The next prime minister ‘needs a clear moral compass’
Churches across the UK must support and encourage the new prime minister to find a new moral compass for the country, the Bishop of Manchester said after Boris Johnson’s resignation yesterday.
Bishop David Walker told a Religion Media Centre conference it was important for the churches to speak out regularly on issues of public interest, but that there was “a proper place for giving advice and having conversations in private as well as in public”.
John Arnold, the Catholic Bishop of Salford, suggested a new PM provided the churches with the opportunity of returning to “that sense of honesty and transparency in what happens in parliament”. He added: “We’ve got to speak out about the importance of truth in all things, but we have to be sure that there are those structures in place by which people are held to account if there is a question that there is untruth, that people are lying, that people are covering things up.”
Full report here
360,000 leave scandal-hit German Catholic church
Thousands of worshippers are leaving the Catholic church in Germany, as it faces a “deep crisis” caused by internal scandals. Figures released by the German Bishops’ Conference — calculated by numbers of Catholics paying a compulsory church tax — reveal that 359,338 worshippers left in 2021.
Bishop of Limburg Georg Bätzing, the conference chairman, said: “I am deeply shattered at the extremely high number of Catholics who have left. We are … getting more and more feedback that Catholics who were committedly engaged in their parishes are leaving. We must re-explain ourselves in terms of what we do and why we do so.” The Tablet report here
Sacked Muslim MP confronts Commons leader
A former transport minister who claimed she was sacked for being a Muslim has publicly confronted Mark Spencer, the leader of the House of Commons, whom she blames for losing her the job. Yesterday, Nusrat Ghani confronted Mr Spencer, a former chief whip who was under investigation for his part in her sacking, during his weekly business statement in the Commons.
Ms Ghani asked: “Does the leader of the house agree with the prime minister, that if a complaint is raised against a member of parliament that is so grave that it triggers an investigation, that member of parliament or minister should not be promoted or continue on the front bench.” Mr Spencer admits he spoke to Ms Ghani in January about why she was being sacked, but has always denied saying her “Muslim woman minister status was making colleagues feel uncomfortable”. Mirror report here
‘Cranmer bonds’ to raise £500m for CofE
Three investment banks are reportedly being consulted about plans by the Church Commissioners to raise half a billion pounds through the its first issue of investment bonds. J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley and the Bank of America are said to have been hired by the commissioners to begin conversations with potential investors, the Church Times reports. No one from the commissioners was available to confirm details, but it has been widely reported in the financial media, with reference to “Cranmer bonds” — named after Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury under King Henry VIII and leader of the English Reformation.
Time to stop online abuse of women
A climate of intimidation against women on social media must be addressed, says Laura Marks, co-founder of the Nisa-Nashim interfaith group. Speaking at a fringe meeting of the International Ministerial Forum on Freedom of Religion and Belief in London, Ms Marks said online abuse deterred people generally, but particularly women, from getting involved in the interfaith discussions.
The meeting, hosted by the Board of Deputies of British Jews, also included speeches by president Marie van der Zyl, MP Dame Margaret Hodge, and Jemma Levene of Hope not Hate. Dame Margaret described the impact of being subjected to 90,000 online posts, most of them hostile and anonymous, in a two-month period. Full report here
Eid cards to relieve water poverty
An online charity supporting the relief of water and period poverty has issued a set of digital greetings cards to celebrate Eid Al-Adha. The cards to mark the start of the Muslim festival, which runs from tomorrow to Wednesday, are available on the Hope Spring charity website. Abdulwasiu Abdulraheem, a member of its volunteer social media team posted: “People often look for new ways to make Eid as joyous for their family and friends as they possibly can. An ecard combines a personalised message with a donation to a good cause.”
