Francis’s failure to condemn Moscow as aggressor decried as ‘shameful’ and ‘incomprehensible’
Pope Francis has been criticised after saying Ukraine should have the courage of the “white flag” and negotiate an end to the war with Russia.
Some politicians and commentators in Europe reacted with anger after the pontiff appeared to stay silent on Russia’s crimes as aggressor in the invasion, which has killed tens of thousands, and placed the onus on Ukraine to make peace.
Continue reading...Key site is al-Aqsa mosque on what Jews call the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Peaceful access for Muslims could send a message of calm
Israelis and Palestinians are bracing themselves for a tense and potentially violent week, with no sign of a ceasefire likely in Gaza and calls from Hamas for protest marches around the Islamic world to mark the start of Ramadan on Monday.
Earlier this month, a halt to hostilities before the Muslim holy month looked possible, but hopes have dimmed since indirect talks in Cairo ended without progress last week.
Continue reading...Marchers on Saturday came from wide range of backgrounds as rightwing press characterises city as ‘no-go zone for Jews’
As on previous Saturdays in the past six months, there were two marches taking place in London yesterday. The first, a gathering of tens of thousands of full-throated, flag-waving supporters of an immediate ceasefire in Gaza gathered at Hyde Park Corner at noon, and shuffled peaceably and patiently in the sunshine in the direction of the American embassy at Vauxhall, over the river.
The second march was taking place mostly in the imaginations of right-wing commentators and politicians who increasingly choose to see these displays of solidarity with the Palestinian cause only as a provocation and a threat. Following the prime minister’s Downing Street address on 1 March which represented these gatherings as representative of “forces trying to tear apart” our democracy, the latest figure to loud-hailer that version of reality was the government-appointed commissioner for countering extremism, Robin Simcox, who argued on Friday the marches were “a permissive environment for radicalisation”, leading to a hysterical Daily Telegraph front-page headline that read: “London is now a no-go zone for Jews”.
Continue reading...Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints seeking permission to build temple in Sutton Coldfield
The first new Mormon temple in the UK for 30 years is to be built in Sutton Coldfield as a venue for “sacred ceremonies” and in pursuit of an “ultimate goal” to have temples dotted around the UK.
The large white edifice will feature a 314ft spire and an imposing entrance arch. Planning permission has yet to be granted, but the church hopes construction will begin this year and take up to three years to complete.
Continue reading...Amount proposed is described as ‘just a start’ to rectify the ‘evil’ of enslavement
The £1bn fund proposed to address the Church of England’s historic links to slavery would “just be a start up” to rectify the “evil” of enslavement, Black faith leaders have said.
A report by an oversight group led by descendants of enslaved Africans found the £100m earmarked for the Church’s new investment fund is “not enough” and instead proposed for £1bn to be raised for a “broader healing, repair and justice initiative.”
Continue reading...Rachel Roberts and more than 900 photographers had signed petition about clergy obstructing their work
A wedding photographer at the centre of a row with vicars that has sparked an intervention by a former archbishop has called for the two camps to put aside their differences and work in peaceful harmony.
Last week more than 900 wedding photographers signed a petition started by photographer Rachel Roberts, who urged vicars to “improve” their working conditions after complaints that some clergymen and women had been making it difficult to take photos inside church premises.
Continue reading...Majority think Britain is a good place for opportunities and freedom to practise their faith, poll finds
Most British Muslims believe more should be done to improve relations between the UK’s different religious communities, according to a research forum on faith.
The Institute for the Impact of Faith in Life (IIFL) looked at the attitudes and social contributions of British Muslims living in the UK. The survey found 71% of British Muslim respondents believed more work should be done to improve relations between different faith groups, and just 22% believed the right amount was being done.
Continue reading...Prayer room of Great Mosque of Algiers, beset by political wrangling and cost overruns, accommodates 120,000 people
Algeria has inaugurated a gigantic mosque on its Mediterranean coastline after years of political upheaval transformed the project from a symbol of state-sponsored strength and religiosity to one of delays and cost overruns.
Built by a Chinese construction firm throughout the 2010s, the Great Mosque of Algiers features the world’s tallest minaret, measuring 265 metres (869ft).
Continue reading...Move comes as church faces scrutiny from politicians over conversions of asylum seekers to Christianity
A review into guidance for clergy on supporting asylum seekers is under way as “a matter of urgency”, the Church of England’s parliament has heard alongside a claim of “buck-passing” between the government and the church.
The church has recently faced scrutiny from politicians over conversions of asylum seekers to Christianity, with a Conservative MP even suggesting taxpayers are being “scammed” by the archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, on the issue.
Continue reading...Archbishop said he could not meet Bethlehem Lutheran Munther Isaac if he shared platform with former Labour leader, Isaac says
The archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, cancelled plans to meet the Bethlehem-based Lutheran pastor Munther Isaac, saying he could not meet him if he shared a platform with the former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn at a pro-Palestinian rally, the pastor has said.
Isaac, the pastor of the Christmas Evangelical Lutheran church in Bethlehem, who has been highly critical of Israel in Gaza, saw his Christmas sermon go viral when he said if Jesus Christ was born today it would have been under the rubble.
Continue reading...Carved wooden tabot has been at Abbey since British forces looted it at Battle of Maqdala in 1868
Westminster Abbey has agreed “in principle” to returning a sacred tablet to the Ethiopian Orthodox church, igniting a debate around restitution claims made by the East African nation.
The tabot – a blackened flat piece of wood featuring a carved inscription that symbolically represents the Ark of the Covenant and the Ten Commandments – has been at the Abbey since British forces returned with it from the Battle of Maqdala, where it was looted in 1868.
Continue reading...Controversy in West Bengal centres around Akbar and Sita, named for a Hindu deity, being placed in the same enclosure
An Indian Hindu nationalist organisation has launched a court petition to stop two lions named after a Hindu deity and a 16th-century Muslim emperor from sharing a zoo enclosure.
Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), a prominent rightwing Hindu organisation, went to court in the state of West Bengal after reports a lioness named Sita had been put with a lion called Akbar.
Continue reading...Graham Usher urges Church of England to look into this ‘often very ancient land’, as it prepares to vote on increasing biodiversity
Churchyards should be rewilded to increase biodiversity and to make them “places of the living, not just the dead”, a Church of England bishop has said.
Local parishes are responsible for about 7,100 hectares (17,500 acres) of churchyards in England. The C of E also owns about 34,000 hectares of farmland, mostly let to tenant farmers, and 9,300 hectares of forestry.
Continue reading...Suella Braverman and a former priest accuse church but Justin Welby says its role has been mischaracterised
The Church of England has refuted a claim that it operated a “conveyor belt for asylum seeker fake conversions”, saying parish records disproved the eye-catching allegation.
Churches have been at the centre of a storm over “fake conversions” in the past week after it emerged that Abdul Ezedi, the Afghan man suspected of a chemical attack on a woman and two children in Clapham, was granted asylum on his third attempt after converting to Christianity. Police said on Friday that Ezedi was believed to be dead.
Continue reading...Critics say dance event sends message that ‘Christians do not take their faith or their holy places seriously’
From south London’s Ministry of Sound to Ibiza’s legendary superclub Pacha, everyone has a favourite venue for dancing the night away. And now a rave in the nave may be about to join that illustrious list.
More than 3,000 people were expected to take to the floor across four sessions of Canterbury Cathedral’s 90s silent disco to dance to the likes of the Spice Girls, Vengaboys and Eminem, in an event that officials hope will serve to attract a new generation of worshippers to the building’s hallowed cloisters.
Continue reading...Fears decision on Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi could increase religious tensions and inspire more claims
An Indian court has ruled that Hindus can worship inside a contested mosque, a verdict that it is feared will increase religious tensions and galvanise further claims against other Muslim places of worship.
Gyanvapi mosque, in the holy city of Varanasi, was built in the 17th century by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb and has been in use by Muslims for prayer ever since.
Continue reading...Hundreds of women sentenced for practices such as studying the Qur’an, dating back as far back as 60s and 70s, analysis of Chinese police files shows
Hundreds of thousands of Uyghur female religious leaders are estimated to have been arrested and imprisoned in Xinjiang since 2014, with some elderly women detained for practices that took place decades ago, according to an analysis of leaked Chinese police files.
There is growing evidence of the abusive treatment of the Uyghur Muslim population of the north-west Chinese region of Xinjiang, with their traditions and religion seen as evidence of extremism and separatism.
Continue reading...Aimenn Penny, 20, had firebombed the church in Chesterland in protest of a planned drag brunch and children’s story hour
An Ohio man, who had allegedly been a member of a neo-Nazi ‘white lives matter’ group, has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for firebombing a church that planned to host drag events, the US justice department announced on Tuesday.
After making and throwing two Molotov cocktails at the Community Church of Chesterland in Chesterland, Ohio, on 25 March 2023, Aimenn Penny was arrested on federal charges for using fire to commit a federal felony, malicious use of explosive materials, and possessing a destructive device.
Continue reading...Images taken secretly some 80 years ago are being published for the first time to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day
A remarkable series of photographs of Jewish families being forced to leave their homes in Germany in the middle of the second world war has been published for the first time, following a chance discovery.
The images are a striking new testament to the sudden upheaval and terror of the Holocaust and were taken secretly by an amateur photographer. He is believed to have wanted to pass down the scenes he was witnessing, despite the risk to himself. They show groups of people gathering outside a restaurant near the railway station in the Silesian city of Breslau, now Wrocław in Poland. Jewish men, women and children of all ages were held here for a few days before deportation by train. Almost all are certain to have been killed just a few days later in a documented shooting in Lithuania. Others were killed at a later date in Poland.
Continue reading...War has led to a crisis in relations in Lod – the town that both Arab and Jewish residents call home
From a distance the market looks like a scene of communal harmony. Jewish and Arab Israelis inspect the piles of pomegranates, oranges, pears and carrots. Israeli flags flap in the winter breeze from the balconies of shabby apartment blocks. A hundred metres away, a synagogue, mosque and Greek Orthodox church share a car park.
The reality is very different. The tension in Lod, a town of 80,000 in the centre of Israel, is palpable. Other than at prayer time, the mosque bolts its metal gates shut. So too do the synagogue and the church. Everybody in the town, which is home to both Jewish and Arab Israelis, is very aware of what might happen if the growing anger, fear and grief among both communities prompted by events of the last four months get out of hand.
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