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Fri, 24 Jun 2022
Church of England vows not to support assisted dying law
The Church of England is "adamant in its rejection" of calls to legalise assisted dying, its most senior lay official has said.
The Times*
Catholic schools claim NI Office hosted conference excluded them
The body representing Catholic schools has accused the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) of excluding it from an event on Northern Ireland's future. In a speech at the conference, Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis said the UK government was set to do more to promote integrated education.
BBC
Peers call for tighter rules on unregistered faith school regulation
The government warned that unregistered institutions may be able to dodge oversight.
The Jewish Chronicle
Aberdeenshire council sparks controversy by not agreeing definition of Islamophobia
The Tory-LibDem led administration voted to wait until the next council cycle to find an agreement due to concerns of there being "negative consequences of adopting a definition".
The National*
Russian Church criticises British sanctions, as Ukraine war intensifies
The Russian Orthodox Church has criticised the UK's imposition of sanctions on Patriarch Kirill, as religious leaders have continued to exchange bitter accusations over the war in Ukraine.
Church Times*
One in 10 UK parents ‘would never speak to their child about what LGBT means’
A third of UK parents have never spoken to youngsters about what the terms lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender mean – and 10% say they never would.
Metro
‘On trial for blasphemy: the Freethinker’s first editor and offensive cartoons’ – NSS mentioned
NSS council member and historian Bob Forder tells of how The Freethinker's first editor (and later NSS president) George William Foote spent 12 months in prison for publishing 'blasphemous' cartoons and articles.
The Freethinker
‘We must battle to protect non-stun slaughter and infant male circumcision’ say European Jewish leaders
Jews across Europe face a major battle to stop the ban of both circumcision and imports of kosher meat, community leaders have said.
The Jewish Chronicle
Court challenge tests authority of Islamic religious law in Nigeria
A Nigerian court on Thursday reserved judgment on a challenge against sharia law in the mostly Muslim northern state of Kano in a case that will test the authority of Islamic religious law in Africa's most populous country.
Reuters*
Brazil: Child rape victim receives legal abortion after judge’s refusal sparked outrage
An 11-year-old girl who became pregnant after she was raped has finally received a legal abortion after being blocked for weeks by a judge in Brazil.
Express & Star
US: ‘Separation of church and state is crumbling before our eyes’
SCOTUS ruled religious schools should get public funds, and they're about to strip away the right to an abortion. This is not Jefferson's America, says David Rothkopf.
The Daily Beast*
Thu, 23 Jun 2022
Church of England urged 'to recover its confidence in God' amid widespread indifference
Rev Stephen Hance, the CofE's 'national lead for evangelism and witness', made the call following publication of research showing how the CofE is perceived. Among a range of findings, the research showed that "very many people have no real sense of who or what the church is, who it is for, or how it operates."
Christian Today
Oxford college says cancelling Christian event ‘misled’ students
An Oxford college has said that it "misled" students after cancelling a Christian event that had caused "distress".
The Telegraph*
Campaigners say British bill of rights could undermine free speech
Organisations including Index on Censorship condemn government's claim a bill would boost freedom of expression.
The Guardian
Sir Patrick Stewart urges MSPs to back assisted dying in Scotland
Sir Patrick Stewart has urged MSPs to back new legislation that would legalise assisted dying in Scotland.
The Scotsman*
Race and religious hate offences recorded by police hit new high in 2021
The figure is more than two-and-a-half times the total for 2013, when comparable records began.
The Independent
Fears for US woman's life as abortion denied in Malta
Doctors told Andrea Prudente the placenta was partly detached and her pregnancy was no longer viable. But the baby's heart was still beating - and in Malta this means that by law doctors cannot end the pregnancy.
BBC
US Supreme Court: ‘What happens if Roe v Wade overturned?’
The US Supreme Court could be about to open the door for individual states to ban or severely restrict the ability for pregnant women to get abortions.
BBC
US: ‘The Supreme Court just forced Maine to fund religious schools. It won’t stop there.’
Chief Justice John Roberts' opinion has the potential to dismantle secular public education in the United States, says Mark Joseph Stern.
Slate
‘How evangelical leader Franklin Graham pushed a domestic abuse victim to return to her husband’
He asked whether she was cheating on her husband. "It was a good question to ask," Graham said. "I would've asked it again."
The Washington Post*
‘Iranians are saying no to the Islamic Republic’
Thousands of Iranians, angered by worsening economic conditions, have come out on the streets chanting "We don't want an Islamic republic" and "Clerics! Get lost."
Toronto Sun
Wed, 22 Jun 2022
Queen awarded Canterbury Cross by archbishop for ‘unstinting’ service to church
The Queen has been presented in person with a special Canterbury Cross for her "unstinting service" to the Church of England over the last 70 years.
ITV
Number of women and girls travelling to Great Britain for abortions rising
Figures show that 206 women and girls, with address in the Republic of Ireland, sought abortion care, with 161 women and girls travelling from NI.
Belfast Telegraph
‘Anti-poverty’ church spent thousands on luxury flights
A London church which states that it aims to relieve world poverty spent six-figure sums on business class flights and five-star hotels for its leaders, a Charity Commission investigation has found.
The Times*
Sikh TV station surrenders UK broadcast licence over Sikh separatist propaganda
Khalsa Television Limited has surrendered its licence to broadcast in the UK after an investigation by the media watchdog found its KTV channel breached broadcasting rules with Khalistani propaganda.
The Telegraph Online India
‘The Charedi protests against the Schools Bill are a desecration of Jewish values’
It is wrong to defend illegal schools which do not teach even basic English, maths or other vital subjects, says Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain.
The Jewish Chronicle
‘Extremist Muslim groups have skirted round laws and manipulated holes in legislation’
The Shawcross review is vital, as the government needs to wake up, says Fiyaz Mughal.
The Jewish Chronicle
France rules against burkini swimwear for religious reasons
France's top administrative court ruled Tuesday against allowing body-covering "burkini" swimwear in public pools for religious reasons, arguing that it violates the principle of government neutrality toward religion.
The Associated Press
Tunisia will abandon Islam as its state religion in new draft constitution
Tunisian President Kais Saied confirmed Tuesday that a draft constitution to be put to a referendum on July 25 will not enshrine Islam as the 'religion of the state'.
Mail Online
US: Supreme Court OKs use of public money for religious instruction
The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that state programs providing money for public school tuition cannot exclude schools that offer religious instruction.
NBC News
In Venezuela, priests convicted of abuse have returned to ministry
Clergy who sexually abused children have served little or no time. Critics fault both the Church and the judicial system.
The Washington Post*
Tue, 21 Jun 2022
Christian charity says death of Archie Battersbee should be 'determined by God'
The time and manner of the death of a 12-year-old boy on life support "should be determined by God" and not a judge, the Christian charity representing his family has said.
ITV
Council's closure warning to Hendon Chasidic Jewish school
A Chasidic boys' school in Hendon has been warned by Barnet Council that it faces closure in July next year as it is does not have the required planning permission.
The Jewish Chronicle
UK lawyers gather evidence for action against countries over Yazidi genocide
The lawyers, who formally announced their collaboration as the Yazidi Justice Committee (YJC) on Tuesday, have been working over the past two and a half years to investigate the genocide committed from early 2013 by Islamic State.
The Guardian
‘It is not anti-Muslim to denounce extremism’
Lumping critics and reformers with the far right will only impede movements against radical Islam, says Melanie Phillips.
The Times*
‘Women are treated like walking incubators’: Malta’s fight for abortion
The island nation is the only country in the EU in which termination is still illegal under any circumstances, forcing women to have the procedure abroad or else risk prosecution. But women's rights groups are pushing for change.
The Guardian
US: Anti-abortion group’s ‘model bill’ will criminalise websites, hotlines and any American who ‘aids or abets’ a termination
A sweeping proposal from the National Right to Life Committee – the nation's largest anti-abortion group – intends to serve as model legislation for states to adopt as the US Supreme Court prepares to rule in a case that could upend abortion protections across the country.
The Independent
‘The rise of Christian Nationalism’
Christian Nationalism is the idea that America is defined by Christianity. This idea has been around as long as America itself, but until the mid-20th century, many evangelicals saw themselves as being above, or at least separate to, mainstream society.
Unherd
India’s government cuts Muslim rulers from Indian history books
India's Hindu-nationalist government is removing references in school textbooks to Muslim rulers who dominated the country for centuries, in an apparent effort to play down their achievements, an investigation has found.
The Times*
Lawyers call on intl court to investigate Uyghur treatment
Lawyers on Monday renewed calls for the International Criminal Court to open an investigation into China's treatment of Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim groups in China's Xinjiang region as they presented a dossier of evidence to prosecutors.
The Associated Press
Japan: Osaka court rules ban on same-sex marriage constitutional
Japan's ban on same-sex marriages does not violate the constitution, a district court in Osaka has ruled.
BBC
Mon, 20 Jun 2022
Church in Midlothian calls transgender people an 'abomination'
A church in Midlothian is distributing thousands of leaflets which promote homophobic and anti-abortion views.
The National*
European Court of Human Rights rejects challenge to London Charedi housing group
The European Court of Human Rights has rejected a challenge to the right of a London housing association to restrict places to members of the Orthodox Jewish community.
The Jewish Chronicle
UK asylum plan defended by Rwandan Anglican archbishop
Rwanda's Anglican Archbishop says he disagrees with senior Church of England leaders over the UK's asylum plan.
BBC
Almost 100 pupils in wait for school place in Northern Ireland
Around a third are pupils who nominated an integrated school as their first choice, fuelling calls for a greater support for integrated education in Northern Ireland.
Belfast Telegraph
The Jehovah’s Witness scandal: ‘I said, “He's a paedophile.” The elders mumbled, “Yes, we know”’
A new Telegraph podcast investigates the inside story of child sexual abuse in this close religious community.
The Telegraph*
‘Pagans take action to detoxify their brand’
Pagans in the UK are stepping up their efforts to rid their religion from the taint of far-right extremism, Abigail Frymann Rouch reports.
The Times*
Brussels regional parliament votes against non-stun slaughter ban
The attempt to ban non-stun slaughter followed a ruling by Belgium's Constitutional Court to uphold a European Court of Justice decision that EU member states can ban slaughter without pre-stunning.
The Jewish Chronicle
Lithuanian bishops call for scrapping of same-sex partnership bill
Lithuanian bishops have called on politicians to vote down proposed same-sex partnership legislation, quoting words used by Pope Francis to argue that civil unions distort the concept of marriage and family.
Reuters*
Number of Americans who believe in God dips to new low
Belief in God among US adults has reached a new low, according to Gallup poll results released Friday.
The Hill
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