of the country’s Prime Ministers over the last 120 years are laid bare in a new book by Catholic priest Mark Vickers. Is the Holy Ghost a vote-winner? Prime Ministers and God, from Balfour to Boris , reviewed in the Telegraph by Tim Stanley, suggests that prime ministers “derived their sense of identity from party politics” not from church-allegiance. The book tells several stories which show a streak of anti-Catholicism, explains Attlee’s belief in the ethics of Christianity, and documents Balfour speaking to ghosts, Blair in moments of private prayer and Thatcher berating bishops. The author ranks Tony Blair as perhaps our most religious prime minister.
