Faith Minister backs future of Interfaith Week
The Faith Minister Lord Khan has given strong support for Interfaith Week, which has been traditionally held in the month of November, over decades. The week gives opportunities for faith groups locally and nationally, to meet one another, showcase their work and build relationships across religious divisions. This used to be co-ordinated by the Interfaith Network which disbanded last year after the Conservative government withdrew funding. Now many of those involved have grouped together to consider how to continue Interfaith Week, and Lord Khan spoke at a meeting launching a report “Bursting the Bubble”, which recommended how this could be done. The report was written by Warwick Hawkins, of Faith in Society, and Sophie Mitchell, from the Faith and Belief Forum. They will be part of a steering group which will now be set up to gather funding and lead work on ensuring the future of the week. When asked if the government would put forward funding towards this venture, the reply was that “many decisions have to be taken”. Lord Khan told the launch meeting in the Houses of Parliament, that engagement was vital and that Interfaith Week strengthens community cohesion, promotes understanding and shapes a more hopeful society, through offering a mosaic of activities. Building this doesn’t happen by accident, he said, but through intentional effort and he paid tribute to the people in the room, still engaged in local interfaith work despite the closure of the national group which supported them. The report is here
New initiative to encourage people to go on pilgrimages
The Methodist Church is working with the charity “Hope Together” to launch a website offering advice on how to host local pilgrimages and how to join them. The website, “Try Pilgrimage”, suggests pilgrimages are ways to discover people, make new experiences and engage with their community. It shares existing pilgrimage routes but also enables members of the public to create their own pilgrimages and share them on the website. And it says a pilgrimage can be on foot, by bike, by bus and even in a chair, accessible to all. The idea builds on the BBC’s 2023 series “Pilgrimage”, with discussion notes based on the films. But it was also inspired by the Catholic year of Jubilee theme for 2025, “Pilgrims of Hope”. More information here
Christian Aid re-organisation plans will slash jobs
Christian Aid has announced plans for a major re-organisation in which many staff will be moved away from programmes based in 26 countries, with the work instead undertaken by partner organisations. The proposal will cut the number of staff from around 700 to 400. In a statement, it says “the proposed changes are under consultation with staff, following the publication of Shifting Power in Aid which reviewed our journey towards locally-led development and considered wider trends across the international development sector”. chief executive, Patrick Watt told the Church Times that there are fewer aid-dependent countries and Christian Aid is “one relatively small, albeit important, part of a much bigger network of actors trying to create a more just world.” Article is here
KeshetUK withdraws from London Pride event on safety grounds
Jewish News reports that KeshetUK, supporting Jewish LGBT+people, will no longer organise the Jewish bloc at this year’s Pride march in London, the second consecutive year that it has withdrawn from the event. It has accused organisers of failing to support the safety of Jewish LGBT+ participants amid a rise in antisemitism and hate crime. In a statement to Jewish News, Pride in London said it was open to continuing dialogue with KeshetUK and had safety protocols to protect all participants.
Salisbury LGBTQIA+ Chaplaincy team concerned at Supreme Court ruling
The Salisbury Diocese LGBTQIA+ Chaplaincy team has issued a statement expressing concern that the recent Supreme Court ruling “may cause pain to many people and may even be used as a cover for transphobic abuse”. It says “many people are struggling and suffering because of the emotional pain caused by this judgement. Can we please be careful in the use of words, and can we please pray for the many lay and ordained members of our diocese who have been affected by this judgement”. Statement is here
Justin Welby pays tribute to Pope Francis – ‘a pope of love’
The former Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has written an appreciation of Pope Francis for the website “Anglican Ink”, describing in warm words their conversations, shared challenges and genuine friendship. They first met at the Vatican in 2013 soon after they both took office, when Pope Francis pointed out his seniority – elected three days earlier than Dr Welby. Their last conversation was when Francis phoned him after he announced his resignation, a gesture which Dr Welby said “was typical of the man who was, above all, a pastor”. He also pointed to Francis’ ability to fashion a profound sermon off the cuff. “Francis was someone who made people want to know God – and God’s love – as he did. He was not perfect, but he was passionate for God. He was supremely relational – regardless of status – and he lived out his call for the shepherd to be close to the sheep. He saw those who sought, however poorly and fallibly, to follow Christ as brothers and sisters. Whether they were in prisons or palaces, slums or stadiums, made no difference. He lived simply, like St Francis, from whom he took his name.. That is his legacy: to be a pope of love, serving the God of love, who emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, like Jesus Christ. That love was returned – and it is that love that God’s church is called to sow, nurture and see from it a harvest, in God’s time”. The article is here
More articles and comment on the election of the next Pope
“Who will be the next pope? The candidates who could succeed Francis”, article in The Times by Tom Kington in Rome, throws more names into the top ten, including Cardinals Peter Erdo, Hungary; Mario Grech 68, from Gozo an island off Malta; and Wim Eijk, 71, from Holland.
In another Times article, Tom Kington asks when we will know the outcome of the conclave. “How long will the conclave last — and when was the longest one?” publishes helpful charts showing the length of previous conclaves, most recently a few days.
Peter Stanford, writing in The Telegraph, says the next Pope must deal with sex abuse. “There is a cancer at the heart of the Catholic Church and Francis’s successor must tackle it” concludes with his view that until abuse is addressed, there will be more victims and fewer people in the pews.
Harriet Sherwood, writing in The Guardian, reviews past extraordinary conclaves “Fist fights, ghostly pranks and schism: a brief history of conclaves past”.
Martin Scorsese has announced that he is making a documentary featuring conversations he had with Pope Francis including the final in-depth on-camera interview. “Aldeas – A New Story” will tell the story of Scholas Occurrentes, an organisation founded by the Pope to promote a “culture of encounter” among youth. Guardian story here
Gavin Ashenden assesses the chances of a conservative Cardinal from Guinea in the process to become the next Pope. Writing in the Catholic Herald, he said: “Is Cardinal Sarah the man to save the Church as the next pope?”. He says: “The combination of being black, being African and being truly and wholeheartedly Catholic might offer just the antidote to the fracture, disorder, ambiguity and discontinuity that the last pontificate has burdened the Church with”.
Trump wants to be the next Pope
US President Donald Trump has told a reporter that he would like to be the next Pope. He was answering reporters’ questions while being door stepped on his way to board Marine One en route to Michigan. Asked who he would like to see as the next Pope, he said: “As Pope? I’d like to be the next Pope. That’d be my number one choice. No, I don’t know, I have no preference. I know we have a cardinal that happens to be out of a place called New York that’s very good, so we’ll see what happens.” He was referring to Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York and Trump supporter.
