Politicians

Boris Johnson is not a professing Roman Catholic: he will still advise the Queen on the selection of Bishops

Is Boris Johnson a Roman Catholic? Yes and no. During an ITV interview with Robert Peston, the Prime Minister was asked if he is now "a practising Roman Catholic", following his very secret and happy wedding to Carrie Symonds in…

Twitter censorship of the Biden scandal merits questions in Parliament

October 16, 2020
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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…

Fratelli Tutti Pope Francis European Union Brexit

Pope Francis damns Brexit

October 5, 2020
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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…

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Waiting expectantly for the wrong messiah

December 9, 2019
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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

November 8, 2019
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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

October 27, 2019
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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

August 7, 2019
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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

July 14, 2019
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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?

June 10, 2019
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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?

May 30, 2019
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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’

March 28, 2019
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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 Steven Croft Lords ambition Brexit

Bishop says Brexit is marred by politicians’ personal ambition, and calls for ‘strong, compelling and united vision of the future’

March 1, 2019
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"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…

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Defections, divisions, tribalism and schisms

February 21, 2019
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'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 chaplain house of commons prayer

Parliamentary prayers give strength and instil humility: they impose nothing and exclude no one

January 21, 2019
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"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”

January 9, 2019
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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…

jonathan aitken times credo pray for parliament

Rev’d Jonathan Aitken calls the nation to pray for Parliament

December 9, 2018
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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…

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Sentamu: ‘pure’ (‘real’/ ‘hard’) Brexit is “a childish dream”

December 3, 2018
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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…

nick baines bishop eu speech british hopelessness

Bishop Nick Baines derides Brexit British hopelessness

July 25, 2018
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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…

Jonathan Aitken with Thatcher Bishop of London

The Rev’d Jonathan Aitken – being ordained is like ‘a new life’

July 1, 2018
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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?

September 25, 2017
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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…