Christians in Politics
14 Sep 2018Christians in Politics is an all-party, non-denominational organisation which encourages and inspires Christians to get involved in politics and public life. Emphasis is placed on membership of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, as opposed to the earthly allegiances which may separate us. Their vision is for Christians to respond to God's call to engage in party politics and government. Their mission is to make the biblical case for participating in party politics heard by Christians, and then to connect them and their churches to people or organisations which can help them engage politically. At this time of Brexit debates and disputes, we can pray that more Christians participate in decision-making, rather than criticising or commentating from the sidelines. May there also be a growing movement of wise, informed prayers for all our leaders in the coming months.
Parent power and cheating
14 Sep 2018A YouGov poll for the Sutton Trust indicates widespread cheating among middle-class families to win a place at the school of their choice. One in three parents know families who have used ‘ethically dubious’ tactics, though they are less likely to admit to fraudulent tactics themselves. 16% from all social groups personally knew families who used a relative’s address to secure a place. 20% from the highest social group knew someone who had either bought or rented a second home in the catchment area of a good school. The most commonly used tactic to get into more desirable schools is to develop a newfound faith and attend religious services to meet school admissions criteria where pupils are selected on the basis of church attendance.
Northern Ireland: Brexit and borders
14 Sep 2018Brexiteer Tory MPs say a hard border on the island of Ireland can be avoided by using ‘established’ technology and ‘modifying’ existing arrangements. They called for streamlined customs checks and closer working between Belfast and Dublin, to allay compliance and smuggling fears. The Democratic Unionist Party welcomed the ‘positive and timely’ report, Sinn Fein said it was ‘pure fantasy’, and the EU insists on a ‘backstop’ to ensure the single market is protected. After two years of debating the border issue, the Chequers blueprint envisages a free trade zone for goods moving between the UK and the EU, backed up by a ‘facilitated customs arrangement’, as the only credible and negotiable option. However Ireland's foreign minister Simon Coveney said the proposals were an ‘unworkable distraction’.
Scotland’s children: mental health problems
14 Sep 2018Child mental health has been a key priority for the Scottish government. But specialist services are struggling to cope with increasing demand, and mental health minister Clare Haughey said the situation was ‘unacceptable’. The target of 90% of children and young people starting treatment or having referral to specialist services within 18 weeks has never been met. Instead, waiting times have increased since the target was set. About one in ten Scottish children aged between 5 and 16 have a clinically diagnosable mental illness, and there has been a 22% increase in the number being referred for specialist treatment in recent years. Children may receive little or no support or advice while waiting for treatment, causing conditions to deteriorate or make it more likely they will drop out of the system during the process. Early intervention services are patchy across Scotland.
Vatican City: C-9 and sexual abuse
14 Sep 2018The ‘C-9’ are nine cardinals from around the world who meet four times a year to advise the Pope. At the end of their most recent meeting they announced that he had summoned senior bishops from around the world to the Vatican to discuss the protection of minors. The heads of the national bishops' conferences will meet in February 2019 to try to come to grips with a spreading sexual abuse crisis in the USA, Chile, Australia, Germany, and elsewhere. It was recently revealed that 1,670 German priests had sexually abused 3,677 minors, mostly males, over a seventy-year period. A US grand jury found 301 priests in Pennsylvania guilty of sexually abusing minors over a similar period. In August, Italian archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò accused the Pope of knowing about sexual misconduct by a US cardinal and doing nothing about it.
Poland will block EU sanctions against Hungary
14 Sep 2018The European parliament voted to sanction Hungary for neglecting norms on democracy, civil rights and corruption. Since 2010, Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban has pressurised courts, media and non-government groups to prevent migrants entering Hungary. He has also led opposition to Angela Merkel and others who want Europe to take in more Muslim refugees. Poland, the biggest former communist country in the EU, will oppose any sanctions imposed by the bloc on Hungary. Its prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, said, ‘Every country has its sovereign right to make internal reforms it deems appropriate, and actions aimed against member states serve only to deepen divides in the EU and increase citizens’ current lack of confidence to European institutions.’ A BBC report says that Mr Orban appears increasingly isolated among European conservatives, but is being applauded by nationalist parties.
Putin: Novichok suspects not criminals
14 Sep 2018Many believe the Russian government hopes that a TV interview with the two men suspected of being spies and using Novichok in the UK will generate sympathy at home (see ). Putin says they are sports nutrition salesmen, not assassins. But the risk for Russia is that the interview raises more questions than it answers and offers more details for sceptics to unpick and challenge. The two suspects accused of carrying out the nerve agent attack claimed they had travelled to Salisbury to see its famous cathedral. The BBC reported that one of them said, ‘Maybe we did approach Skripal's house, but we don't know where it is located.’
China: relentless destruction of crosses
14 Sep 2018Authorities continue to tear down and demolish crosses in Zhengzhou, Nanyang, and Yuzhou. The Chinese Gospel Fellowship in Nanyang sang hymns to encourage each other in their empty church after the cross was demolished. Eight house churches were shut down in one district alone. Local Christians said that it was hard to estimate how many churches had been closed. In Zhongmo County, local government told each church to remove their cross, but nobody responded. Some were afraid the government would demolish the cross, so they covered it with a black veil to conceal it. Religious persecution has been escalating since the government issued new regulations in February. In Henan, which has a large Christian population, authorities are forcing churches to display the national flag and the president’s portrait. To read about the many measures to restrict pastors, click the ‘More’ button. All of these actions are in violation of the Chinese Christians’ freedom of religion.