UAE says it has arrested three people over the killing of Zvi Kogan, who worked for an Orthodox Jewish group
Israel has said that an Israeli-Moldovan rabbi who went missing in the United Arab Emirates was killed in what it described as a “heinous antisemitic terror incident”.
Benjamin Netanyahu’s office issued a statement about the death of Zvi Kogan, who worked in the UAE for an Orthodox Jewish group called Chabad and had not been seen since Thursday.
Continue reading...Shabana Mahmood has written to her constituents saying she is ‘profoundly concerned’ about Friday’s Commons vote
MPs will be placing the country on a “slippery slope towards death on demand” if they back legislation on assisted dying in England and Wales this week, the lord chancellor and justice secretary, Shabana Mahmood, has said in a letter to constituents before a historic Commons vote on Friday.
Mahmood has received numerous letters about the bill from people in her Birmingham Ladywood seat, which has a big Muslim population, and sent out replies saying that she was “profoundly concerned” about the legislation, not only for religious reasons but also because of what it would mean for the role of the state if one of its functions became helping people to die.
Continue reading...Violence in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa follows killing of dozens of people in clashes between Sunnis and minority Shias
At least 42 people have been killed and 20 wounded after gunmen opened fire on vehicles carrying Shia Muslims in Pakistan’s restive north-west, in one of the region’s deadliest such attacks in recent years, police said.
The attack happened in Kurram, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province where sectarian clashes between majority Sunni Muslims and minority Shias have killed dozens of people in recent months.
Continue reading...Peter’s chapel in Lucerne swaps out its priest to set up a computer and cables in confessional booth
The small, unadorned church has long ranked as the oldest in the Swiss city of Lucerne. But Peter’s chapel has become synonymous with all that is new after it installed an artificial intelligence-powered Jesus capable of dialoguing in 100 different languages.
“It was really an experiment,” said Marco Schmid, a theologian with the church. “We wanted to see and understand how people react to an AI Jesus. What would they talk with him about? Would there be interest in talking to him? We’re probably pioneers in this.”
Continue reading...Gigantiello, who let singer film in church, stripped of duties after inquiry shows he sent parish funds to Eric Adams aide
The leader of a New York City church where pop star Sabrina Carpenter filmed provocative scenes for a music video was stripped of his duties on Monday after church officials said an investigation revealed other instances of mismanagement.
Monsignor Jamie Gigantiello was relieved of “any pastoral oversight or governance role” at his church located in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, Bishop Robert Brennan said in a statement issued by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Stephen Cottrell, archbishop of York, says church is in period of reflection after ‘unprecedented crisis’ over abuse cover-up
The Church of England may need to rethink the role of archbishop of Canterbury after its “unprecedented crisis” over an abuse cover-up, Justin Welby’s second-in-command has said.
In an interview with the Guardian, Stephen Cottrell, the archbishop of York, said he would welcome a woman taking over from Welby. But he warned that the responsibilities of the job may need to be shared more widely in future.
Continue reading...Religious lobbyists are secretly coordinating and funding bodies that claim to be led by disabled people and health workers
Campaigns against assisted dying that claim to be led by healthcare workers and disabled people are being secretly coordinated and paid for by conservative Christian pressure groups, an Observer investigation has found.
The “grassroots” campaigns have been central to the debate on legalising assisted dying in England and Wales before a landmark vote by MPs this month.
Continue reading...Rocky Leanders, then 15, was beaten with wooden paddle by Smyth at camp where boys were made to swim naked
When John Smyth gave a presentation at their school about his Christian holiday camps in 1993, Rocky Leanders and his school friends were “blown away”.
“This is Zimbabwe in the early 90s; the technology wasn’t great. These guys set up a projector with colour videos of speed boats … abseiling, golf, tennis, paddle boarding, swimming pools, diving boards,” recalled Leanders, who was 15 at the time. “We insisted we needed to go.”
Continue reading...Christian and Muslim groups say medics who refuse to help patients die not protected in England and Wales bill
A significant proportion of NHS medical staff are likely to exercise a conscience clause if assisted dying is legalised by parliament.
Labour MP Kim Leadbeater’s private member’s bill stipulates that no doctor would be under any obligation to participate in assisted dying.
Continue reading...Report says General Synod member Rev Andrew Cornes was told of Smyth’s abuse in 1982 but failed to act
A retired clergyman who could be part of the selection process for the next archbishop of Canterbury knew about the sadistic abuse of boys and young men in the early 1980s but failed to take action, according to the report that triggered Justin Welby’s resignation.
One of John Smyth’s victims discussed his abuse with the Rev Andrew Cornes in September 1982, but “there is no evidence to suggest that [Cornes] took action to respond to this”, the report said.
Continue reading...Smyth enjoyed ‘opulent lifestyle’ in Cape Town after he was barred from Zimbabwe, where he abused boys at summer camps
The evangelical Christian barrister John Smyth abused as many as 130 boys and young men in the UK, Zimbabwe and possibly other African countries but an independent review has said there remains little concrete information on his time in South Africa.
The review into the Anglican church’s handling of Smyth’s abuses said he might have been brought to justice had Justin Welby, who on Tuesday announced he would step down as archbishop of Canterbury, formally reported him to the police when he found out in 2013.
Continue reading...Failure to tackle Church of England’s safeguarding issues and own knowledge of abuse reflect religions’ denial
In earlier times it used to be more straightforward: archbishops of Canterbury such as Thomas Becket and William Laud used to get it in the neck from the king; or, in the case of Simon Sudbury, who was killed in the 14th-century Peasants’ Revolt, at the hands of the mob.
Now, it is more likely to be a politician. Justin Welby has resigned after having lost the confidence of the Church of England over his failure to tackle the institution’s chaotic handling of safeguarding, and his own personal culpability in failing to spot his own vulnerability, arising from his links to and knowledge of the rapacious abuser John Smyth.
Continue reading...Leader of Church of England had faced pressure since damning report on cover-up of John Smyth’s abuse
The archbishop of Canterbury is to step down amid intense pressure over his handling of one of the church’s worst abuse scandals.
Justin Welby’s decision, announced on Tuesday, comes after mounting demands from victims and members of the clergy for him to quit.
Continue reading...Twenty-nine-metre tall fir destined to be chopped down and transported to St Peter’s Square in the Vatican
Environmental campaigners in Italy’s northern Trentino province have started a campaign to stop the felling of a 200-year-old fir tree intended to form the centrepiece of the Vatican’s Christmas decorations.
The so-called “Green Giant” is 29 metres tall and is due to be chopped down next week in a forest in the Ledro valley before being transported to the Vatican and positioned in St Peter’s Square, where it will be unveiled on 9 December.
Continue reading...Prime minister says victims of serial abuser John Smyth ‘failed very, very badly’
Keir Starmer has refused to back the archbishop of Canterbury, who has faced growing demands to resign over his handling of an abuse scandal.
Pressure on Justin Welby has been intensifying since the publication last week of a damning report on the church’s cover-up of John Smyth’s abuse in the UK in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and later in Zimbabwe and South Africa. About 130 boys are believed to have been victims.
Continue reading...Gregory Aymond’s offer, required because he turns 75, says he wants to stay for resolution of institution’s bankruptcy but adds it is up to Pope Francis
New Orleans’ Roman Catholic archbishop Gregory Aymond is submitting his resignation Tuesday, on his 75th birthday, fulfilling a church requirement – though it is unclear if Vatican officials would immediately accept it with his scandal-plagued organization’s expensive, highly contentious bankruptcy case still unresolved.
In a letter issued on Friday to priests and deacons under his command, Aymond cited canon – or church – law that required him to offer to retire because of his age. But he said he also offered to remain in office until the resolution of the bankruptcy.
Continue reading...Helen-Ann Hartley says archbishop’s position is untenable as members of Church of England’s ruling body launch petition
A Church of England bishop has added her voice to growing calls for the archbishop of Canterbury to resign over his failure to pursue a sadistic abuser of children when allegations were brought to his attention.
Helen-Ann Hartley, the bishop of Newcastle, said Justin Welby’s position was untenable and he should quit. A line needed to be drawn, she added.
Continue reading...Danish politician Rasmus Paludan sentenced to four months for incitement against ethnic group
A far-right Danish-Swedish politician has been sentenced to prison on charges of incitement against an ethnic group for burning copies of the Qur’an and making offensive statements about Muslims.
Rasmus Paludan was the first person to go on trial in Sweden – and is now the first to be sentenced – for burning the Qur’an during an organised demonstration.
Continue reading...Ex-Fox News host makes bizarre claim on Steve Bannon’s podcast, days after saying a demon attacked him in his sleep
Demons that Tucker Carlson claimed attacked him as he slept were also responsible for the invention of nuclear technology, the conservative former Fox News host said on Monday in another bizarre contention.
Carlson made the claim on the War Room podcast hosted by his fellow rightwing extremist Steve Bannon, a former White House adviser in the Trump administration who was released from prison last week after serving a four-month sentence for contempt of Congress.
Continue reading...Eight charged in connection with murder of Samuel Paty in Paris suburbs in 2020
It was a killing that started with a lie. In October 2020, an Islamist terrorist tracked down and decapitated professor Samuel Paty as he left school on the last day before half-term holidays.
In the days preceding his murder, Paty, 47, who taught geography and history, had been the subject of an intense campaign of online harassment sparked when a 13-year-old student claimed he had discriminated against his Muslim pupils during a class on moral and civic education.
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