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Mon, 29 Nov 2021
Train conductor who said he didn't want to live in 'alcohol-free caliphate' wins unfair dismissal claim
A railway conductor who celebrated pubs reopening after lockdown by saying we cannot live in an 'alcohol-free caliphate' to beat Covid has won an unfair dismissal claim.
Mail Online
Retired cleric jailed for 19 years for sex crimes
A retired clergyman has been jailed for up to 19 years, after he was convicted of a series of non-recent sexual-abuse offences.
Church Times*
Father Robert Mackenzie: Abuse charges against retired priest dropped
Scotland's prosecution service has dropped its case against an 87-year-old retired priest extradited from Canada on historical child abuse charges.
BBC
Mosque leader denies telling congregation that 'jihad is compulsory'
A mosque leader, 53, who lost two sons in the war in Syria has denied encouraging terrorism after he was allegedly filmed telling his congregation that 'jihad is compulsory'.
Mail Online
Manchester Arena Inquiry: Bomber's brother will be arrested on return
The brother of the Manchester Arena bomber will be arrested and brought to give evidence to the attack inquiry if he returns to the UK, a judge has said.
BBC
Ministers are warned using the word ‘Christmas’ in jab drive will offend minorities
Civil servants have blocked the word 'Christmas' from efforts to avert a winter Covid crisis, as they fear it would offend minority religions.
Mail Online
‘Gay and Muslim: Family wanted to “make me better”’
When Asad came out as gay in 2020, some family members discussed taking him to see an imam to make him "better".
BBC
Australia: Man offered $3.7m settlement by Catholic Church over sexual abuse ‘sets precedent’
Robert Friscic has been awarded a record settlement by the Catholic Church of $3.7 million for historical sexual abuse.
ABC News
Pakistani police arrest four for ‘blasphemy’ over mosque argument
Four Muslim men accused of blasphemy after arguing with religious cleric who refused to make funeral announcement for a Christian.
Al Jazeera
‘Interfaith love at risk amid India’s Hindu nationalist surge’
The "love jihad" issue has pitted the BJP against secular activists who warn it undermines constitutional guarantees of religious freedom and puts Muslims in the crosshairs of hard-line Hindu nationalists.
The Independent
Fri, 26 Nov 2021
‘Don’t give the confessional exemptions from mandatory reporting’ – NSS president
NSS president Keith Porteous Wood responds to a piece in The Tablet which defended preserving the secrecy of the Catholic confessional amid mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse.
The Tablet*
Jersey approves principle of legalising assisted dying
Jersey politicians have approved the principle of legalising assisted dying in the island.
BBC
Ireland: Redress scheme announced for mother-and-baby home victims
The Irish government has announced a redress scheme to compensate women and children who went through the country's notorious mother and baby homes, which were mostly operated by religious orders.
The Tablet*
Ireland: Bishop accuses Labour TD of 'almost inciting hatred' on schools patronage issue
The Bishop of Waterford and Lismore has accused a Labour Party member of parliament of "almost inciting hatred" for suggesting religious patronage should be removed from schools.
Irish Examiner
Same-sex marriage backed by Chile’s MPs
Chile's parliament is on course to legalise same-sex marriage, four years after the reform was first proposed and despite the country's conservative reputation among religious Latin American nations.
The Times*
Australia: Teacher claims she was fired for being gay – saying the school wouldn't accept
An Anglican teacher claims she was fired from her Christian school because she is gay, and more like her will lose their jobs under new laws.
Mail Online
Australia: 'Pastafarians' claim protection under religious discrimination laws
The Government's long awaited religious discrimination bill has been labelled 'absurd' because it may offer protection for adherents of 'parody' religions, like the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
ABC
Give up sex, say priest and psychologist to young LGBTQ in Guatemala
Therapist linked to Catholic US group Courage International prescribes 'chastity' in anti-gay session, investigation reveals.
openDemocracy
‘The sinister attempt to silence a Yazidi survivor’
Nervousness about even discussing Islamist terrorism is becoming increasingly common, particularly in Britain, says Tom Slater.
The Spectator*
Thu, 25 Nov 2021
Ireland: Activists demand ban on sex being taught with a religious ethos
Reform of sex education in classrooms cannot happen until schools are forbidden from teaching it in line with religious ethos, the chairman of Atheist Ireland has said.
The Times*
‘Sex education must be reformed so all kids in Ireland are taught in same way without input from religion’
Social Democrats Education Spokesperson Gary Gannon has launched new legislation to reform the way Children's Relationship and Sexuality Education (RSE) is taught.
The Irish Sun
‘Rogues or idiots’: Justin Welby condemns TV portrayal of clergy
Archbishop of Canterbury says vicars are 'hard-working, normal people' rather than 'depressing' depictions seen in TV dramas.
The Guardian
Jewish independent faith school downgraded over lack of knowledge of other faiths
A Gateshead boys' primary school has been downgraded by Ofsted because pupils knew too little about other faiths and cultures.
The Jewish Chronicle
Australia: LGBTQ advocates blast religious discrimination bill
Australia has introduced a new controversial bill aimed at protecting religious people from "cancel culture".
BBC
Students at Washington’s Catholic University of America seek to remove George Floyd Jesus
Students at a Catholic university are petitioning to remove a "heretical" painting that depicts George Floyd as Jesus.
The Times*
US: ‘After a Catholic priest has a student remove her gay pride shirt, classmates step up to support her’
The Archdiocese of Baltimore defended the action of the St. Francis of Assisi Church and School, saying the tee shirt's imagery opposes Church teachings.
Baltimore Brew
‘The female imams taking over an LA mosque’
While many have misinterpreted a hadith to mean women can't enter a mosque, these women are covering progressive topics like sexual violence, abortion, pregnancy loss, domestic violence in their sermons, says Amel Brahmi.
The Guardian
‘Why is Spain's Catholic Church refusing an independent investigation into sex abuse claims?’
Activists are calling for an independent probe into alleged sexual abuse in Spain's Catholic Church.
Euronews
India: ‘Fear and hope after anti-Muslim violence’
The Chamtila mosque is surrounded by both Hindu and Muslim homes but most people prefer to stay indoors after more than 10 incidents of religious violence were reported from the district of North Tripura in October.
BBC
Wed, 24 Nov 2021
Integrated education needs more political support, says report
Politicians "need to step out from behind their respective flags" if there is to be radical change to Northern Ireland's school system. That is according to a new Ulster University briefing paper on the differences between shared and integrated education.
BBC
Protests held as anti-LGBT Christian group invites MPs to pro-conversion therapy conference
A group, who recruit therapists offering 'support to people with unwanted same-sex attraction', has invited MPs to the all-day conference.
iNews
Man who 'wakes up screaming' after family used conversion therapy calls for ban
A 23-year-old man is urging the Scottish Government to criminalise the treatment after his own family used it on him in a bid to force him to change his sexuality.
Daily Record
Teacher embroiled in Birmingham LGBT protests calls for better education
A teacher who was involved in the LGBT protests in Birmingham has called for better education in diversity to be rolled out in schools.
ITV
Met Police to get training in spotting child abuse linked to witchcraft
Witchcraft beliefs have been linked to the torture and murder of children including Victoria Climbie, who died in north London in February 2000.
BBC
Manchester Arena Inquiry: Bomber's brother had IS material
The Manchester Arena bomber's elder brother had a "significant" amount of extremist material when he was teaching at a mosque, an inquiry has heard.
BBC
Arlene Foster ‘annoyed’ by advice to leave religion out of politics
The former First Minister Arlene Foster has expressed her annoyance about the common refrain that religion should be taken out of politics.
Belfast Telegraph
US: ‘The best person to rape is your wife,’ says Bronx pastor
In a sermon about wifely submission, the pastor of a New York City Seventh-day Adventist Church went on to suggest that husbands may rape their wives.
Religion News Service
Canada school board cancels book club event with Yazidi Nobel laureate
The Toronto District School Board has withdrawn its support for a book club event with Yazidi Nobel Peace Prize winner Nadia Murad, fearing it could "offend" Muslim students.
The Print
Australia: Primary school cuts in-class scripture lessons after complaints from parents
The principal said a survey showed the majority of parents did not support the lessons.
ABC News
Tue, 23 Nov 2021
Jewish school that listed only white ethnicity options told to change application form – NSS mentioned
A Jewish faith school whose application form listed the only options to a question on ethnic background to be "white" has been told to revise its entry rules.
The Jewish Chronicle
NI: Christianity being 'wrongly promoted and privileged in the classroom' court hears
Religious education within Northern Ireland's schools involves an unlawful and exclusive "proselytising" of Christianity, the High Court has heard.
The Irish News*
Shamima Begum makes new call to return to UK
Shamima Begum has made fresh calls to return to the UK and has claimed "there is no plan B" if the British Government does not reverse its position and reinstate her citizenship.
iNews
'Wait a second, am I in a cult?'
There are believed to be as many as 2,000 suspected cults currently operating in the UK and many of them recruit students.
BBC
Assisted dying: 'I wish my wife had been allowed to end her life'
Leighanne Baird-Sangster says her wife, Gill, suffered a prolonged, painful death. She is now "a big supporter" of allowing terminally ill adults to choose to end their lives with assistance from doctors.
BBC
A trip to Switzerland in search of a good death: ‘All this instead of just doing it in Brighton’
Not all of us are ready to hold a party at a deathbed, but perhaps we can at least listen to people who are desperately ready for life to stop, says Charlotte Naughton.
The Guardian
Jersey States to decide whether or not to introduce assisted dying
The proposition is being debated after a citizens jury agreed overwhelmingly to recommend the law should be changed to allow assisted dying.
ITV
Irish teacher: ‘The Catholic Flourish Programme is denying children their bodily autonomy’
I'm not anti-religion but the Flourish Programme is indoctrinating our children against our Constitution, writes Jennifer Horgan.
Irish Examiner
Filipino megachurch founder forced girls and young women into sex, telling them it was ‘God’s will,’ feds say
Between 2002 and 2018, Apollo Carreon Quiboloy — the founder of a Philippines-based megachurch — and his accomplices recruited women and girls as young as 12 to work as Quiboloy's personal assistants, or "pastorals," prosecutors said.
The Washington Post*
US: ‘How anti-abortion advocates are pushing local bans, city by small city’
Across Ohio, tactics pioneered in Texas are being deployed in disruptive city council meetings.
The Guardian
Mon, 22 Nov 2021
Catholic church officer on board of anti-abortion charity
A senior member of the Scottish Catholic church sits on the board of an anti-abortion charity, whose Belfast branch once peddled falsehoods about terminations leading to breast cancer, it can be revealed.
The Times*
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