Category Archives: Religion

Hundreds more US United Methodist congregations disaffiliate amid LGBTQ+ tensions

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Over 7,000 congregations have been approved to break away since 2019, when church strengthened bans on same-sex marriage

Another 250-plus United Methodist congregations have broken with the denomination in north Georgia amid a schism over theology and the role of LGBTQ+ people in the church.

The North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church voted Saturday to allow 261 congregations to break away, or disaffiliate, after theological tensions over bans on same-sex marriages and the ordination of clergy who are openly LGBTQ+.

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Archbishop of Canterbury makes ‘moral cry’ for Israel-Hamas ceasefire

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Justin Welby’s call came as British Palestinians with relatives in Gaza demanded a meeting with the prime minister

The archbishop of Canterbury has called for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas, saying the scale of civilian deaths and humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza could not be “morally justified”.

“The killing must stop,” Justin Welby said, adding that the call for a ceasefire was a “moral cry”.

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Pope Francis dismisses conservative Texas bishop and critic Joseph Strickland

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Rare move comes after years of criticism from Strickland, a strong supporter of former US president Donald Trump

Pope Francis has dismissed a bishop in Texas, Joseph Strickland, one of his fiercest critics among US Roman Catholic conservatives, the Vatican has said.

It is very rare for a bishop to be relieved of his duties outright. Usually bishops in trouble with the Vatican are asked to resign before submitting a resignation, which the pope accepts.

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Louisiana pastor charged with sexual abuse of teenage girl

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Milton Martin, 56, of First Pentecostal Church of Chalmette, accused of abuse of girl, now 28, who was member of congregation

Authorities in Louisiana have charged a Pentecostal pastor with sexually molesting a teenage girl who was a member of his church.

Milton O Martin III, 56, faces one charge each of felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile – colloquially referred to as statutory rape – and of indecent behavior with a minor, records obtained by the Guardian show.

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Australian Catholic church’s insurer launches court bid to cover smaller share of abuse compensation

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Scandal-plagued PwC would determine payout rates under scheme proposed by Catholic Church Insurance in effort to avoid insolvency

The Catholic church insurer wants to establish a scheme that would stave off its own insolvency by paying church bodies only a fraction of the money owed to abuse survivors at rates to be determined by the scandal-plagued consultancy PwC, documents show.

Catholic Church Insurance is facing significant financial turmoil due to the rising volume of abuse claims, estimating it has $381m in liabilities relating to professional standards payouts to various church entities, including dioceses and church-aligned charities.

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India resumes visa services in Canada after row over killing of Sikh separatist

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Tensions between the two countries peaked after Hardeep Singh Nijjar was murdered in Canada earlier this year

India’s embassy in Ottawa has announced that it will reopen visa services for Canadians, a move that could reduce tensions in a bitter dispute over the killing of a Sikh separatist on Canadian soil.

Relations between India and Canada plunged after Justin Trudeau, the prime minister, last month publicly linked Indian intelligence to the killing of Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar, allegations New Delhi called “absurd”.

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Pope accepts resignation of Polish bishop after gay orgy scandal in diocese

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Vatican did not say why Grzegorz Kaszak was resigning, but priest from his diocese faced criminal investigation

The pope has accepted the resignation of a Polish bishop whose diocese has been rocked by reports of a gay orgy involving a male sex worker in a priest’s apartment, as well as previous violent incidents involving his clergy.

The Vatican did not give a reason why Grzegorz Kaszak was resigning as head of the diocese of Sosnowiec, in south-western Poland. At 59, he is several years shy of the normal retirement age of 75.

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Chicago religious leaders urge peace after killing of six-year-old Muslim boy

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Muslim, Jewish and Christian leaders shook hands, talked and prayed together after killing of Wadea Al-Fayoume

Muslim, Jewish and Christian leaders shook hands, talked and prayed together as they gathered in Chicago to urge unity across divides and denounce hate, while the region continued to reel from the savage killing of a six-year-old Palestinian American boy in an alleged hate crime.

Imams and rabbis had already attended the funeral earlier in the week of Wadea Al-Fayoume, who had only recently celebrated his sixth birthday with his family in Plainfield, on the outskirts of Chicago, when the landlord, shouting Islamophobic curses, stabbed the boy and his mother last weekend.

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‘A lot of pain’: Europe’s Jews fear rising antisemitism after Hamas attack

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Protection of Jewish sites increased in towns and cities across continent after outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas

In the usually bustling “Little Jerusalem” area of Sarcelles, north of Paris, the popular falafel and grill restaurant was eerily quiet. “People are not going out,” said Jérémy, the 33-year-old restaurant owner. Lunchtime and evening crowds are common in one of the largest Jewish communities on the Paris outskirts. But many thought it wiser to stay at home, fearing a growing number of antisemitic incidents in France and across Europe since the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October and the ensuing bombardment of Gaza.

In France, home to Europe’s largest Jewish community, police recorded more than 320 physical acts of antisemitism, and made more than 180 arrests, in the first 10 days of the war.

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Japan asks court to strip Unification church of religious status

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Move comes after assassination of former PM Shinzo Abe and growing criticism of fundraising activities

Japan’s government has asked a court to strip the Unification church of its status, amid growing criticism of the group’s fundraising activities after the assassination last year of the former prime minister Shinzo Abe.

If the Tokyo district court accepts the request, the church – whose members are colloquially known as Moonies – will be stripped of its status as a religious corporation and lose exemptions from corporate and property taxes, as well as a tax on income from monetary offerings.

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Louisiana principal apologizes for punishing student’s off-campus dancing

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Public school principal reinstates 17-year-old’s leadership role and scholarship endorsement and requests leave for rest of school year

A Louisiana public school principal has apologized and requested leave for punishing a student and questioning her religious beliefs after he saw a video of her dancing at an off-campus party.

The 17-year-old student government president and scholarship candidate was videotaped dancing at an off-campus party following Walker High School’s 30 September homecoming festivities. A hired DJ took the video and posted it on social media. Three days later, Jason St Pierre, principal of the public high school near the state capital of Baton Rouge, told the student she would be removed from her position with the student government association and that he would no longer recommend her for college scholarships.

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‘Dangerous precedent’: fears over plans for Calanais stones access fee

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Land access groups worry it will lead to charges at other sites, while pagans are alarmed about restrictions on worship

For generations walkers, pagans and artists have freely roamed around the standing stones at Calanais on Lewis, drawn by the site’s monumental scale, its coastal views and the spiritual impact of the rising sun and moon there.

But there are growing fears that proposals by Historic Environment Scotland (HES) to introduce an admissions charge and control access to the neolithic site for the first time, could have a significant impact on those freedoms.

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Outrage over Jerusalem video of ultra-Orthodox Jews spitting as Christians pass

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Intimidating behaviour beside procession of worshippers seen as another sign of victimisation and was condemned by Netanyahu

A video of ultra-Orthodox Jews spitting on the ground beside a procession of foreign Christian worshippers carrying a wooden cross in the holy city of Jerusalem has ignited intense outrage and a flurry of condemnation in the Holy Land.

The spitting incident, which the city’s minority Christian community lamented as the latest in an alarming surge of religiously motivated attacks, drew rare outrage on Tuesday from the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and other senior figures.

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Sikh separatists gather in London to protest after activists’ deaths

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Demonstrators stage protest outside Indian high commission questioning UK government’s response to killings

Supporters of the Sikh separatist Khalistan movement gathered outside the Indian high commission in central London to call for the UK government to stand alongside Canada after the killing of a prominent Sikh leader.

Monday’s protest on Aldwych came two weeks after Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, said his government was looking at “credible allegations potentially linking” India with the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in British Columbia. Nijjar, who was 45, was killed on 18 June in a hail of gunfire outside his place of worship.

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Pope Francis decries ‘fanaticism of indifference’ over migration

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Pontiff says rescuing those making Mediterranean crossings is a ‘duty of humanity’ on first visit by a pope to Marseille in 500 years

Pope Francis has decried what he called the “fanaticism of indifference” as people risked their lives on dangerous journeys by boat from north Africa to Europe, amid growing political debate over migration.

Opening an overnight visit to Marseille, the pontiff presided over a silent moment of prayer at a memorial dedicated to sailors and people who died at sea, surrounded by faith leaders and migrant rescue organisations from the Mediterranean port city.

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‘His spirit is still among us’: Sikhs defiant in Canada city where activist was murdered

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Colleagues say they knew Hardeep Singh Nijjar could be targeted by India for his role in Canada as a community leader

Justin Trudeau may have shocked the world this week when he linked “agents of India” to the murder of a Canadian citizen in British Columbia, but colleagues who worked alongside Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar before he was shot dead this summer said the link was already clear.

“We’re not surprised,” said Gurkeerat Singh, a volunteer at the Surrey temple that Nijjar led from 2019 until his death on 18 June. “The whole community knew who was behind it. We knew that Hardeep Singh Nijjar could be targeted by the Indian state for his role as a community leader advocating for human rights and for a separate Sikh state.”

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‘Credible evidence’ India behind alleged assassination of Sikh leader, says Trudeau

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India rejects as ‘absurd’ allegation by PM that it was responsible for fatal shooting of Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil

Justin Trudeau has said there is “credible evidence” India is responsible for the alleged assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a prominent Canadian Sikh leader, a claim Delhi dismissed as “absurd”.

The Canadian prime minister told the House of Commons of Canada on Monday that, in recent weeks, national security authorities had been probing allegations that New Delhi was behind a state-sponsored assassination.

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Majority of Scottish voters support assisted dying bill, poll reports

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YouGov finds 77% in favour of proposal to allow terminally-ill people to take their own lives

A large majority of Scottish voters support proposals to allow terminally-ill people to take their own lives, according to a poll released by campaigners for assisted dying laws.

A new bill to legalise assisted dying in Scotland is due to be published by the Scottish parliament later this year, in a fresh attempt by its supporters to get the measure enacted for the first time in the UK.

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‘The show must go on’: 35,000 ultra-Orthodox Jews travel to Ukraine for Rosh Hashanah

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The annual pilgrimage brings both prayers and partying to Uman. Many have been undeterred by official pleas to stay away this year

Unfazed by the bombs, undeterred by the warnings, and in the face of the raging conflict, more than 35,000 ultra-Orthodox Jews from across the world have journeyed to Uman, Ukraine, to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year.

“Going to celebrate in a war zone en masse is crazy,” said Azoulay Ruben, a 22-year-old trainee dentist from Paris. “But at the same time, it’s a beautiful thing.”

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Vatican beatifies Polish family executed by Nazis for sheltering Jews

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Ulma family including unborn child all beatified for their actions to help Jews during second world war

The Vatican has beatified a Polish family of nine – a married couple and their small children – who were executed by the Nazis during the second world war for sheltering Jews.

During a ceremonious mass in the village of Markowa, in south-east Poland, the papal envoy Cardinal Marcello Semeraro read out the Latin formula of the beatification of the Ulma family signed last month by Pope Francis.

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