Category Archives: Religion

Pope Francis to set off on challenging 12-day Asia-Pacific tour

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Pontiff’s itinerary, including visits to Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, reflects importance of Asia to Catholic church

Pope Francis is to embark on the longest, farthest and perhaps most challenging trip of his pontificate as he begins a 12-day Asia-Pacific tour that is expected to highlight environmental threats, emphasise interfaith dialogue and reinforce the importance of Asia for the Catholic church.

The 87-year-old will set off on Monday on a tour taking in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore, a trip that will clock up more than 20,000 miles by air.

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Bones found in north-west Spain could be legendary bishop’s, scientists believe

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New examination supports claim remains are of Teodomiro, a key figure in establishing Camino de Santiago pilgrimage

Scientists believe a set of ancient bones discovered in north-west Spain almost 70 years ago are those of the bishop whose devotion to St James the Apostle paved the way for the Camino de Santiago path taken by countless footsore pilgrims over the past 12 centuries.

According to historical sources and oral tradition, Bishop Teodomiro of Iria Flavia discovered the remains of St James – who was martyred in Jerusalem between the years AD41 and 44 – in an abandoned cemetery in what is now the Galician city of Santiago de Compostela. Teodomiro is said to have received the revelation in the early ninth century after days of fasting and meditation – and with a little help from a visionary local hermit.

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Archbishop of Canterbury warns Christians against membership of far-right groups

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Exclusive: Justin Welby condemns violent disorder of recent days as ‘unchristian’

The archbishop of Canterbury has warned Christians they should not be part of any far-right groups, criticising the use of Christian imagery in this summer’s riots as “an offence to our faith”.

Writing in the Guardian, Justin Welby condemned the violent unrest, which he described as “racist”, “anti-Muslim, anti-refugee and anti-asylum seeker”. His intervention follows a week of disorder that began after a mass stabbing of children at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport last month.

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Five issues that threaten to derail the Albanese government’s plans before the next election

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The PM wants the focus to be on first-term achievements and cost-of-living relief but question marks remain over religious freedoms and gambling ads

After a five-week break, the spring session of the parliamentary year is about to begin. Early election rumours continue to swirl – the “break in case of emergency” date bandied around the corridors of power remains 7 December. Calmer heads will point out that voters would only hit the polls on that date if the political situation appeared irrevocably difficult for the Albanese government, given that the last months of the year will be dominated by the US election and its outcome.

Either way, there are only nine months until the very last date the next election could be held. That doesn’t leave a lot of time for the Albanese government to complete its first-term agenda, regardless of whether it returns Australians to the polls before May. Albanese wants the focus to be on cost-of-living relief and the reforms the government has already passed through parliament, but stumbling blocks threaten to derail the agenda.

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Robert Jenrick criticised for saying people shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ should be arrested

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Critics call Tory leadership candidate’s comments around far-right protests ‘nasty divisive rhetoric’

Robert Jenrick has been criticised by a rival for the Conservative leadership and Muslim parliamentarians for saying police should “immediately arrest” any protesters shouting “Allahu Akbar”, the Arabic phrase that means God is great.

The former immigration minister was speaking on Sky News about the accusations that police have been treating far-right marches and violence more harshly than other protests.

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US governor tells parents kids can ‘not look’ at Ten Commandments in schools

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Louisiana’s Jeff Landry was defending a law requiring display of text in all public schools starting next year

The far-right Louisiana governor, Jeff Landry, has told parents who don’t want the Ten Commandments hung in up classrooms across the state – as now required by law there – to tell their children to “not look at them”.

The Republican’s remarks came at a news conference on Monday defending the mandate, about two months after Louisiana became the first state in the country to order the Ten Commandments to be displayed in all public school classrooms.

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‘Celebrations of life’ increasingly replacing traditional funerals in UK, study shows

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Report by Co-op Funeralcare highlights shift towards unusual venues, pets at services and glittery coffins

Traditional sombre funerals in religious settings are increasingly being replaced by “celebrations of life” with personal touches held at more unusual locations in the UK, according to a study.

Dr Who-themed farewells, glittery coffins and mourners dressed in football shirts are among requests received by funeral directors.

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Botched Spanish church makeover leaves cherubim looking startled

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Professional restorers want explanation for changes in Soria, which have been likened to ‘Monkey Christ’ work

Professional restorers in Spain are demanding explanations after a historic church in the north-eastern city of Soria was given a bold makeover that has left the building’s cherubim looking startled and local heritage lovers up in arms.

The attentions lavished on the Ermita de Nuestra Señora del Mirón, which was built in 1725 on the ruins of a romanesque and gothic church, have drawn comparisons to the infamous “Ecce Homo/Monkey Christ” restoration that made headlines around the world 12 years ago.

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Olympic ‘drag queen scene’ DJ files legal complaint after torrent of online abuse

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A DJ and LGBTQ+ activist who performed during a controversial scene in the Paris Olympics’ opening ceremony has said she is taking legal action after becoming the target of “an extremely violent campaign of cyber-harassment and defamation”.

Barbara Butch, who calls herself a “love activist”, had been “threatened with death, torture and rape, and has also been the target of numerous antisemitic, homophobic, sexist and body-shaming insults”, her lawyer said in a post on her Instagram page.

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Olympic ‘Last Supper’ scene was in fact based on painting of Greek gods, say art experts

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Dutch artist’s 17th-century work said to have inspired tableau that has offended Christian and conservative critics

A controversial tableau in the Olympics opening ceremony denounced by Christian and conservative critics as an offensive parody of The Last Supper was in fact inspired by a 17th-century Dutch painting of the Greek Olympian gods, art historians have said.

“Does this painting remind you of something?” the Magnin Museum in the French city of Dijon asked (with a wink) on X, inviting people to “come and admire” The Feast of the Gods, painted by the artist Jan van Bijlert between 1635 and 1640.

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Paris Olympics organisers apologise to Christians for Last Supper parody

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Apology follows anger among Catholics and other groups at opening ceremony segment that resembled biblical scene

The organising committee of Paris 2024 has apologised to Catholics and other Christian groups who were outraged by a scene during the opening ceremony that evoked Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper painting with drag queens, a transgender model and a singer made up as the Greek god of wine.

The parody of the biblical scene, performed against the backdrop of the River Seine, was intended to interpret Dionysus and raise awareness “of the absurdity of violence between human beings”, organisers wrote on X.

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French athlete may swap hijab for a cap to avoid Olympic opening ceremony ban

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Sounkamba Sylla reportedly reaches compromise after France’s strict laws on secularism threatened to bar her

A French sprinter is expected to swap her headscarf for a cap in order to participate in the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympics, in a compromise reportedly struck after the country’s strict laws on secularism threatened to bar her from the event.

Earlier this week Sounkamba Sylla, a Muslim member of France’s 400m women’s and mixed relay teams, said she would not be able to take part in Friday’s ceremony because she wears a hijab.

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Accused killer mother was due for parole meeting before Elizabeth Struhs’ death, court hears

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Kerrie Struhs was scheduled to meet a parole officer before her daughter died from diabetes medicine being allegedly withheld, a Queensland trial has been told

A mother accused of killing her daughter had a parole meeting scheduled a day before the eight-year-old girl died allegedly from her diabetes medication being withheld, a judge has heard.

Kerrie Elizabeth Struhs, 49, has refused to enter a plea in the Brisbane supreme court to the charge of manslaughter over the death of her child Elizabeth Rose Struhs at Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, on 6 or 7 January 2022.

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Murder accused faced ‘constant religious push’ to adopt belief that God could cure daughter’s diabetes, court told

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Elizabeth Struhs died after her parents and 12 other members of a Toowoomba sect allegedly withheld the eight-year-old’s insulin

A father accused of murder was viewed by his friend as a “broken man” torn between giving his daughter life-saving medication and his family’s beliefs against medicine, a judge has heard.

Elizabeth Struhs died at the family home in Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, on 7 January 2022 after her parents and 12 others allegedly withheld the eight-year-old’s insulin for six days as they gathered around her in prayer.

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Slave trader Colston left bequest to Church of England, archive shows

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As archbishop of Canterbury visits Jamaica, research reveals trader left money to church’s missionary arm

The archbishop of Canterbury has spoken of the work to address the Church of England’s historic links to chattel slavery on a trip to Jamaica, as archive research reveals that the slave trader Edward Colston left a bequest in the 18th century to the church’s missionary arm.

Justin Welby is on a three-day visit to the West Indies to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the diocese of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. He said a £100m fund set up by the church would be used to benefit communities “which still bear the scars” from slavery.

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‘No turning back’: how Elizabeth Struhs’ father went from sceptic to speaking in tongues and alleged murder

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Jason Struhs, his wife Kerrie, and 12 other members of Toowoomba religious sect the ‘Saints’ are on trial over the eight-year-old girl’s death

For 17 years, Jason Struhs was the sceptic in the family, Queensland’s supreme court heard.

He refused to pay a tithe to the leader of religious sect the “Saints” that his wife, Kerrie Struhs, was a member of, saying: “God doesn’t need the money”. He even testified against Kerrie in exchange for a lower sentence, when the couple were charged with failing to supply the necessaries of life for their young diabetic daughter, Elizabeth, after she was taken to hospital in a coma in 2019 , a court heard this week.

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Extremist Israeli minister makes provocative visit to al-Aqsa mosque

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Itamar Ben-Gvir, who seeks to disrupt ceasefire talks, makes video at contested holy site in Jerusalem

Israel’s extremist national security minister has visited the holiest Muslim site in Jerusalem, recording a video saying he went to pray, in a provocative move as he seeks to disrupt ceasefire talks.

Itamar Ben-Gvir, an ultranationalist and champion of the settler movement, recorded footage at al-Aqsa mosque compound, also known as the Temple Mount, a site holy to Muslims and Jews.

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National religious recruits challenge values of IDF once dominated by secular elite

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Two-fifths of infantry graduate officer cadets now come from section of Israeli society aligned with far-right parties and settler movement

Israel’s army, for much of its seven decades the country’s pre-eminent secular institution, is increasingly coming under the sway of a national religious movement that has made bold moves across Israeli society in recent years.

About 40% of those graduating from the army’s infantry officer schools now come from a national religious community that accounts for 12 to 14% of Jewish Israeli society and is politically more aligned with Israel’s right and far-right political parties and the settler movement. Critics charge that its growing influence – including from the more orthodox portion known as Hardalim – is pursuing its own agenda within the army.

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Labour rejects JD Vance ‘first Islamist country with nuclear weapons’ remarks

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Deputy PM Angela Rayner says she does not recognise Donald Trump running mate’s ‘characterisation’ of Britain

Senior Labour figures have rejected comments by Donald Trump’s vice-presidential pick, JD Vance, that the UK could become the first “truly Islamist country that will get a nuclear weapon” under the party.

They were reacting to comments that were made by Vance, a junior senator for the state of Ohio who has been announced as Trump’s running mate, at a conference for US conservatives.

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Ampleforth inquiry finds alleged serious abuse against pupils in last 10 years

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Allegations about monks and staff at North Yorkshire private school were shared with Charity Commission

An inquiry into the running of a prestigious private school said it uncovered a string of “serious abuse allegations” committed against pupils by monks and staff within the last decade.

The Charity Commission’s report found “significant weaknesses” in the safeguarding, governance and management of the two trusts responsible for running Ampleforth College, a Catholic private school in North Yorkshire founded more than 200 years ago by Benedictine monks and Ampleforth Abbey.

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