Women bishops: WATCH asks bishops not to amend draft legislation
Press Release from Women and the Church (WATCH) – To the Bishops: ‘Keep faith with the Dioceses’ – do not amend the draft legislation for women bishops. We urge the House of Bishops not to make any change to the draft legislation that would further discriminate against women bishops and those male bishops who ordain women: if they do this then the Measure will be at serious risk of being voted down in July.
More here : http://www.thinkinganglicans.org.uk/archives/005368.html
Conservatives should be the party of religious freedom
Conservative Home – As the High Court sided this week with the National Secular Society, it ruled in a moment of sheer petty nastiness that having a moment for entirely voluntary prayers as part of a council’s agenda was illegal. Pickles fired back that the “right to worship is a fundamental and hard fought British liberty” and promised that the general power of competence in his Localism Bill would overrule this.
I hope the general public is listening, and I hope other Conservatives are taking heed. With each victory that militant secularism celebrates, Conservatives should feel obliged by our principles and electoral necessity to defend religious liberty.
More here : http://conservativehome.blogs.com/platform/2012/02/conservatives-should-be-the-party-of-religious-freedom.html
Prayer ban to be overturned ‘within a week’
Christian Institute – UK Government minister, Eric Pickles, has vowed to overturn a judge’s ban on formal council prayers – within a week if possible. The backlash follows a “ludicrous” case brought by the National Secular Society against a small Devonshire town council. The case led a judge to rule that local councils have no lawful power to say prayer as part of their formal meetings. But Eric Pickles, who is the Minister in charge of local government, said he will fast-track the commencement of a new law that will restore the right of councils to say prayers at official meetings, if they so wish. More here : http://www.christian.org.uk/news/prayer-ban-to-be-overturned-within-a-week/
Sexual freedom fallout costs Britain £100 billion-a-year
Christian institute – Roughly £100 billion is spent each year dealing with problems relating to sexual promiscuity and relationship breakdown, according to research by the Jubilee Centre.Author Guy Brandon blasted society’s uncritical endorsement of sexual freedom which he argues has resulted in massive public costs. The costs include dealing with family breakdown, sexually transmitted infections (STI), absenteeism, domestic violence and educational underachievement. The study also reveals that the £100 billion figure is double the combined annual spend on tackling alcohol abuse, smoking and obesity.
More here: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/sexual-freedom-fallout-costs-britain-100-billion-a-year/
Thousands of teenage Catholics to gather at Wembley
The Tablet – Youth ministers are hoping that up to 10,000 teenagers will fill Wembley Arena for an event designed to bolster faith among young Catholics. Seven thousand tickets have already been sold for the Flame Congress, which is being organised by the Catholic Youth Ministry Federation (CYMfed), and due to take place on 24 March. The event, aimed at those aged between 15 and 18, is hoping to build on the success of the papal visit and is linking faith to sport in light of the forthcoming Olympic Games.