US Catholic bishops hatch plan to deny President Biden communion
A plan proposed by American Roman Catholic bishops that could deny communion to public figures who support abortion rights, including President Joe Biden, has passed its first hurdle. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops voted by 168 to 55, to produce a report on the meaning of the eucharist (communion) in the church. The move was initiated by ultra conservative bishops opposed to Joe Biden, who is known to embrace the Catholic teaching on abortion, that life is sacred from conception, but does not wish to impose this as a matter of public policy. As a result, he is at odds with the church’s position, which opposes abortion legislation. The report will have to be voted on by the bishops in the autumn and approved by the Vatican, and even then bishops could take local decisions.
Archbishop deeply embarrassed a bishop tweeted “never trust a Tory”
The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has written to the Secretary of State for Wales to say he is “deeply embarrassed” at comments on Twitter by the Bishop of St Davids, Joanna Penberthy, when she said “Never never never trust a Tory”. He said this language by a church leader was “absolutely unacceptable” and “intolerable” and there were better ways to express disagreement.” The bishop has apologised for the tweet and deleted her Twitter account. The Conservative MP for West Dorset Chris Loder has called on her to resign. The Church in Wales is without an Archbishop at the moment, so the Justin Welby weighed in as head of the Anglican communion, which includes the church in Wales.
Iran’s new president is ultra conservative cleric
Ebrahim Raisi, an ultra conservative cleric and top judge, has won Iran’s presidential election by a landslide, with more than half the number of votes cast. But the turnout was 48 per cent – the lowest in Iranian history since the 1979 revolution. Raisi first ran for president in 2017 and on both occasions was supported by conservative groups. His victory came as negotiations to try to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal continued in Vienna. He has pledged to uproot corruption, fight poverty, create jobs and contain inflation.
Appeal for humanist weddings to be legitimised
The wedding season is underway with restrictions on wedding guests in England lifted from tomorrow. In July, outdoor civil marriages in England and Wales will be recognised, but not humanist ceremonies, so Humanists UK is appealing for change. It says the the government has consistently denied humanist weddings a legal status, giving the reason that the Law Commission is reviewing wedding policy. But now that open air weddings have been allowed, despite the fact that the Commission has not yet reported, the humanists say the objection falls away.
French and English bishops appeal for decency towards cross channel migrants
Anglican and Roman Catholic bishops on both sides of the English channel have issued a joint statement appealing for migrants to be treated with humanity and decency. The move was facilitated by the charity “Seeking Sanctuary” which helps migrants in northern France. The bishops say the migrants should be provided with a welcome rather than a hostile rejection.They are the CofE bishops of Canterbury and Europe, and the Catholic Archbishops of Southwark and Lille, the Bishop of Arras, Boulogne & Saint-Omer and the Bishop of Bruges.
Scotland bill to legalise assisted dying
A bill to legalise assisted dying will be lodged at the Scottish Parliament in proposals brought forward by the Liberal Democrat MSP Liam McArthur. The bill would give the right for terminally ill, mentally competent adults to have an assisted death and is expected to trigger a consultation this autumn. Mr McArthur told BBC Scotland that the current ban is unjust and causes needless suffering, and the bill contains strong safeguards.
Founding partner of EU on way to sainthood
Robert Schuman, a French politician who was a founder of the European bloc which developed into the EU, is on the path to becoming a saint in the Roman Catholic church and may now be known as “venerable”. He was a lawyer by training but an avid Biblical scholar and expert on St Thomas Aquinas. He died in 1963 after serving as the first president of the European parliamentary assembly.
