Demands that chair of CofE Pensions Board should quit over shareholdings in Shell
In an exclusive, the Guardian reports that Clive Mather, the chair of the Church of England Pensions Board, which has investments in fossil fuels, is a shareholder in Shell. Clive Mather worked for Shell for 38 years until 2007 and took on the Church of England role in 2019, but the Christian climate campaign group “Operation Noah” says he should resign due to a conflict of interest. The Guardian quotes a Church of England spokesperson saying it is false to suggest Mr Mather’s shares influence the board’s investment policy on fossil fuels. “The pensions board and church commissioners have a clear five-year strategy on fossil fuels, agreed by the General Synod in 2018.”
Irish Catholics demand equal status for women
A report on the views of Irish Catholics has found a strong demand for the equal status of women in the church’s structures, married priests and greater inclusion of LGBTQI+ people. The “Synthesis” of the consultation was produced as part of a global process where all Catholics gave their opinions in documents to be presented to the Vatican. The report says many women remarked that they were not prepared to be considered second class citizens anymore and many were leaving the Church. It acknowledges a major decline in the practice of the faith and describes the stories of abuse as an “open wound”. The report, commissioned by the Irish Bishops’ Conference, said the enthusiasm, energy and expectation of the tens of thousands of Catholics who contributed, was heartening.
Ten dead and 30 injured in Kabul mosque bomb attack
The Associated Press reports that at least ten people have been killed and around 30 injured, after a bomb blast during evening prayers at a mosque in the Afghan capital of Kabul. The agency reports an eye witness saying the dead included the Imam, Mullah Amir Mohammad Kabuli. No one has admitted responsibility for the attack but recently, AP says the local Islamic State group has increasingly targeted the Taliban and last week, the IS admitted responsibility for killing a prominent Taliban cleric at his religious centre in Kabul.
Failure to achieve integrated schools in Northern Ireland analysed
Integrated schools in Northern Ireland are supported by 71 per cent of the population there, yet various initiatives have failed. Writing for The Conversation, Professor Tony Gallagher of Queen’s University Belfast, says churches which currently run schools on denominational lines, have been defensive and resistant to change. Political initiatives going back to the partition between north and south, could not achieve consensus to make any progress. But this year, the Integrated Education Act of April 2022 placed a statutory duty on the Northern Ireland Department of Education to support integrated education and in July, additional funding of £1.9 million was announced to support schools wishing to become integrated. The Professor suggests increasing secularisation may shift the tectonic plates, adding that it might make a difference if a member of the Alliance Party became minister of education, when the NI Assembly is fully functioning.
Weaponisation of the rosary in America
The Atlantic carries a story explaining how rosaries have been weaponised by far right Catholics in America. Author Daniel Panneton says the rosary has acquired a militaristic meaning for an extremist fringe, associated with gun culture, homophobia and a literal fight against evil. He says social media pages “are saturated with images of rosaries draped over firearms, crusader memes and exhortations for men to rise up and become Church Militants”.
New Wine “United” festival reports a string of healing stories
The Rev Kate Wharton, vicar of St. Bartholomew’s church in Roby, Liverpool, and a trustee of St Mellitus College, has told Premier Christian radio that a four-year-old boy who was born deaf, was able to hear for the first time after being prayed for at a New Wine Festival in Peterborough earlier this summer. This was one of a string of stories reported by festival goers when pain disappeared after prayer – a painful wrist, shoulder, arm, knee, ankles and finger all stopped hurting. New Wine was started in 1989 by two Anglican vicars influenced by the American charismatic preacher John Wimber. Most of its current leaders are Anglican clergy. It says it wants to “equip the local Church to release confident, Spirit-filled followers of Jesus”.
