Pope Francis damns Brexit
Pope Francis has written another encyclical, Fratelli Tutti. It isn't a great theological tome; indeed, it could easily be a series of religio-political blogposts on current events. Much of the…
Politicians
Twitter censorship of the Biden scandal merits questions in Parliament
There is something rather sinister going on at Twitter. Readers will recall the daily news being full of serious allegations of Russian collusion with the Trump campaign in order to influence (allegedly) the 2016 election. They may also recall the…
Waiting expectantly for the wrong messiah
We must never again have a general election during Advent: everyone is waiting expectantly for the wrong messiah. By the end of this week either Boris Johnson or Jeremy Corbyn…
Jacob Rees-Mogg does not deserve to be pilloried for his Grenfell fire remarks
I scarcely thought that 50 years after studying the Law of Tort I should be dredging up my recollection of its principles because they would prove relevant during an election…
Don’t judge an archbishop by a newspaper headline
This is a very poor headline from the Sunday Times, purposely written to exasperate Brexiteer Tories and bring comfort and joy to all sorts of Remainery types. But it is…
Brexit Derangement Syndrome: the contagion reaches the Bishops
Every profession seems to have been infected, and within each there is notable carrier who is especially unwell. Brexit Derangement Syndrome is spreading like the Plague of Justinian, and there…
We need to make more space for silence
High School student Jack Higgins has a severe form of autism which makes him hypersensitive to noise. His graduation rite of passage was looking to be an impossible occasion, with…
Tory leadership contest: when did vice signalling become a virtue?
The Tory leadership contest has taken a strange turn. Perhaps it's a purposeful distraction from their (non-)strategies for realising Brexit, but they seem to have taken to vice signalling (or,…
Tory leadership contest: how ‘Christian’ are the candidates?
We have arrived at the final two candidates in the Tory leadership contest: either Boris Johnson or Jeremy Hunt will be the next Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and…
Welby to MPs: ‘Respect the vote of the people and unite our country’
By their 'indicative votes' ye shall know them. Last night MPs tried to determine what, if anything, they preferred to Theresa May's 'deal', and they said 'no' to everything. Motion…
Bishop says Brexit is marred by politicians’ personal ambition, and calls for ‘strong, compelling and united vision of the future’
"My Lords, I always rise to speak in this Chamber with some fear and trepidation but never more so than today," confessed the Lord Bishop of Oxford, the Rt Rev'd…
Defections, divisions, tribalism and schisms
'What causes fights and quarrels among you?' asked James the brother of Jesus, writing to the twelve tribes scattered abroad. And then he proceeds to answer his own question: Don’t…
Parliamentary prayers give strength and instil humility: they impose nothing and exclude no one
"If MPs don’t want to attend prayers, they wait outside for five minutes until they are over", tweeted Nadine Dorries MP, in response to those who are agitating anew for…
Bishop denounces Boris Johnson as an “amoral liar”
It was a good lecture by the Bishop of Leeds, if a little long. Delivered to mark the centennial celebrations of Bradford Cathedral, he expounded some of the root causes…
Rev’d Jonathan Aitken calls the nation to pray for Parliament
From The Times' 'Credo' column yesterday, by the Rev'd Jonathan Aitken, reproduced here with permission: After a seismic week of political and constitutional upheavals at Westminster, might this be a…
Sentamu: ‘pure’ (‘real’/ ‘hard’) Brexit is “a childish dream”
On the BBC's Andrew Marr Show on Sunday, the Archbishop of Canterbury was asked about the disparity (/gulf) between the laity and clergy in the Church of England regarding the…
Bishop Nick Baines derides Brexit British hopelessness
There's a lot of anxiety about. The torch which once lit our path is being extinguished. Our institutions and communities are beset with moral problems, dilemmas and quandaries. Our politics…
The Rev’d Jonathan Aitken – being ordained is like ‘a new life’
Former Tory Cabinet minister, convicted perjurer and bankrupt the Rt Hon Jonathan Aitken MP is now the Rev'd Jonathan Aitken, deacon at St Matthews, Westminster, and chaplain to the Prison…
Mawer, Percy, and the See of Sheffield: what if Conservative politicians had supported Philip North?
Sir Philip Mawer's report on the circumstances surrounding the nomination of Bishop Philip North to the See of Sheffield makes interesting reading, in particular what it means for the 'mutual…
If a bigot can’t be PM, why should one be allowed to become an MP?
Jacob Rees-Mogg walks into a TV studio. Grand Inquisitor Piers Torquemorgan has wheeled out his rack; his beatific assistant Susanna Reid has greased up the Judas cradle. Heresy is not…