-
'In the Media' is available in your inbox as part of our our daily media briefing. Subscribe today.
* = Registration may be required to read the article
Fri, 18 Jun 2021
‘Why do religious groups that spout vile views while doing no public good get charitable status?’ – NSS quoted
Andrew Penman questions why a religious organisation with "barking" and "repugnant" views has become a registered charity. NSS chief executive Stephen Evans is quoted.
Daily Mirror
Manchester Arena Inquiry: Bomber 'should have been identified as a threat'
Manchester Arena suicide bomber Salman Abedi should have been identified as a threat on the night of the atrocity by those in charge of security, a public inquiry into the 2017 attack has found.
BBC
Inner House refuses asylum appeal by Pakistani student who claimed to be at risk because of his homosexuality
A Pakistani man who claimed he was at risk of persecution for being gay if he was deported has lost his appeal against a Lord Ordinary's decision not to allow him an appeal against the decision of an immigration tribunal.
Scottish Legal News
EU to investigate Hungary over sex education law
The EU has opened an investigation into whether Hungary's new law banning the "promotion" of homosexuality in schools breaches European law.
The Times*
Poland told to ‘annul’ abhorrent ‘LGBT-free’ zones by Council of Europe
The council's Congress of Local and Regional Authorities gathered on Wednesday to adopt a resolution condemning the "rising anti-LGBTI hate speech and discrimination" sweeping across Poland.
Pink News
US: Supreme Court siding with anti-LGBT+ foster agency is actually ‘good news’, experts say
The Supreme Court Fulton v Philadelphia ruling, which found that a Catholic foster agency can legally turn away same-sex couples, "does not create a license to discriminate", according to rights organisations.
Pink News
North Carolina’s 20-week abortion ban is unconstitutional, court affirms
North Carolina's decades-old ban on abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy is unconstitutional and poses a credible threat of prosecution to abortion providers, a federal appeals court unanimously affirmed Wednesday.
The Washington Post*
Baker fined for refusing to make transgender transition cake
A Colorado baker who won a partial victory at the U.S. Supreme Court in 2018 for refusing to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple violated the state's anti-discrimination law by refusing to make a birthday cake for a transgender woman, a state judge has ruled.
The Associated Press
Saudi man accused of participating in Shia Muslim rebellion executed
Saudi Arabia executed a young man Tuesday who was convicted on charges stemming from his alleged participation in an anti-government rebellion by minority Shiites.
The Associated Press
Thu, 17 Jun 2021
‘Church charity is mass of malignance’ – NSS quoted
A religious organisation has managed to become a registered charity despite preaching some repugnant views. One of its publications implies women who dress in a way that is "pleasing to the eyes of men" are to blame if they are raped. NSS chief executive Stephen Evans is quoted.
Daily Mirror (via PressReader)
Matt Hancock calls for more data on end-of-life care and assisted dying
The health secretary has endorsed the idea of setting up a "What Works" centre to gather evidence on the quality of palliative care in the UK and inform debate around assisted dying.
Express and Star
C of E investigates possible slave trade origins of £9.2bn fund
The Church of England is to investigate possible slave trade links to an 18th-century endowment that has grown into a £9.2bn investment fund supporting parishes and cathedrals across the country.
The Guardian
Two pupils suspended after ‘ripping up Quran’ in front of classmates
Anti-terrorism police are now investigating after the two separate incidents at Fulwood Academy in Preston last week.
The Sun
‘I’m not dying without a fight’: Nigerian man who fled home because being gay is a crime
Victor Iringere endured conversion therapy, exorcisms, and a brush with death before he sought UK asylum in 2017 with the hope of living life freely as a gay man.
Metro
Ireland: Former Belvedere College pupils claim priest assaulted them
A number of former pupils of Belvedere College in Dublin have alleged that a priest who taught at the fee-paying secondary school assaulted them in the late 1970s and 1980s.
TheJournal.ie
French teachers to get training on religion after Paty beheading
French education minister Jean-Michel Blanquer is to introduce training for teachers and principals on the place of religion in schools after a new report revealed confusion and fear among teachers, exacerbated by the beheading of school teacher Samuel Paty in October 2020.
RFI
China ‘alters census data to show Uighurs thriving’
Beijing has sought to rebut allegations of genocide against the country's Uighur population by issuing new census numbers that claim its Muslim minority has grown by 16 per cent over the past decade.
The Times*
‘Why the Supreme Court may be poised to deliver the religious right a big victory’
A case on whether a Catholic-run foster care services provider can turn away same-sex couples under the First Amendment's guarantee of the free exercise of religion could deliver a major victory for the religious right, says Kimberly Winston.
FiveThirtyEight
‘Catholic Church response to sexual abuse must centre on survivor well-being, not defensiveness’
In light of the recent discovery of 215 Indigenous children in unmarked graves at a former Catholic-run residential school in British Columbia and investigations at other former residential schools, there have been renewed calls for the Pope to apologise for residential schools and for the Catholic Church to release its records.
The Conversation
Wed, 16 Jun 2021
Government delays over whether to continue at home early abortions ‘making women confused and fearful’
Leading healthcare providers have repeatedly called for the option to have at home early abortions, which were rolled out in the wake of lockdown measures in spring 2020, to be made permanent.
The Independent
Primary school pupils should learn about white privilege, says RE teachers' organisation
Lessons should introduce children aged 8-11 to the "key concept" of white privilege, described as invisible benefits that society affords to people "because of their whiteness", according to the National Association of Teachers of Religious Education (NATRE).
The Telegraph*
‘Canon law misfiring’
In a letter, Neil Barber criticises the Vatican's "revision" of canon law which says that penalties for child sexual abuse must be reduced if the perpetrator was drunk, acting in the heat of passion, or was "gravely and unjustly" provoked.
Edinburgh Evening News*
Ireland: Wicklow school not alone in rejecting Catholic sex education programme campaigners say
At least three Catholic ethos primary schools are said to have 'rejected' a controversial new sex education programme.
NewsTalk
Religion in Ireland’s schools: 'My son was upset - a friend told him he wasn't going to heaven'
The lack of choice in Ireland's public primary education system is having a profound impact on many families, religious or not, according to parents and educators.
The Journal
Ireland: Retired member of religious order seeks to block his trial on child sex abuse charges
A retired member of a Catholic religious order is seeking a High Court order preventing his trial on charges of child sexual abuse dating back to the 1960s from going ahead.
The Journal
Hungary passes law banning LGBT content in schools or kids’ TV
Hungary's parliament has passed a law banning gay people from featuring in school educational materials or TV shows for under-18s, as Viktor Orbán's ruling party intensified its campaign against LGBT rights.
The Guardian
‘French Muslims pay heavy price in COVID pandemic’
According to one study based on official data, excess deaths in 2020 among French residents born in mainly Muslim North Africa were twice as high as among people born in France.
Reuters
Florida governor signs bill requiring moment for school prayer
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday signed a bill into law that would require public schools in his state to set aside at least one minute of silence for children to meditate or pray.
The Associated Press
Australia: ‘Anglican church must rethink doctrine that has left a trail of devastated lives’
We have a long way to go before our churches have any hope of being safe places for victims and survivors of family violence, says Jane, a domestic violence survivor and former wife of an Anglican minister.
The Sydney Morning Herald
Tue, 15 Jun 2021
Boy taken from Muslim parents should not be circumcised now – judge
Mr Justice Cobb says a decision about circumcision should be deferred until the 21-month-old boy is older and able to 'make his own choice'.
Evening Standard
Government condemns Catholic school sex education resource which says men are ‘initiators’ of sex
Schools minister Nick Gibb said that he had 'serious concerns about the gender stereotypes contained within A Fertile Heart', having previously declined to comment on the controversial Catholic sex education resource.
iNews
Irish Catholic primary school will not teach bishops’ RSE resource
A Co Wicklow Catholic primary school has said it will not be using Flourish, a relationships and sexuality education (RSE) programme developed by the Irish Bishops' Conference for use from junior infants up to sixth class.
The Irish Times*
Most LGBT+ teachers 'not out' at school
Less than half of LGBT+ school staff are out to their pupils, research has found.
TES*
Boris Johnson quotes Bible when asked if he believes in God
The Prime Minister quoted Psalm 14: "the foolish man has said in his heart there is no God".
Premier Christian News
‘Radical object: Robert Carlile’s little hammer’ – NSS mentioned
NSS council member Robert Forder explains how a small gavel on display in the National Secular Society office commemorates past struggles for free thought and free speech.
History Workshop
US: ‘State abortion policies have become more extreme — without Roe v. Wade, the divide could widen’
If the Supreme Court overturns the 1973 precedent, the legality of abortion will be left to individual states. Many have already made their intentions clear.
The Washington Post*
‘How the anti-abortion movement used the progressive playbook to chip away at Roe v. Wade’
The tactics that advanced civil rights and gay rights have been put to work against abortion, say Mary Ziegler and Robert L. Tsai.
Politico
Catholic bishops insist on restoring Nigeria to secular state
The Leadership of the Catholic Church in Nigeria has asked the National Assembly to expunge all sections of the Nigerian constitution that make references to sharia or any other discriminatory or divisive law.
AllAfrica
India: Elderly Muslim man beaten and has beard shaved by men chanting Hindu slogans
An elderly Muslim man was allegedly attacked by a group of men who forced him to shave his beard and shout Hindu religious slogans in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
The Independent
Mon, 14 Jun 2021
Indoctrination of Christianity in NI schools is leading to entrenched segregation, says family in High Court bid
A father and daughter have secured High Court permission to challenge the exclusively Christian-focused religious education taught at schools in Northern Ireland.
Belfast Telegraph
Call for security for Pakistani blasphemy lawyer after threats – NSS mentioned
Pakistan's highest elected body of lawyers has called on the government to provide security to an award-winning lawyer known for taking up cases of blasphemy targeting religious minorities. Saif ul-Malook received the National Secular Society's Secularist of the Year award in 2019.
UCA News
Terminally-ill Noel Conway who campaigned to change law on assisted dying dies aged 71
Noel Conway had challenged the blanket ban on assisted dying in the UK, following his diagnosis with motor neurone disease in 2014.
Mirror
Anti-Catholic allegations dismissed by bus company
Lothian Buses has defended its decision to cancel services on St Patrick's Day after an MSP accused bosses of discriminating against Irish Catholics.
The Times*
Neo-Nazi student who made ‘kill all the Jews’ search is guilty of terror
Andrew Dymock used online platforms to raise money for the now-banned System Resistance Network, which "preached zero-tolerance" to non-whites, Jewish and Muslim communities and described homosexuality as a "disease".
Jewish News
‘I cry for children who are being silenced’
When Orthodox Jewish school Yesodey Hatorah was downgraded to inadequate for safeguarding, poor governance and a curriculum that did not meet national standards, commentators turned the story into a debate about religious ethos, as if ethos is a get out of jail free card that allows religious conservatives to do what they want, says Yehudis Fletcher.
Jewish News
‘The Catholic Church desperately needs to change, but will it do so?’
There is a serious problem with clerical sex abuse and something - a lot - needs to change. But serious questions exist still about whether reforms, taking place to canon law go far enough, says Ruth Gledhill.
Christian Today
Hungary LGBT: Content aimed at children to be banned
Hungary's ruling nationalist party has submitted legislation to ban content it sees as promoting homosexuality and gender change to minors.
BBC
Australia: Former justice warns against ‘excessive protection’ of religious freedoms
The former high court justice Michael Kirby has warned against the "excessive protection" of religious freedom that could diminish the rights of non-believers and minorities, as a report reveals 70% of Australians say religion is not personally important to them.
The Guardian
Australia: High rate of domestic abuse among Anglicans exposed
A recent report found that those inside the Anglican church are significantly more likely to have experienced abuse than those in the broader population.
The Sydney Morning Herald
Fri, 11 Jun 2021
‘Church’s revision of law just a PR stunt’ – Letter from NSS president
Pope Francis has defied the UN experts by doing anything but what they urged to tackle child abuse in the Catholic church, says NSS president Keith Porteous Wood (scroll down page to see letter).
Irish Examiner
Disclaimer: Links are provided to external websites for information and in the interests of free exchange. We do not accept any responsibility for the content of those sites, nor does a link indicate approval or imply endorsement of those sites.
