Pope tells Mass for Peace in Hiroshima: nuclear arms offend shared humanity
On the 80th anniversary of the nuclear bomb on Hiroshima, Pope Leo XIV urged the international community to renew its commitment to pursue lasting peace. In a message to Bishop Alexis Shirama of Hiroshima, read at the Mass for Peace in the city, the Pope said nuclear arms “offend our shared humanity and also betray the dignity of creation, whose harmony we are called to safeguard”. Representatives from120 countries and regions participated in the memorial service with a moment of silence observed at 8:15 a.m, the exact time of the bombing. At the end of the general audience at the Vatican, the Pope said the nuclear attacks were a warning against war and he hoped that the world would replace its false sense of security based on the threat of mutual destruction, with justice, open dialogue, and trust in fraternity. In three days time, the world will also remember the bombing of Nagasaki and the Pope offered prayers for all those who have suffered its physical, psychological, and social consequences.
Gordon Brown: raise gambling tax to lift children from poverty
The former prime minister and chancellor, Gordon Brown, is urging the government to raise tax revenue from gambling and use the proceeds to lift children out of poverty. In an article in The Guardian, he says new thinking is urgent: “I have not seen such deep poverty since I grew up in a mining and textiles town blighted by unemployment”. He continues to advocate for an end to the two-child benefit cap and has taken part in consultations on both child poverty and gambling taxation. He concludes: “Excluding the lottery, betting and gaming was an £11.5bn sector last year that incurred only £2.5bn in tax. As much as £3bn extra can be raised from taxing it properly”. He recommends raising duty on online slots games from 21 to 50 per cent, raising the general betting duty on bookmakers’ profits from 15 to 25 per cent, and raising tax on in-person slot machines from 25 to 50 per cent. He says: “Gambling won’t build our country for the next generation, but children, freed from poverty, will”. The Church Times says he has won support from Lord Rowan Williams who wrote in the Financial Times that “it is an absurdity that high-risk and socially corrosive behaviour should escape demands to contribute to the care of the most vulnerable”.
Nine O’Clock service leader Chris Brain gives evidence in court
Chris Brain, who led the nightclub style Nine O’Clock service at a church in Sheffield in the 1980s and 1990s, has been giving evidence in his trial at the Inner London Crown Court. Now aged 68 and living in Wilmslow, he denies one count of rape and 36 counts of indecent assault on 13 women between 1981 and 1995. Giving evidence for the first time, he denied claims that attractive scantily clad women, “The Lycra Lovelies”, looked after him, his wife and daughter, at their home. He said their clothing was normal for that era. He told the court he had back massages from women in his congregation as a way to relieve tension headaches. When asked why, he replied “Why not?”. He was asked if the massages ever led to sexual activity, he said: “Very rarely, with very close friends it might edge towards that but both parties knew it shouldn’t go there so one of us would pull back and cool down”. He told the jury any touching was with consent. He denied exerting pressure on people, brainwashing them or manipulating them for his sexual desires. He said he borrowed Robert De Niro’s cassock from the film “The Mission”, for his ordination in 1991, because the NOS “loathed” traditional church clothing. He resigned from holy orders after allegations first emerged in the mid-1990s. The NOS collapsed in 1995. BBC report here. The trial continues.
Plan in Cornwall to replace six clergy with two, over 23 churches, meets resistance
A public consultation is underway to re-organise parishes in Cornwall, so that 23 churches in 18 parishes become a single benefice, with two clergy – a rector and a vicar. The “pastoral scheme” is for the Kerrier Deanery, which stretches down to The Lizard and currently has six clergy positions. Historically, each benefice had its own vicar or rector. In order to move forward, the proposed reorganisation requires the approval of the Church Commissioners, who are now inviting public feedback on the matter with a deadline of 15 September. The plan has met resistance from the Save the Parish movement, which has outlined advice for people to fight back on pastoral schemes, saying “The more energetically a pastoral reorganisation is resisted, the more likely the fight back is likely to succeed”. Its plan of action includes uniting the Parish Council, bringing together the whole community not just those who attend church every Sunday, setting up a “Friends” group, and aiming for a large number of objections.
Two opposing views on the new Archbishop of Wales’ appointment
Premier Christianity magazine highlights contrasting views on the election of Cherry Vann as the first openly gay woman Archbishop of Wales. Andrea Williams of Christian Concern calls it a sign the Church in Wales is “celebrating false teaching.” In contrast, Professor Helen King of the General Synod says critics ignore past objections to women in leadership and are now fixated on Vann’s sexuality. She adds that outside conservative circles, the focus is more on Vann’s Welsh language skills than her civil partnership.
Call for Muslims to unite and lead development of AI
Dr Wajid Akhtar, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain, has urged Muslims to unite and lead in AI, warning that missing this revolution would be a historic failure. Speaking at the AI and the Muslim Community conference, he said disunity had cost Muslims their global influence and agency. Referring to Gaza, he said Muslims were “two billion strong but can’t get a bottle of water in,” calling it a wake-up call. He urged proactive leadership and unity to shape AI through Islamic ethics and innovation. His address is here
Spanish town council bans Muslim festivals from public spaces
A council in Jumilla, south-east Spain, has banned Muslims from using public spaces like gyms and civic centres to celebrate Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. The measure bars religious or cultural events “alien to our identity” unless council-run. It’s the first such ban in Spain, passed by the conservative People’s Party, with the left opposing and the far right Vox party abstaining – although after the vote, it celebrated the move, saying, “Spain is and will be forever Christian.” Mounir Benjelloun Azhari, of the Spanish Islamic federation, called it “Islamophobic and discriminatory,” warning of rising hostility. Around 7.5 per cent of Jumilla’s 27,000 residents come from predominantly Muslim countries. Guardian story here
Poor Clare nuns lose legal battle against eviction
A Spanish court has ruled that the former Poor Clare nuns of Belorado must be evicted from the monastery they are illegally occupying. The nuns were excommunicated after they rejected Vatican II and the legitimacy of all Popes since Pius XII in 1958, and then pledged allegiance to an excommunicated bishop, Pablo de Rojas Sánchez-Franco. They were told to leave their monastery but stayed put and took legal action against the decision. But not they have lost the argument and have been ordered to leave by September.
A Bible once owned by Elvis Presley on display in Suffolk church.
A Bible exhibition to mark the centenary of Needham Market Evangelical Church in Suffolk, will feature Elvis Presley’s personal Bible, given to him by a God-fearing uncle and aunt. It has been lent to the church by the Museum of the Book, a collection curated in a strict Baptist church in in East London. His leather-bound, engraved Bible has several notes in his own handwriting, testament to his devout Christian family upbringing in Mississippi. The Bible exhibition will also include one owned by John Bunyan. BBC story here
