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Fri, 16 Nov 2018
NSS criticises use of non-stunned meat in Bradford schools
The NSS, and other groups, have criticised the serving of non-stunned halal meat in schools run by Bradford's local council.
Telegraph & Argus
DfE announces funding for fully religiously selective schools
The Department for Education is backing the creation of new VA schools, which can select all pupils on the basis of faith, with money diverted from the free-schools budget.
Tes
Charity Commission to review 'gay conversion' allegations into two charities
The Charity Commission is looking into two charitable organisations, exposed by ITV News this week, which claim people can change their sexuality.
ITV News
Government considers mandatory reporting duty over forced marriage
The government is consulting over plans to create a mandatory reporting duty for teachers, doctors, nurses and social workers in relation to forced marriage.
Tes
Three in 10 teachers deliver RSE with no training
Three in ten teachers deliver relationships and sex education classes with no training, a survey has found. It also found that 21% lacked confidence in making the curriculum LGBT inclusive.
Tes
Man jailed for church and temple fires in Edinburgh
A man with "issues" with God and religion who started fires at two places of worship in Edinburgh within minutes of each other has been jailed for four years.
BBC
Greek PM presents 15-point disestablishment plan
The Greek prime minister has made a lucrative offer to separate church from state after almost 200 years. Anthee Carassava asks whether the clergy will take the bait.
The Times (£)
Candidate backed by ultra-Orthodox Jewish groups elected Jerusalem mayor
A candidate backed by ultra-Orthodox Jewish groups has been elected mayor of Jerusalem by a narrow margin.
Mail Online
Malaysian deputy PM defends FGM
Malaysia's deputy prime minister Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who is also the country's women's minister, has said female genital mutilation is part of the country's culture.
Yahoo News
LGBT advocates raise concerns over acting US attorney general
Matthew Whitaker, now the most powerful law enforcement official in the US, has a public record spanning more than a decade. A number of LGBT+ advocates have expressed concern.
NBC News
Thu, 15 Nov 2018
NSS raises concerns over rising numbers at church school services
The NSS has said a "rapid rise" in the number of children being taken to Church of England school services should prompt "a separation of church and school".
Tes
Council in West Yorkshire confirms it supplies non-stun halal meat to schools – NSS quoted
Non-stunned halal meat is being served to schoolchildren in Kirklees, the council has confirmed. The council's cabinet member for schools has attempted to justify its position. NSS campaigns officer Megan Manson rejected his explanation.
Examiner Live
Attendance at Church of England’s Sunday services falls again
The number of people attending the Church of England's Sunday services fell again last year, continuing a trend seen over recent decades.
The Guardian
PM expresses ‘concern’ for Asia Bibi’s safety but doesn’t offer asylum
Theresa May has expressed "concern" over the safety of Asia Bibi, who faces death threats after being acquitted of blasphemy in Pakistan, but stopped short of offering her sanctuary in the Commons yesterday.
Daily Mail
Welby praises Prince Charles’s political lobbying in Lords on Charles’s 70th birthday
The archbishop of Canterbury has praised the prince of Wales's "prophetic instincts" in a House of Lords debate to mark the heir to the throne's 70th birthday.
Mail Online
Woman sues doctor who told her she was possessed by demons and needed exorcism
A woman who says she was left traumatised after months of religious grooming by her doctor has launched a High Court bid for damages.
Birmingham Live
Cathedral in Lancashire launches its own gin
Blackburn Cathedral will this week launch a cathedral-branded gin.
Lancashire Post
Police ‘suffer most sectarian abuse’ in Scotland
Police officers are the most common victims of religiously aggravated crimes in Scotland while Roman Catholics are the most targeted faith group, according to a report.
The Times (£)
'Is India waging a 'war' on Islamic names?'
To appease its Hindu nationalist base, Narendra Modi's ruling BJP appears to have embarked on a new renaming frenzy. The sites which have changed their names include railway stations and cities.
BBC
‘A year after its same-sex marriage vote, Australia is a better place’
Tim Wilson says Australians should celebrate 12 months on from its postal survey on marriage equality.
Sydney Morning Herald
US Catholic Church hit with two national lawsuits by sex abuse victims
Two groups of victims of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy members have launched simultaneous lawsuits against the US conference of Catholic bishops, with one class-action suit also naming the Holy See as a defendant.
The Washington Post
‘The Catholic Church is embroiled in a hell of its own making’
Elizabeth Bruenig says US Catholic bishops and the Vatican have failed to deal with the sexual abuse crisis.
The Washington Post
Wed, 14 Nov 2018
Britain's top Catholic criticised by abuse victims as he misses inquiry
Britain's most senior Catholic has missed a scheduled appearance at the inquiry into historic child sex abuse in his former archdiocese of Birmingham.
Sky News
Survivors accuse Catholic Church and police of 'covering up' decades of child sexual abuse
Harrowing details of violent and sexual abuse at the hands of Roman Catholic priests in the Midlands have been revealed at the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.
ITV News
Foreign Office 'allowed Pakistan mob to dictate Asia Bibi asylum case'
The Foreign Office has been accused of allowing government asylum policy to be dictated to by a mob in Pakistan. The criticism comes after it was confirmed the Foreign Office urged the Home Office not to grant Asia Bibi political asylum in the UK out of fear for the safety of UK consular staff.
The Guardian
Vatican orders US bishops to delay taking action on sexual abuse crisis
The Vatican has told the US Conference of Catholic Bishops to delay voting on measures to hold bishops accountable for failing to protect children from sexual abuse, the president of the conference has said.
CNN
‘Blasphemy laws: an excuse for persecution’
This editorial calls for the repeal of blasphemy laws where they still exist.
The New York Times
‘Imran Khan’s treatment of Asia Bibi is a dangerous betrayal’
Samira Shackle says Imran Khan's words on the Asia Bibi case will be empty if he cedes ground to the mob demanding her punishment.
The Guardian
‘Asia Bibi case shows the danger of courting religious extremists’
Rahila Gupta says the religious right's ability to rouse a rabble has given it a disproportionate and vicious grip on what's left of democracy in Pakistan.
CNN
India's Supreme Court to review removal of ban on women entering Hindu temple
India's top court has agreed to review a ruling that removed a ban on women of menstruating age from entering a prominent Hindu temple, following widespread protests against the decision.
The Independent
Woman declared an ‘apostate’ is arrested for ‘mocking Islam’ in the Maldives
A woman who lived away from the Maldives for several years has been arrested on her return. Aishath Velezinee is accused of "mocking Islam and leaving the principles of Islam".
Maldives Independent
‘I don’t want to tell children they are sinners in Ireland’s schools’
Barry O'Rourke says many Irish educators are obliged to promote faith because 90% of the country's primary schools are Catholic.
The Irish Times
‘The price Australia pays for decades of school funding based on religion’
Ross Gittins says when Catholics put the frighteners on, politicians on both sides of Australia's divide get weak-kneed.
Brisbane Times
Signer Zayn Malik says he’s no longer a Muslim
Singer Zayn Malik, a former member of the band One Direction, has officially broken up with Islam, according to an interview published in the December issue of Vogue.
Patheos
Tue, 13 Nov 2018
Catholic Church covered up risk posed by abuser for decades – NSS vice-president quoted
A Roman Catholic archdiocese was apparently aware of a priest's sexual abuse but did not report it for decades. A week-long series of hearings at the IICSA inquiry is examining the archdiocese of Birmingham's response to allegations made against four priests. Richard Scorer, a lawyer at the hearings who is also an NSS vice-president, is quoted.
BBC
Undercover investigation exposes UK church that claims God can fix gay people
Winners' Chapel, a large Pentecostal church in London, has been accused of offering so-called "gay cure" therapy, allegedly telling homosexual worshippers that they are "under the control of Satan". In 2014 the church was set to open a school until the NSS intervened and the Department for Education blocked the application.
ITV News
National Trust tells properties to stop dropping BC and AD
The National Trust has warned against ditching the traditional terms "before Christ" and "anno domini" after one of its flagship properties started using alternative terms.
The Telegraph
Christian group slams Scotland’s new LGBT-inclusive teaching policy – NSS quoted
The Christian Institute has reacted angrily to the news that Scotland has embedded LGBTI inclusion in its curriculum. Meanwhile NSS chief executive Stephen Evans warned that religious groups could try to sabotage the policy.
Patheos
Primary school pupils should be taught what it means to be LGBT, Royal College of Paediatricians says
Primary school children should be taught what it means to be lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, leading doctors say.
The Telegraph
Boris Johnson is latest MP to call on Britain to give Asia Bibi sanctuary
Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson has become the latest MP to call on the UK to grant Asia Bibi, who has faced death threats from Islamist mobs in Pakistan, asylum.
The Sun
BBC faces renewed calls to open Thought for the Day to humanists
More than 30 prominent humanists who are making a fresh appeal to the BBC to open up Radio 4's Thought for the Day to non-religious voices.
The Guardian
Islamic centre in East Sussex applies for extension of hours
A religious centre in Bexhill-on-Sea in Sussex is asking the local authority to lift a restriction on the hours it can open for worship. Some residents have said the change will exacerbate parking problems in the area.
Bexhill-On-Sea Observer
Stealing lead from a church roof ‘should be hate crime’, says head of security firm
Stealing lead from a church's roof should be treated as an anti-Christian hate crime, according to the head of National Churchwatch, an independent business that advises parishes.
The Times (£)
Twitter warns Pakistan rights activists over government criticism
Two Pakistani rights activists said on Monday they had been warned by Twitter about objectionable content on the social media network.
Reuters
‘China’s mass incarceration of Muslims cannot be left unchallenged’
Timothy Grose calls for a united voice of disapproval in the face of appalling abuses of the Uighur people.
The Guardian
Japanese citizens to file suit against new emperor's enthronement rites
At least 120 people are planning to file a lawsuit to stop the Japanese government from using taxpayers' money for rituals to mark the enthronement of a new emperor next year.
The Mainichi
Mon, 12 Nov 2018
NSS calls for Scottish sex ed curriculum to be LGBT-inclusive
The NSS has called for children to be taught about safe homosexual sex in Scotland regardless of the religious affiliation of schools. The call comes after the Scottish government made a commitment to LGBTI inclusion.
The Times (£)
Church of England dominates Remembrance Sunday on 100th anniversary of armistice
Remembrance services have taken place across the UK to mark yesterday's 100th anniversary of the armistice. The Church of England led the annual service at the Cenotaph. Prince Charles and Theresa May gave religious readings in a service at Westminster Abbey.
BBC
MP who backs jailing gay people for life welcomed to Downing Street
A Ugandan MP who has used religion to justify her push for virulently anti-gay measures was welcomed to Downing Street and spoke in the Commons chamber last week.
Mirror
Asia Bibi 'not offered UK asylum amid concerns of unrest and attacks'
Britain has not offered asylum to a Pakistani Christian woman freed after eight years on death row for blasphemy because of fear it would prompt "unrest" in the UK and attacks on embassies, her supporters say.
The Telegraph
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