This week in the world press:

Nigerian Christians flee as 500 killed by Muslims

After around 500 of them were massacred by Muslims last weekend, terrified Christians in central Nigeria have been leaving their villages. Threats of new attacks have convinced many to move out. Soldiers were stationed in the villages near the city of Jos in Plateau State but failed to prevent the slaughter. Troops shot dead two people as tensions rose. The acting President of Nigeria has fired the National Security Advisor, as this killing spree is just the latest in a series of attacks. But critics, including the Archbishop of Jos, say the root cause needs to be tackled – weak local government and military incompetence which has allowed extremism to flourish among the Muslim Fulani group.

Sources: The Times (8/3, 10/3); Daily Telegraph (8/3); The Guardian (8/3); Church Times (12/3)

• http://www.timesonline.co.uk/
• http://www.timesonline.co.uk/
• http://www.timesonline.co.uk/
• http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
• http://www.guardian.co.uk/
• http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/

Devil is at work in the Vatican, says top exorcist

The Roman Catholic Church’s own leading exorcist has blamed the Catholic child abuse scandals on demonic influences. Father Gabriele Amorth also implicates the devil in the attack on Pope Benedict on Christmas Eve by a woman with mental problems, the attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II, the deaths of two Swiss guards and a woman in the Vatican in 1998, plus some ‘cardinals who do not believe in Jesus and bishops who are linked to the demon’. Father Amorth told an Italian newspaper that ‘the Devil resides in the Vatican and you can see the consequences’. Amorth, chief exorcist for 25 years, also said the Pope supports his work and that he has dealt with 70,000 cases of demonic possession.

Sources: Daily Telegraph (11/3); The Times (10/3)

• http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
• http://www.timesonline.co.uk/

Local protests scupper plans for Sandhurst mosque

The proposal for a huge mosque with two 100ft minarets overlooking the Sandhurst military academy has been rejected after strong public opposition. The local council approved the plans in January, despite fears of a security threat posed by the mosque towering over the nearby parade ground at Sandhurst, often visited by senior members of the Army and the Royal Family. But over 6,500 locals signed a petition against the mosque, and the application was refused at a special council meeting. Churches Together in Camberley were not opposed to a suitable mosque but were against such a huge building because it would create ‘division and discord’ and make ‘not so much a spiritual, as a powerful cultural, or even political statement.’

Sources: Daily Mail (12/3); The Times (10/3)

• http://www.dailymail.co.uk/
• http://www.timesonline.co.uk/

Pope’s brother slapped kids but denies knowledge of sex abuse

The elder brother of Pope Benedict XVI used corporal punishment while choirmaster at a Catholic school but claims ignorance of the head teacher’s sex abuse. Former pupils say the head was a sexual ‘sadist’, but Georg Ratzinger, 86, claims he knew nothing about that while at the Regensburger Domspatzen in Bavaria, and believes the allegations date from before his tenure. Ratzinger expressed regret and asked forgiveness for slapping boys himself, saying it was just a ‘normal’ form of discipline at the time, from 1964 to 1994. Regensburger is the latest in a series of Catholic abuse cases recently exposed in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands. The German Bishops’ Conference is investigating the 170 allegations that have so far been made.

Sources: BBC (8/3); The Guardian (9/3); The Times (10/3; 11/3)

• http://news.bbc.co.uk/
• http://www.guardian.co.uk/
• http://www.timesonline.co.uk/
• http://www.timesonline.co.uk/

Supreme Court turns down Christian registrar’s appeal

A registrar who lost her job after refusing to officiate at civil partnerships won’t be allowed to take her complaint to the Supreme Court. The Court decided that Lillian Ladele’s case is not of sufficient ‘general public importance’. Last December, the Appeal Court judged that she had broken the Sexual Orientation Regulations, which make it illegal to refuse a service to someone on the basis of their sexuality. Miss Ladele believes homosexual rights have compromised her religious freedom, and she must now decide whether to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights. The Christian Institute, which is backing Miss Ladele, said Christians will feel let down by the decision and is urging them to pray for religious freedom.

Sources: Daily Telegraph (9/3); Christiantoday (10/3)

• http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
• http://www.christiantoday.com/

This week in the Church press:

Militants kill six charity workers in Pakistan

An attack on the offices of Christian charity World Vision in Pakistan has left six Pakistani staff dead. It is thought the assailants were Taliban militia. The charity, which was helping victims of the 2005 earthquake, called the attack ‘brutal and senseless’. Seven others were wounded in the attack in Oghi town, 40 miles north of Islamabad, which is thought to have involved either a bomb or grenades, as well as gunfire. David Thomson of World Vision, announcing a suspension of operations in the country, said: ‘These are dedicated staff who have been serving their people in Pakistan for a number of years, seeking to improve the lives of the most vulnerable children affected by poverty, injustice and disaster.’

Sources: Premier Radio (10/3); Los Angeles Times (11/3); Church Times (12/3)

• http://www.premier.org.uk/
• http://www.latimes.com/
• http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/

Free churches want more protection for migrant workers

The Baptist Union, Methodist Church and United Reformed Church have given their support to a range of groups concerned about the 3.5 million workers who slip through an employment legislation loophole. Along with the Muslim Council of Great Britain, the Citizens Advice Bureau and various charities, unions and pressure groups, the churches are lobbying for agency staff and people on informal contracts, who are mostly immigrants, to enjoy the same legal protection as other employees. A meeting with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has been arranged, following correspondence with the churches. Methodist President Revd David Gamble first raised the problem with union leaders at the TUC Conference last September.

Sources: Ekklesia (8/3); Methodist Recorder (11/3)

• http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/
• http://www.methodistrecorder.co.uk/

CCFON campaigns to prevent ‘gay weddings’ in church

Christian Concern For Our Nation is urging Christians to put pen to paper to oppose same-sex partnership ceremonies in churches. The pressure group wants believers to write to Gordon Brown and Harriet Harman to ask them to reverse the Equalities Bill amendment that will allow gay couples to make their vows in church. CCFON believes the new legislation will effectively make civil partnerships no different to marriage, and ‘open the flood gates’ for homosexuals to apply for ceremonies, leading to churches being sued if they deny permission. There is also an online petition. CCFON Director Andrea Williams says the amendment was ‘a disgrace’, having only been debated in the Lords for less than an hour, when most Peers were absent.

Source: Christiantoday (10/3)

• http://www.christiantoday.com/

Bishop questions traditional view of homosexuality

The Bishop of Liverpool claims that homosexuality should be tolerated within the Anglican Communion. Speaking at his diocesan synod, the Rt Revd James Jones said that sexual orientation is not a choice but a given, ‘in Christian terms, a grace’. He believes that homosexual Christians have ‘theological, ethical and spiritual insights’ that need to be recognised and that views on homosexuality should not prevent those on both sides of the debate from drinking ‘openly from the same cup of salvation’. His speech attracted negative comments from some conservative evangelicals, including Anglican Mainstream. Executive secretary Chris Sugden denounced it as ‘false teaching’, saying Bishop Jones had ‘learned to accommodate himself to the secular pressures of England’.  

Source: Church Times (12/3)

• http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/

Culture watch:

Think tank estimates family break-ups cost £42 billion

New research indicates that family breakdown takes £41.7 billion per year out of the UK economy. In ‘Counting the Cost of Family Failure’, the Relationships Foundation says that works out at £1,350 for every taxpayer. The think tank writes: ‘It is an unpopular truth that choices have consequences and costs, and that these are not always borne by the choice-maker… Relationships cost a great deal more than money, but the escalating financial and broader emotional costs should motivate policy-makers to increase their support for relationships.’ The report shows that ‘functioning families… provide social care and support worth £73 billion a year’. The Foundation says the cost of broken families is now ‘unsustainable’.

Source: LifeSiteNews (9/3)

• http://www.lifesitenews.com/