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Bible Society Newswatch 19 March 2010 |
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This week in the world press:
Adoption charity wins gay rights battle
Adoption society Catholic Care has been granted an exemption by the High Court, which could mean it doesn’t have to place children with homosexuals. A victory in the court case was vital if Catholic Care was to continue its work in Leeds, Middlesbrough and South Yorkshire. The decision gives hope to other Catholic adoption agencies who have had to either close or cut their links with the Church, due to the Sexual Orientation Regulations. The judge, Mr Justice Briggs, instructed the Charity Commission to take account of his judgment. The Catholic Bishop of Leeds said the charity had no ‘anti-gay agenda’ but that didn’t prevent criticism of the decision by gay rights group Stonewall and the National Secular Society.
Sources: The Times (17/3); Daily Telegraph (17/3); The Independent (18/3); Premier Radio (18/3)
Pope will hold open-air services in British state visit
It is expected that Pope Benedict XVI will address 500,000 Catholics when he leads a Mass in Glasgow and a prayer vigil in London later this year. The open-air events will be reminiscent of John Paul II’s 1982 visit, but crowd sizes will be restricted due to health and safety considerations. Benedict’s tour will be the first official papal state visit to the UK. Between 16 and 19 September the pontiff will meet the Queen in Edinburgh and the Archbishop of Canterbury in London, make a ‘major speech’ at Westminster Hall and carry out the beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman in Coventry. However, it is feared that the child abuse scandal will overshadow the historic visit. A website for the visit has been created: www.thepapalvisit.org.uk.
Sources: Daily Telegraph (17/3); The Times ( 17/3)
Germany calls for open inquiry into Catholic child abuse
The German chancellor Angela Merkel has intervened in the Catholic sex abuse furore by saying that the ‘despicable crime’ in Germany’s churches and schools requires a full investigation. Meanwhile, Dublin’s Archbishop, Diarmuid Martin, said inquiries into all 26 Irish dioceses might be ‘the only way for the truth to emerge’. The most senior Irish Catholic, Cardinal Sean Brady, is under pressure to resign. He has apologised after revelations that two children were forced to sign vows of silence, and one girl was paid to keep quiet. The Pope is today sending a pastoral letter on the issue to the Irish bishops, but the Bishop of Arundel and Brighton said the Church was ‘holed beneath the waterline’, although the issue had been dealt with better in England than some other countries.
Sources: The Guardian (17/3; 18/3); BBC (18/3; 19/3); The Times (15/3; 16/3 ; 18/3); Irish Independent (18/3)
Anglican Church criticises condom adverts before watershed
The Church of England believes the new rules that relax the ban on TV condom adverts before 9.00 pm, or 7.30 pm on Channel 4, are a negative step. The primary vehicle for sexual health education should be Government campaigns, not advertising. A spokesman continued: ‘The Church supports the sensitive use of media to offer unbiased and authoritative information to young people, but educational and commercial objectives should not be muddled.’ The Church praises other areas of the new advertising code that should mean better protection of children from detrimental advertising, but is disappointed that condom companies can now target advertising at under-16s. The Catholic Bishops Conference has joined in the criticism.
Sources: The Guardian (16/3); Premier Radio (18/3)
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This week in the Church press:
Iraqi wants Iraq Government held responsible for persecution
A Chaldean Catholic is asking the British Government to challenge the Iraqi Government regarding its failure to protect Christians. Methodists in Birmingham are supporting the Iraqi Catholic, who is encouraging people to lobby their MPs over the issue. Over several years, a series of attacks on Christians and other minorities have led them to flee cities like Mosul. The Chaldean Catholic, who is unnamed for her personal safety, wants the International Court of Justice and the International Court of Human Rights to investigate the crimes. She says: ‘Why does no one speak for us and why is the Iraqi Government turning a blind eye towards what is happening to the Christians in Iraq?’
Source: Methodist Recorder (18/3)
Free churches say BNP should be banned
The United Reformed Church, Baptist Union and Methodist Church are suggesting that the British National Party (BNP) should not have the right to participate in the democratic process. The Equality and Human Rights Commission has judged that the BNP’s constitution remains racist, despite altering its whites-only membership rule, and the churches agree that several of the party’s policies are racist. Baptist spokesman Graham Sparkes says: ‘If people want to make our laws, first of all they must comply with them. We would therefore question whether the BNP should be allowed to stand as a party in the General Election.’ But Ekklesia think tank director Simon Barrow says banning the party would be ‘politically and morally counter-productive’.
Source: Ekklesia (13/3)
Luis Palau’s son plans major outreach in England
A ten-day mission to southern England will be led by Andrew Palau, son of well-known international evangelist Luis. Andrew Palau and other speakers will take the Gospel to Brighton, Burgess Hill, Chesham, Haywards Heath, Marlow, Tonbridge, and Gatwick Airport’s immigration removal centre, from 16 April. The tour will include school visits, where a skateboard and bicycle stunt team will give displays and share their faith, after which Palau will speak. Palau turned to alcohol and drugs, despite his Christian upbringing, but has turned his life around since handing it over to Christ at the age of 27. The evangelist and his wife were recently involved in a plane crash in Jamaica, but escaped almost completely unhurt.
Source: christiantoday.com (16/3)
Investment report criticises executive pay
A Christian investment group has produced a report on the wide gap between pay levels at the top and bottom of businesses. It recommends that no executives should be paid more than 75 times the level of the lowest earners. The ecumenical Church Investors Group commissioned two theological professors to write ‘The Ethics of Executive Remuneration: A Guide for Christian Investors’, in response to public distaste for the high salaries and bonuses paid to bankers despite the economic crisis. The report advises that Christians should consider withdrawing their investment if the worst-offending companies don’t change their pay policy, and they should find out how much the lowest-paid workers earn before investing in any business.
Sources: The Church Times (19/3); BBC (17/3)
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Culture watch:
Survey highlights worries about UK religious freedom
A survey has revealed that nearly a third of Brits (32 per cent) believe that religious freedom has declined in the last ten years. The research by ComRes for religious think tank Theos coincides with debates on humanist publications in the House of Lords. Theos’ own latest report exposes the erosion of religious rights in Britain today. Philosophy professor Roger Trigg warns that pushing religious expression out of the public square ‘undermines democracy’, and that religious rights are being compromised when they clash with secular agendas. Trigg also writes that we ‘betray our heritage and make our present position precarious, if we value freedom but think that the Christian principles which have inspired the commitment of many to democratic ideals are somehow dispensable.’
Sources: The Telegraph (18/3); Theos (18/3 ); christiantoday.com (18/3)
Expert says English law is muddled about marriage
Bar Standards Board Chairman, law professor and top family lawyer Baroness Deech says our laws are no longer clear on marriage. Deech believes that changes in society and the legal rights given to gay couples have undermined the concept of marriage as a ‘till death us do part’ union between a man and a woman. She also thinks that the way human rights legislation is developing, it will soon be illegal to prevent homosexuals from marrying, rendering civil partnerships redundant. However, she herself maintains that there should be some differences between civil partnerships and marriages, and attacks the Government legislation that has allowed gay couples to be described as parents on birth certificates, excluding the physical father.
Source: Daily Telegraph (16/3)
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