Churches tells banks: stop funding fossil fuel or we’ll disinvest
An alliance of Christians including Lord Williams, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, has told the high street banks to stop financing new fossil fuel projects or risk losing their business. A total of 71 Christian groups with 400,000 members — Methodists, Quakers, eight Roman Catholic religious orders and the Scottish Episcopal Church — coorindated by the Just Money Movement, have committed to “consider alternative banking options wherever possible” unless their banks stop financing new fossil fuel projects including oilfields. Barclays, HSBC, Santander, NatWest, and Lloyds have reportedly provided $556 billion to the fossil fuel industry since the Paris climate agreement was signed in 2015. “Banks are very understandably seen as institutions we need to be able to trust. What we are asking is that the main high street banks should show themselves to be fully worthy of that trust by playing their part in creating a future … in which our lethal dependence on fossil fuels will at last be put behind us,” Lord Williams said. Church Times report here
How aid agency is helping people in Ukraine after 1,000 days of war
Russia’s war on Ukraine is now 1,000 days old and Anka, who works with DePaul Ukraine, a partner organisation of Cafod, the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development, has reflected on how the situation there has changed. “It started with explosions, panic, the sound of air raid sirens,” she writes. She and her colleagues at DePaul, which has been working on homelessness in the country since 2007, were expecting a normal morning, but realised Russian troops had invaded. “A thousand days ago, we had only fear for ourselves and loved ones … no idea how to live on. Today, we have an action plan, reliable partners and modern approaches to overcome the greatest stress in human life. Now we help those who have lost their home and sense of security every day.”
The British defence secretary, John Healey, marked the 1,000th day with a visit to the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Family in Exile, in Marylebone, London. He and the shadow defence minister, James Cartlidge, lit a candle to remember victims of the conflict and later visited the Ukrainian Welcome Centre, where they met representatives of the community in exile. Report here
Rabbis disturbed over Pope’s ‘Gaza genocide’ comments
The Conference of European Rabbis is “deeply disturbed” by Pope Francis’s assertion that the Israel Defence Forces’ actions in Gaza “should be carefully investigated to determine whether it fits into the technical definition of genocide”. The group adds: “Israel is fighting a defensive war against an unprovoked, barbaric enemy, unrestrained by any western code of law or warfare. It is also fighting for the return of 101 hostages that are still being held by Hamas and its co-conspirators under most inhumane conditions.” And Edith Bruck, 93, a Hungarian-born Jew and survivor of Auschwitz, Dachau and Bergen-Belsen, joined the criticism, saying: “Genocide is something else. When a million children are burnt to death, then you can talk about genocide.” Ms Bruck, who has met the Pope, lost both parents and an older brother in the camps, added that the bloodshed in Gaza was a “tragedy that concerns everyone”, but insisted that Israel was not attempting to wipe out the entire Palestinian population. Catholic Herald report here
Huge fall in Dublin’s Catholic priests
The number of Catholic priests in Dublin will reduce by 70 per cent in the next 20 years, the Irish Times reports. It also warns that funding for one of the church’s charities, Diocesan Support Services, will run out sooner than that. Fr Tim Hazelwood of the Association of Catholic Priests says only two priests have been ordained for the Dublin diocese since 2020 and the declining numbers of young incumbents is putting unfair pressure on older serving members of the community. More than 25 per cent of priests in Ireland have died in the past three years and many parishes now rely on the services of older clergy, or those from overseas. There are reports of lay people being trained to take funerals. Report here
Safeguarding ‘scandal’ over Scottish bullying claims
The Scottish Episcopal Church has become embroiled in its own safeguarding scandal, The Times reports, after it emerged that welfare officers were not consulted before a bishop accused of bullying was cleared to return to her duties. Last month the church’s legal officer ruled it would “no longer be in the public interest” to pursue allegations made against Anne Dyer, 67, the Bishop of Aberdeen and Orkney. An investigation concluded Bishop Dyer had presided over a culture of “bullying and dysfunction”. However, The Times says, it is claimed that the announcement of her return was not shared with safeguarding officers.
Yoga heir dies on mountain hike
Yoga practitioners across the world are in shock at the sudden death of R. Sharath Jois, 53, the heir to the Ashtanga style of the ancient physical and spiritual movement. Jois, whose grandfather established the community in the 1940s, collapsed with a heart attack while hiking with students in the Blue Ridge Mountains of the eastern side of the United States. Ashtanga yoga is a rigid, disciplined and strenuous form of yoga known for its headstands, back bends and a move known as “the pretzel”. Jois had many followers worldwide and disciples and admirers gathered for a memorial service at the Broome Street Ganesha Temple in New York. Dan Loeb, a hedge-fund manager and former yogi who met his wife through the Ashtanga community, said the whole community was grieving. Report here
UK modern slavery victims figure hits a record high
A significant rise in the number of cases of modern slavery in the UK needs urgent attention, the Home Office admits. A government spokesman told the UK Christian charity CARE that 200 additional members of staff were being hired to help clear a backlog of handling the 4,758 referrals to the government between July and September this year — a record high. CARE discovered that most cases of modern slavery involved exploitation of labour for minimal pay, particularly among migrants and asylum seekers. The Home Office spokesman promised: “We are committed to tackling it in all its forms”. My Christian Daily report here
Sikhs cross the border to celebrate their founder
Up to 10,000 Sikh pilgrims gathered yesterday at a shrine in Pakistan to Guru Nanak, the founder of their religion, to commemorate his birth 555 years ago. His shrine, the second-holiest place in the Sikh faith, is on the Ravi River 2.8 miles from the border with India. Many Sikh holy sites are in Pakistan partition in 1947. Visas to travel between India and Pakistan — which have a troubled relationship over disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir — are often difficult to obtain, but the two countries have an arrangement that allows pilgrims to visit the shrine. AP report here
CofE needs ‘serious culture and organisational change‘
Cary Cooper, Professor of Organisational Psychology and Health at the University of Manchester, suggests in The Conversation that the resignation of Justin Welby after the Makin review, is not enough. Organisational shortcomings which allowed John Smyth to abuse more than 100 boys and young men for decades, while the church operated a cover up and failed to act, were caused by “excessive deference to senior clergy in leadership roles and failures of leadership and accountability in safeguarding”. He said: “This will all require a serious culture change programme in the future”.
Antidisestablishmentarianism: CofE turmoil sparks word revival
Talk of Church of England’s possible separation from the state, in the wake of Justin Welby’s resignation as Archbishop of Canterbury, has at least bought a bonus for one correspondent to The Times. Barbara Goulden writes from Southport: “Sir, Years ago my father taught me what he said was the longest word in English: antidisestablishmentarianism. At last, it seems I may now be able to drop it casually into a conversation.”
Panto without the Christmas twist
Wherwell Primary School in Andover in Hampshire says it has removed Christmas references from a panto performance of Jack and the Beanstalk to make the audience of pupils and parents feel “safe and valued”. A spokesman for the school, which is rated outstanding by Ofsted, said: “Our aim, as always, is to foster inclusivity in our school community, and be a place where children and their families feel safe, welcomed and valued.” The head, Mandy Ovenden, said: “We have a number of families who either do not celebrate Christmas or do so in a different way. The children of these families are removed from events such as this, at the request of their parents … This is not a Christmas event, but a pantomime”. The Daily Telegraph reports that parents “branded the decision ‘crazy’”.
