Cardinal criticises Lord Falconer for remarks on imposing religious beliefs
The leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, has criticised Lord Falconer for his remark that religious beliefs should not be imposed on everybody else. Lord Falconer commented after the Attorney General Shabnam Mahmoud, who is Muslim, explained her opposition to the bill in a letter to constituents. In an interview on Times Radio, the Cardinal responded: “I thought we lived in a democracy where people were permitted to express their views and to take forward an argument, and a rational argument at that. If Mr Falconer can’t extend that space to religious belief then I’m not sure why he should be in politics actually. It’s not as if politics were a separate sealed-off way of living. It’s part of the life of this country and religious belief is very much part of the life of this country, and the majority of people in the world actually hold a religious belief in God.” In the interview, he said he would be very upset if the Assisted Dying bill were to pass when it’s voted upon by MPs on Friday, as the “right to die” can easily become a “duty to die” that erodes people’s self-esteem. The Cardinal also said he wished the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, who has resigned, was alongside him for the assisted dying debate, but he understood Dr Welby had resigned accepting responsibility for an institution, not just for his own personal actions.
.. Assisted Dying vote is too close to call
The BBC’s Newsnight political editor, Nicholas Watts, said he understands there have been written complaints to the chief whip over Lord Falconer’s remarks “having a go” at Shabnam Mahmoud, with criticism that he was “out of line”. He reported that senior officials had no idea how the vote will go. He has heard some MPs say it will scrape through with ministers backing it, but others saying there is unease especially among new MPs who say “this is too much and too soon”.
.. Bill would change “our whole understanding of the responsibility of care”
Prominent campaigner against the bill, Conservative MP Danny Kruger, who is also well known for his Christian faith, told Newsnight he had two principal objections. First the bill allowed whole categories of people to slip through the cracks and be in scope of assisted dying. Secondly, he was concerned at the effect of the bill “on the relationship between doctors and their patients, and our whole relationship with the state if we decide that it’s acceptable for government officials, people licenced by the state, doctors to conclude that some people are better off dead. Our whole understanding of the responsibility of care that the state and the NHS has to us is changed”.
.. Questions over funding of APPG on Dying Well
The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards has opened an investigation into Danny Kruger over a financial statement by the APPG on Dying Well, of which he was co-chair until earlier this year. The Guardian has published an investigation into a story that organisations which have funded the APPG have not made transparent their affiliation to Christianity.
.. The right to choose and the enormity of the proposed change
Other voices: Bernard Jenkin told Newsnight said he was doubtful about the bill as it was such a big change affecting the medical profession, the judiciary and the “whole chemistry of the way we think about this”. Safeguarding minister Jess Phillips told Sky News she would vote in favour of the bill and a person had a right to make these choices. She was satisfied by the safeguards in the legislation. New Labour MP Rachel Taylor told Newsnight she was in favour. She said around 600 people every year make the trip to Dignitas to die, costing £15,000. Making that option only available to a very small number of people didn’t seem right and if she were in that position, she would want to have some control given back to her.
…Warning: “something precious in the deep moral fabric of society will perish”
Paul Vallely, writing in the Church Times, says both sides in the assisted dying debate use an argument about dignity, but “dignity cannot be reduced to a person’s ability to live without pain. It is also conferred by the solidarity of loved ones who offer us physical, emotional, and spiritual support when we are most in need”. He warns that “something precious in the deep moral fabric of society will perish. Intergenerational solidarity will be undermined. So, too, will the relationship between patients and doctors, whose ethics have traditionally bound them, following Hippocrates, to “do no harm” and commit themselves to the “utmost respect for human life from its beginning”.
Other news
Creating Connections between faith groups and the media at Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is the venue for our next Creating Connections event on Thursday, bringing together local media and faith groups to meet, share stories and improve links. Wolves’ emphasis on diversity and inclusion among players, staff and fans mirrors the vision behind the event, that stronger links between different groups strengthens community. This follows a pattern set by the Football Association, which says delivering a game free from discrimination is one of its key priorities and the FA’s head of diversity and inclusion, Dal Darroch, is one of the speakers at the event. Other keynote speakers include the Mayor, Cllr Linda Leach and the Bishop of Wolverhampton, Dr Timothy Wambunya. A media panel with senior journalists from the BBC, ITV and Express and Star will take questions and explain their trade, and representatives from faith communities will pitch their stories to journalists in the room. Details and programme on our website here
Prof Alexis Jay says more CofE leaders must resign after Makin review
Professor Alexis Jay, who led the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse and prepared a report for the Church of England on an independent safeguarding structure, has said that more Church of England leaders who were aware of the John Smyth scandal should resign, following the resignation of the Archbishop of Canterbury. She told Times Radio that the cover-up of John Smyth’s decades of wrongdoing could not be “down to one person”. She said: “Justin Welby and all of those who failed to take action and allowed this appalling criminal behaviour to continue and for so many victims to have been damaged by it is a disgrace. And anyone who feels that should consider their position.”
Penny Mordaunt and Lord Mann to lead antisemitism commission
Jewish News has an exclusive that the former Leader of the Commons Penny Mordaunt and government antisemitism adviser Lord Mann will lead a Board of Deputies Commission looking into the rise of antisemitism in the UK. They will advise Board president Phil Rosenberg, and review hate crime legislation, policing, criminal prosecution, public order and safety. Phil Rosenberg promised to establish the commission during his election campaign and he gave details of its work at a meeting last month. The report says he proposed a review of the failings in civil society since 7 October, “whether in the media, social media universities, workplaces, culture or sport”, and that the Board would make recommendations on how to tackle extremism, whether from Islamist, far right or far left sources, as well as scaling up interfaith work “to inoculate people against hatred and build understanding”.
Catholic women to go on strike in campaign for equality
A new organisation has been set up by Catholic women seeking equality in the church, advocating going on strike from their voluntary work in Lent 2025, work which keeps churches going. Catholic Women Strike: Global Witness for Equality was set up after disappointment that the Rome synod last month, failed to move forward on proposals to allow women deacons, or to advance women’s ordination. Their website says: “We believe the time is ripe to demand what is right … Instead of waiting for a papal ‘yes’, we issue forth our ‘no’ to the systems of misogyny, sexism and patriarchy”. Guardian report here
Violence in Uttar Pradesh over survey of 16th century mosque
Four people have been killed in India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh after violence erupted over a video survey of the 16th century Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal, which is said to have been built on a Hindu temple site. The survey was initiated by the BJP-led Uttar Pradesh government a week ago and tensions had been rising since then, with Muslims protesting they had not been notified in advance of the survey. A second survey on Sunday became violent with cars set ablaze and loud protests outside the mosque. 21 people have been detained and will face charges under the National Security Act. Officials have imposed an internet shutdown and restricted movements. Independent report here
35,000 people of all faiths joined social action projects on Mitzvah Day
Around 35,000 people of all faiths and backgrounds joined Mitzvah Day on Sunday 24 November, to do good deeds across the UK. Billed as Britain’s biggest interfaith day of social action, Jews, Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Baháʼís and people of all religions and none took part in 2,500+ projects encompassing care home visits, cooking for those in need, litter picks, card-writing, park clean-ups, and food bank and winter clothing collections. The theme was “Stronger Together”, demonstrating the way faith groups work alongside each other in the community. Mitzvah Day founder and chair Laura Marks CBE said it was heartening to see political leaders enlist including Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey and London Mayor Sadiq Khan. Many faith leaders joined too including the Bishop of Edmonton Dr Anderson Jeremiah, Progressive Judaism co-lead Rabbi Charley Baginksy and Imam Asim Hafiz, the Islamic religious advisor to the Chief of the Defence Staff.
Caravaggio’s painting of a future pope unveiled in Rome after 400 years
A portrait of Maffeo Barberini, who became Pope Urban VIII in 1623, is on public display for the first time at the National Gallery of Ancient Art, in Palazzo Barberini in Rome. The website “Artnet” explains that the artist Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, was an acquaintance who painted the portrait in 1598 when Barberini was a young man aged 30. The painting was kept within the Barberini family since then, until the estate was sold off in the 1930s. Then it slipped into obscurity in a private collection until an Italian Caravaggio scholar discovered it and published an article. The portrait is on view at the Barberini Palace, Rome until 23 February 2025.
