Archbishop of Canterbury expresses dismay over church’s support for Ugandan law enacted last month
The archbishop of Canterbury has urged the Anglican church in Uganda to reconsider its vociferous support for the world’s harshest anti-LGBTQ+ law, which imposes the death penalty for certain homosexual acts.
Justin Welby said there was no justification for supporting the legislation, in a move that highlights deep divisions within the global Anglican church on LGBTQ+ issues.
Continue reading...Archbishop of Canterbury calls on ministers to implement strategies on human trafficking and the refugee crisis
The archbishop of Canterbury has proposed two amendments to the government’s flagship illegal migration bill that he had earlier deemed “morally unacceptable”.
With the controversial plans to enter the committee stage in the House of Lords on Wednesday, Justin Welby called on ministers to implement 10-year strategies for tackling human trafficking and for an international collaboration to solving the refugee crises.
Continue reading...Justin Welby says bill is ‘morally unacceptable’ and rules on protection of refugees are not ‘inconvenient obstructions’. This live blog is closed
In the House of Lords peers are just starting to debate the second reading of the illegal migration bill.
Simon Murray, aka Lord Murray of Blidworth, is opening the debate. He is a lawyer who was made a Home Office minister, and a peer, when Liz Truss was PM.
We now face a perfect storm of factors driving more people into homelessness while giving us fewer good options to help them when they do. These factors include soaring private rents (above the benefit cap), private landlords leaving the sector, a national shortage of affordable housing, and a backlog of court cases after Covid-relating housing support was removed. At the same time, we have a cost-of-living crisis which is reducing real-term incomes and putting further strain on relationships.
Continue reading...Justin Welby to join peers condemning measures that seek to criminalise people seeking refuge in UK
The archbishop of Canterbury will make a rare intervention in the House of Lords to join dozens of peers condemning the government’s flagship asylum bill.
Justin Welby will argue against measures championed by Rishi Sunak and Suella Braverman that seek to criminalise people seeking refuge in the UK if they arrive on small boats.
Continue reading...Pontiff says on peace mission that religious leaders ‘cannot remain neutral’ amid abuses of power
Pope Francis has said churches in South Sudan “cannot remain neutral” but must raise their voices against injustice and abuse of power, as he and two other Christian leaders conducted a peace mission to the world’s newest country.
On his first full day in South Sudan, Francis addressed Catholic bishops, priests and nuns in St Theresa Cathedral in the capital, Juba, as the archbishop of Canterbury and the head of the Church of Scotland held services elsewhere.
Continue reading...An open letter, backed by opinion poll, urges the UK to restore aid budget on eve of a three-day ‘pilgrimage for peace’ in the east African country
The British government’s financial support for Ukraine must not be at the cost of aid to other areas of the world in crisis, three faith-based charities have warned, on the eve of an unprecedented joint pilgrimage to South Sudan led by Pope Francis.
The organisations are calling on the government to restore the 59% cut in the UK’s aid budget to South Sudan, and invest in peacebuilding, conflict management and reconciliation.
Continue reading...Comedian says C of E’s position is ‘untenable’ after meeting archbishop of Canterbury
Sandi Toksvig has said the Church of England’s position on same-sex marriage is “untenable” after a meeting with the archbishop of Canterbury.
The comedian met Justin Welby after she expressed her dismay last year that he had reaffirmed the church’s 1998 declaration that gay sex is a sin.
Continue reading...Archbishops of Canterbury and York say ‘national care covenant’ needed with stronger role for state
England’s most senior church leaders want tax rises to fund a new NHS-style universal social care system that could cost an extra £15bn a year.
In a challenge to the government to overhaul support for 1 million elderly and disabled people, the archbishops of Canterbury and York have called for a “national care covenant” with a stronger role for the state and citizens delivering more care.
Continue reading...Move follows bishops’ refusal to back gay marriage while blessings to be on voluntary basis for clergy
Sandi Toksvig has said she will be meeting the archbishop of Canterbury for coffee, after bishops this week refused to back gay marriage but said civil partnerships could be blessed in church.
“Quick update – I will be meeting the Archbishop of Canterbury for a long promised coffee next week,” the broadcaster and author, who is gay, tweeted on Saturday.
Continue reading...Clerical leaders hope for ‘lasting legacy’ to serve places affected by past slavery trade, but fund may spread thinly across all of west Africa and Caribbean
The Church of England’s decision to set up a £100m fund for communities adversely affected by historic slavery is the latest – and biggest – step it has taken over the past few years to “address past wrongs” relating to its links to the slave trade.
The report on the origins of the C of E’s healthy £9bn-plus endowment fund correctly describes the 17th century slave trade as “abhorrent” and a source of misery and injustice.
Continue reading...Pontiff says world suffering from ‘famine of peace’ as Justin Welby praises example of late monarch
The archbishop of Canterbury and Pope Francis have used their Christmas addresses to call for an end to the war in Ukraine.
During his sermon, Justin Welby also spoke of those suffering “immense anxiety and hardship” during the cost of living crisis and made reference to the “desperate struggles of hospital wards”.
Continue reading...Justin Welby says too many people face ‘real hardship and pain’ as temperatures fall and bills rise
A surge of Arctic air causing sub-zero temperatures across the UK is poised to send demand for warm spaces surging, and the archbishop of Canterbury has urged people not to despair in the face of “real hardship and pain”.
The weather system moving quickly south from Norway, nicknamed the Troll of Trondheim, will result in colder weather for at least a week, the Met Office has forecast, as a network of “warm hubs” said it had seen 80,000 people use its facilities in the last week.
Continue reading...Archbishop of Canterbury joins others worried about impact Tel Aviv switch could have on Palestinian peace talks
The archbishop of Canterbury has expressed concern about the potential for the British embassy to be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
The UK prime minister, Liz Truss, told her Israeli counterpart Yair Lapid at the United Nations summit in New York last month that she was considering the relocation.
Continue reading...The official website of the royal family said a private burial took place in the King George VI Memorial Chapel
Food confiscated from people waiting in the queue for the Queen’s lying in state is being donated to charity, reports PA Media:
People are not allowed to take food or drink inside the Palace of Westminster and any such items will be confiscated.
Charity the Felix Project said it expects to collect over 2 tonnes of food, mostly snacks including crisps, chocolate and biscuits, and is also accepting unwanted blankets.
With people waiting up to 24 hours to complete the five-mile walk from Southwark Park to Westminster Hall to pay their respects to the Queen, they are coming with plenty of food to keep them going.
When they get to Victoria Tower Gardens the food is confiscated before entry to the parliamentary estate is allowed and instead of being thrown away, all non-perishable and unopened packages are saved.
The Felix Project will distribute the items to the thousands of community groups it works with across the capital.
Charity chief executive Charlotte Hill said: “We are honoured to be here to play a small part in this hugely poignant event and to know that an extra layer of good is being done here.
It’s hard to say exactly how many additional people [will travel], but we’re preparing for potentially a million people just within the footprint of the royal palaces and Hyde Park …
Continue reading...Congregation of more than 2,000 people attends cathedral to listen to readings and sing hymns
They listened in silence – some with babes in arms, some in black mourning dress, others in the T-shirts and jeans of daily life – as the voice of King Charles III echoed around St Paul’s Cathedral.
As a service of thanksgiving coincided with the first public address of the new King, it was his words about his “darling mama” that were the focus before anything else at a solemn event which included a lament from a lone Scottish piper and ended with the first singing of God Save the King.
Continue reading...Archbishop of Canterbury acknowledges consensus is near-impossible after public criticism over declaration against gay sex
The archbishop of Canterbury has acknowledged the near-impossibility of a divided global Anglican church reaching a consensus on issues of sexuality, after he faced sharp criticism for affirming a 1998 declaration that gay sex is a sin.
Addressing more than 650 bishops from around the world at the once-a-decade Lambeth conference, Justin Welby said: “We are not at liberty to choose who are our brothers and sisters … We should seek with passion the visible unity of the church. But that is very difficult, for so often it will lead to criticism in our society.”
Continue reading...Archbishop indicates he will not seek to punish churches that allow same-sex marriage in balancing act
Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury and leader of the global Anglican church, has sought to mollify conservative bishops around the world by “affirming the validity” of a 1998 declaration that gay sex is a sin.
He told more than 650 bishops attending the once-a-decade Lambeth conference that, for “a large majority” of conservative Anglicans, questioning biblical teaching was “unthinkable”.
Continue reading...Clergy abuse survivors say ‘church hasn’t begun to address its own debts’ after archbishop of Canterbury’s remarks
Survivors of clergy abuse have reacted with fury to the archbishop of Canterbury’s suggestion that the Duke of York was “seeking to make amends” after settling a sexual assault case.
Andrew Graystone, who advocates on behalf of survivors, said: “Victims of clergy abuse have spoken to me about their shock that Justin Welby should speak about forgiveness and reconciliation when the church hasn’t begun to address its own debts.”
Continue reading...Justin Welby made comment about the duke as he asked public to be more ‘open and forgiving’
The archbishop of Canterbury has suggested the Duke of York is “seeking to make amends” as he encouraged society to be more “open and forgiving” in general.
Prince Andrew stepped down from public life after the furore over his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender, and earlier this year he paid millions to a woman he claimed never to have met to settle a civil sexual assault case.
Continue reading...Prime minister refuses to apologise for reported comments about archbishop and denies criticising BBC’s Ukraine coverage
Asked if the House of Lords Appointments Commission ever approves people for a peerage, only for a peerage not to be awarded, Bew says this has happened, but that it is very rare.
He also says that, under his chairmanship, the commission for the first time rejected a nominee who was subsequently appointed by Downing Street.
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