Church in Swanage at the centre of emergency help after care home tragedy
All Saints Church in Swanage, found its place as a centre of the community in the early hours of yesterday morning, as elderly residents from Gainsborough Care Home were evacuated to the church hall, after three residents were found to have died. Emergency services and gas engineers are examining the possibility this was due to carbon monoxide poisoning. The vicar, the Rev Jo Levasier, told the BBC that the churchwarden swung into action, calling in help from the local community by email then Facebook, and people rallied round with blankets, food, tea and coffee. Four residents were taken to hospital for checks, but all the others have been moved to other places for a few nights while the home is fully checked and made safe. Dorset police say a 60-year-old local woman has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and is being held in police custody.
Welsh Senedd votes against assisted dying
The Welsh Senedd has voted against a motion calling for a new law to allow assisted dying in Wales and England, by 26 votes to 19, with 9 abstentions. The Senedd does not have the power to change the law, but the vote, coming a month before the Westminster parliament votes, is seen as symbolic. In an emotionally charged debate, several members spoke about seeing family members die while being incapacitated by illness, and feeling powerless to help them. Others said a vote in favour would run the risk of vulnerable people wanting to die for fear of being a burden to loved ones, and they were afraid it would be a slippery slope, drawing more people into scope. Those against assisted dying included First Minister Eluned Morgan and Health Secretary Jeremy Miles.
Wes Streeting and Shabana Mahmood come out against assisted dying
The Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, has come out against assisted dying. He told a meeting of Labour MPs that he did not believe the palliative care system was good enough to give patients a genuine choice. He is the second cabinet minister this week to make public their intention to vote against changing the law. The Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has told The Times of her “unshakeable belief in the sanctity and the value of human life”. The stated Muslim view is that assisted dying is “absolutely forbidden”. These two government ministers, heading the health and justice departments, would have the responsibility of implementing any new law. MPs will debate Kim Leadbeater’s private members motion on assisted dying, on Friday 29 November.
Muslims in Bradford against assisted dying
The Guardian’s north of England reporter, Hannah Al-Othman, has reported from Bradford on the opinions of the Muslim community on assisted dying. 30.5 per cent of the city is Muslim with the general perspective that “Life is a gift from God, so God gives you life, God takes the life”. She found implacable opposition and fears that it would make people fearful of end of life care, with one suggestion that people from minority communities including Roma and Black Caribbean people would even take their relatives abroad for end of life care rather than be exposed to the risk of feeling persuaded to end their lives early.
Gustavo Gutiérrez, pioneer of liberation theology, dies aged 96
Gustavo Gutiérrez, the Peruvian priest and theologian, known best for his landmark 1971 book “A Theology of Liberation”, has died in Lima aged 96. His theology grew from ministry to the poor in Lima, when he concluded that salvation demanded action against violence and poverty. He believed the church had a duty to push for fundamental political and structural changes to end poverty. This led to priests taking part in the revolution in Nicaragua, and influenced rebels in Mexico and Colombia. There were suggestions that the Vatican once investigated him, but in his final years, Pope Francis thanked him for his love of the poor so that “no one can be indifferent faced with the drama of poverty and exclusion.” Austen Ivereigh, a Catholic journalist and biographer of Pope Francis, said the Theology of Liberation “reshaped contemporary theology.” Guardian obit here and appreciation in America, the Jesuit Review here.
US Muslims struggling to decide how to vote in the presidential election
The Muslim vote in the US presidential election is seen as pivotal in swing states, especially Michigan which has the highest proportion of Muslims in the States. Weronika Styczynski, writing in Hyphen Online, reports on how the community’s traditional tie to the Democrats has been strained by the Biden administration’s approach to Israel and the war in Gaza and now Lebanon. The BBC’s Ten O’Clock News covered similar ground and found former long-time Democrat voters, some of whom have lost family members in Gaza, struggling to decide how to vote this time.
Church of England Evangelical Council slams Archbishop interview
The Rev Dr Andrew Goddard, a member of the Church of England Evangelical Council, has slammed an interview given by the Archbishop of Canterbury to “The Rest is Politics” podcast as false and misleading. Justin Welby said the church is deeply, profoundly divided on same sex relationships, but he, the Archbishop of York and a majority of bishops, now “say that all sexual activity should be within a committed relationship whether it’s straight or gay”. He explained the proposal is that people who have been through a civil marriage should be able to come along to a church and have a service of prayer and blessing. Dr Goddard said the theological argument presented by the bishops has been that any sexual relationship other than marriage between a man and a woman is contrary to the Church’s doctrine of marriage. He says the Archbishop’s answer is “so highly misleading and inaccurate as to suggest a disturbing level of some combination of ignorance, misrepresentation, dishonesty and inaccuracy”. The Church of England Evangelical Council said the interview was “a staggering set of statements” and a clear departure from the doctrine of the Church of England. The Church of England has issued a statement saying the Archbishop’s answer does not indicate a change of teaching, he made clear there was no consensus among bishops on the issue and traditionalists have a full undoubted place in the church. CEEC article here
Makin review into John Smyth to be published on 13 November
The Church of England has announced that the Makin review into John Smyth, who groomed boys from public schools and whipped them in his shed, will be published on 13 November. The National Safeguarding Team has received the review and a detailed plan has been drawn up in consultation with survivors enabling them to read it in advance. The review was commissioned in August 2019 and its publication has been repeatedly delayed.
“Ramadan Runner” receives national diversity award
Nazim Ali, known as the “Ramadan Runner” for his sponsored runs during Ramadan, has won the Positive Role Model: Race, Religion and Faith Award at the National Diversity Awards. He was among 125 finalists for the awards which are sponsored by HSBC to draw attention to community heroes. Nazim Ali is a careers adviser from Bradford who has raised £980,000 for local and international causes, including providing food for the homeless and building nearly 300 houses in Malawi, Pakistan, Uganda and Afghanistan. He has raised £425,000 from eleven “Ramadan runs” and said he was humbled to receive the recognition: “My position is people are suffering in our midst and we cannot stop Allah’s work of helping the vulnerable and needy in society. As I often state, ‘no award comes remotely close to making a human heart happy!’ That’s what it’s all about, and the buzz you get from this is indescribable”.
