In The Media

The murder of a Parisian teacher underlines the need to stand up for free speech, says Kenan Malik.

The Guardian

A speech made by French president Emmanuel Macron says secularism is "the glue of a united France."

The Spectator

A woman seeking housing in east London who alleged racial discrimination when a housing charity reserved its properties for Orthodox Jewish people has lost her case at the supreme court.

The Guardian

Spiritual and emotional abuse of LGBT people is a "ticking timebomb" for churches in the UK and could lead to legal action and demands for redress, campaigners have said.

The Guardian

The Church of England must move forward from the "easy part" of publicly apologising to abuse survivors towards profound change that puts safeguarding and accountability at the centre of its mission, the independent chair of the C of E's National Safeguarding Panel has said.

Church Times

A delay in handing Dr John Sentamu a life peerage was due to the inquiry into child sexual abuse in the Church of England, it has been claimed, as Downing Street insisted the announcement was now "imminent."

The Telegraph

More than one million animals were slaughtered in Ireland last year without first being stunned, in order to allow their meat to be sold as halal or kosher to Muslim and Jewish markets.

The Times (£)

Pope Francis has permanently removed a Polish bishop who was kicked out of his diocese a few months ago pending a Vatican investigation into allegations he covered up cases of sexual abuse by his priests.

Irvine Times

When the Jewish community says that it is, it obscures true anti-Semitism while providing leeway not to comply with restrictions needed to stop the spread of the virus, says JJ Goldberg.

NBC News

Two-year BBC News Arabic investigation uncovers horrific conditions, with boys as young as five facing violence and sexual abuse

The Guardian

The Twitter storm over a Tanishq advert about an interfaith marriage and family proves India is no longer a secular nation in anything but its constitution, says Akanksha Singh

The Independent

A security worker told a police officer about a praying "crank" at the Manchester Arena about 30 minutes before the blast that killed 22 people and injured hundreds more, an inquiry has heard.

ITV

An Islamist extremist shared a home-made video of London's Royal Festival Hall with the message "attack, attack", a court has heard.

East London & West Essex Guardian

Firm says sorry after pharmacist would not dispense product 'for religious reasons'.

The Guardian

Why should any student be forced to attend a mandatory mass a couple of times a year, an event that has nothing to do with their education or the beliefs of a considerable chunk of the people who attend the school, or those who work there, asks Jade Hayden.

Her

The conversation on slaughter without stunning is bouncing around Europe for different reasons: animal welfare, religion, economy.

EU Reporter

In Poland's 'LGBT-free zones,' existing is an act of defiance.

CNN

A coalition of more than 60 state prosecutors and attorneys general from across the country declared Wednesday that they would not enforce laws that criminalise abortion, even if the Supreme Court overturned the 1973 decision that legalised it nationwide.

The Washington Post

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has said 'religious practices' within Orthodox Jewish communities has caused the renewed spread of Covid-19 in New York City and other hot spot zones within the state.

Mail Online

Canada's Catholic bishops have criticised the "potential overreach" of a proposed government ban on conversion therapy, arguing that the legislation's "very disconcerting ambiguity" poses a threat to freedom of religion.

Catholic Herald

Sexual minority groups and human rights activists launched a petition on Thursday calling for an LGBT equality law in Japan in hopes that it can be enacted next year, when the country is to host the Olympics and will be the focus of international attention.

Associated Press

The arrest of Mubarak Bala has foregrounded the dangerous situation of humanists and the vicious threat of Islamic extremism in Nigeria, says Leo Igwe.

Today News Africa

The End of Life Choice Act 2019 would allow those with a terminal illness to apply to terminate their life. Although the act has passed through parliament it will only come into force if more than 50% of voters tick "yes".

The Guardian

The Catholic Church has admitted it was to blame for the death of a 94-year-old man who died after falling from a Dundee care home window in 2017.

BBC

Schools and colleges need to give better support to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students, the schools inspectorate has urged.

BBC

Nine out of 10 EU citizens want their governments to ban the slaughter of animals that have not been stunned, according to a poll published last week.

The Guardian

The Polish Senate voted Wednesday to postpone provisions in an animal rights bill that would ban exporting meat from animals slaughtered without stunning until 2025.

The Jerusalem Post

Two Catholic priests have gone on trial in the Vatican, marking the first time the city state has prosecuted a case of alleged sexual abuse.

BBC

A 39-year-old Italian woman with links to a deposed Roman Catholic cardinal was arrested on Tuesday in connection with the Vatican's latest financial scandal, Italian police and the Vatican said.

Reuters

If passed, this bill would grant children born with atypical sex characteristics freedom from non-consensual and medically unnecessary surgery on their genitalia. People's Party MP Guðmundur Ingi Kristinsson criticised the bill for not including a ban on penile circumcision.

Reykjavik Grapevine

A student at Moody Bible Institute, a Christian college in Chicago, has revealed that she was placed on "warning status" after she tweeted about being a lesbian.

Pink News

BBC Radio 4's Sunday show features an interview with Leo Igwe on the imprisonment of humanist Mubarak Bala in Nigeria (from 01:30), and the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse's report on the Church of England (from 13:30).

BBC

French Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer has promised to back teachers, pupils and parents who expose breaches of the country's law on secularism in schools, as he reported figures on infringements in the past year.

RFI

George Pell has met Pope Francis in Rome for the first time since the Australian cardinal's conviction for child sexual abuse was overturned.

BBC

Mennel Ibtissem is a French-Syrian singer who has become an internet sensation. However, she faced a lot of criticism following her decision to no longer wear a hijab.

BBC

While Trump-supporting Republicans are usually assumed to be staunchly anti-LGBT+, the poll found that across the board participants were in favour of marriage equality, adoption rights and trans people serving in the US military.

Pink News

A federal judge has temporarily blocked the shut down of a Christian adoption agency which refused to place children with LGBT+ families.

Pink News

Following the suicide of a young bisexual woman in India, an LGBT+ rights group has filed a petition to the Kerala High Court seeking to ban the practice of conversion therapy.

Pink News

China has ordered Muslim citizens to prove that they are patriotic and law-abiding before they are allowed to undertake the haj pilgrimage, under a new law that it says will safeguard national security.

The Times (£)

Gunmen riding on a motorcycle shot and killed a religious scholar who belongs to a little-known branch of Islam in Pakistan's bustling city of Karachi, police said.

Associated Press

Police say three girls from the Dalit (formerly known as 'Untouchable') community have been targeted in a possible acid attack while they were sleeping in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

The Independent

State secondary schools in Ireland are to phase out a range of Catholic influences such as mandatory graduation masses, the display of Catholic symbols only and visits from diocesan inspectors.

The Irish Times

Survivors claim the helpline was 'rushed' into service so archbishops could refer to it in their response to the child sex abuse report.

The Telegraph

In the decade since 2009, most key measures of attendance have fallen by between 15 and 20 per cent, and by three per cent since 2014, according to a Church of England report.

Church Times

The regulator published an inquiry report into the Revelation Foundation, a Christian broadcaster, on Friday. It uncovered flaws in its structure and serious governance failings that amount to mismanagement by its trustees.

Civil Society

The first major tranche of grants from the Government's £1.57bn fund include the Catholic Bishops' Conference, which is to receive £3m.

Christian Today

More than sixty Members of the European Parliament have signed a letter to three European Commissioners, demanding a Europe-wide ban on so-called "conversion therapy" practices.

The Parliament Magazine

Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan has recruited a barred teacher who showed support for the Charlie Hebdo massacre to work in his new school. Mr Ramadan is launching a centre in France to teach ethics and feminism this month, despite being suspended from his Oxford University post over rape allegations.

TheNational.ae