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February 23, 2010 Anglican Bishops Back End To Ban On Gay Civil Partnerships In Church Gay couples could soon be allowed to “marry” in church after a decision by Anglican bishops and other clergy to support a relaxation of the ban. Senior bishops in the Lords have told The Times that they will support an amendment to the Equality Bill next month that will lift the ban on civil partnership ceremonies in religious premises. The amendment would remove the legislative prohibition on blessings of homosexual couples and open the door to the registration of civil partnerships in churches, synagogues, mosques...

A major effort is underway to elect Senator David Norris, the Dublin-based politician, as the first openly gay president of Ireland. Norris, 65, a former Trinity College Dublin lecturer who has led the campaign for gay rights in Ireland for a generation, is a highly respected figure in both literary and political circles known equally for his Joycean expertise as his advocacy of liberal causes. The Irish presidential election is scheduled for 2011, when current occupant Mary McAleese steps down after two terms. The Irish President does not play a role in party politics, which is left to the Prime...

Wednesday February 17, 2010 Gay Carnival “Prince” Denied Communion by Dutch Priest By Patrick B. CraineREUSEL, Netherlands, February 17, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A Catholic priest in the small Dutch town of Reusel is drawing criticism for his decision last week to deny communion to an openly homosexual man, reports Chrétienté.info.Gijs Vermeulen, 24, served as the “prince” for the town's carnival this year.  In the official program for the event, he was pictured alongside his 5-year homosexual partner, Michael, and it is reported that the description of him focused on his homosexual lifestyle.Fr. Luc Buyens called Vermeulen in advance to...

PARIS, FRANCE, February 15, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) -- French homosexualist demonstrators had planned to have a "kiss in" in front of Notre Dame cathedral in Paris this Valentine's day.  But in response to the protests of a group of young French Catholics and patriots, it was moved away from the church of Our Lady.The kiss-in was ostensibly meant to combat “homophobia.” The organizer of the kiss-in, Arthur Vauthier, had nevertheless said that it was a "way to challenge the Church, to question the Church on the question of love and marriage between gays and between lesbians."  He had furthermore boasted that...

The Archbishop of Canterbury has warned that legalising assisted suicide would “cross a moral boundary”, and lead us into “very dangerous territory” during his address to the Church of England’s General Synod. Dr Rowan Williams also used his address to criticise Harriet Harman’s Equality Bill, currently before Parliament, which he described as “ideological” and “dangerous”. During his speech Dr Williams declared that the church “will argue fiercely, so long as legal argument continues, that granting a ‘right to die’ is not only a moral mistake, as I believe myself, but the upsetting of a balance of freedoms.” He also cautioned...

Leaders of the Methodist Church yesterday offered to surrender more than 200 years of independence from the Church of England. They said they were ready to 'cease having a separate existence' and merge with Anglicans to help the cause of Christianity. The promise, made to the Church of England's parliament, the General Synod, follows two decades of growing anxiety among Methodists over falling membership and its receding influence in society. Once seen as a pillar of working class culture and a major contributor to the thinking of the Labour Party, the church has seen its membership shrink to just 265,000.

LONDON, February 11, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Britain’s left-leaning Catholic magazine, the Tablet, has called for the Catholic Church to “if not doctrinally, at least pastorally” change its teaching on homosexuality. The Catholic Church, said an unsigned editorial titled, “The Deepest Human Desire,” should “move on with confidence,” to facilitate greater acceptance of the homosexual lifestyle, or risk losing public approval.Referring to the media uproar following comments made to the English bishops by Pope Benedict XVI opposing the Labour government’s proposed Equality Bill, the Tablet said, “The Church must take seriously, and ponder deeply, the underlying reasons for this week’s furore.”The...

Anglican Bishop Nigel McCulloch London, England, Feb 10, 2010 / 02:08 am (CNA).- As the Church of England’s General Synod begins, some Anglo-Catholic leaders have said if their concerns about the introduction of women bishops are not addressed they will withdraw their resources from the Anglican Church and focus them on ministries outside the formal church structure.The Church of England introduced women to its priesthood in 1994. It is committed to the consecration of female bishops as well, The Telegraph reports, but controversy continues about the implementation.Many of those who favor female bishops argue they should be introduced on...

The Anglican Church in Canada – once as powerful in the nation's secular life as it was in its soul – may be only a generation away from extinction, says a just-published assessment of the church's future. The report, prepared for the Anglican Diocese of British Columbia, calls Canada a post-Christian society in which Anglicanism is declining faster than any other denomination. It says the church has been “moved to the far margins of public life.” According to the report, the diocese – “like most across Canada” – is in crisis. The report repeats, without qualification or question, the results...

The Archbishop of Canterbury today issued a "profound apology" to the lesbian and gay Christian community. In a powerful address to General Synod Dr Rowan Williams warned that any schism within the church would represent of a "betrayal" of God's mission. But he made clear that he regretted recent rhetoric in which he has sought to mollify the fears of the traditionalist wing of the church. The Archbishop is from the Church's liberal Catholic wing and a man who once espoused equal rights for gays within the Church. More recently he has adopted a conservative line for the sake of...

A Christian teacher yesterday claimed he was forced out of his job after complaining that Muslim pupils as young as eight hailed the September 11 hijackers as heroes. Nicholas Kafouris, 52, is suing his former school for racial discrimination. He told a tribunal that he had to leave his £30,000-a-year post because he would not tolerate the 'racist' and 'anti-Semitic' behaviour of Year 4 pupils. The predominantly Muslim youngsters openly praised Islamic extremists in class and described the September 11 terrorists as 'heroes and martyrs'. One pupil said: 'Don't touch me, you're a Christian' when he brushed against him. Others...

Church of England Is "Living In The Past", Says BBC's Head of Religion The BBC's head of religion has accused the Church of England of "living in the past" and said that the corporation should not give Christianity preferential treatment. By Jonathan Wynne-Jones, Media Correspondent 06 Feb 2010 BBC's head of religion, Aaqil Ahmed [Pic in URL]. Aaqil Ahmed, a controversial executive whose appointment last year prompted more than 100 complaints, said: "I think all the faiths should be treated in the same way. I don't believe in treating any faith differently." He dismissed claims that the BBC was marginalising...

Christian teacher told today how he lost his job after complaining that Muslim pupils as young as eight hailed the September 11 hijackers as 'heroes'. Nicholas Kafouris said he was forced from his £30,000-a-year post because he would not tolerate the 'racist' and 'anti-Semitic' behaviour of children. He said the predominantly Muslim youngsters openly praised Islamic extremists in class, and hailed the terrorists of the 2001 atrocities as 'martyrs'. Mr Kafouris, 40, told how one pupil said to him, ‘Don’t touch me, you’re a Christian’, when the teacher accidentally brushed against him with his arm. Others said, ‘We want to...

A Christian teacher told today how he lost his job after complaining that Muslim pupils as young as eight hailed the September 11 hijackers as 'heroes'. Nicholas Kafouris said he was forced from his £30,000-a-year post because he would not tolerate the 'racist' and 'anti-Semitic' behaviour of children. He said the predominantly Muslim youngsters openly praised Islamic extremists in class, and hailed the terrorists of the 2001 atrocities as 'martyrs'. Mr Kafouris, 40, told how one pupil said to him, ‘Don’t touch me, you’re a Christian’, when the teacher accidentally brushed against him with his arm. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1249393/9-11-bombers-heroes-What-Muslim-children-told-Christian-teacher-forced-job-tolerating-racism.html#ixzz0exaAvpzP

Under the current law, religious groups can restrict jobs to believers and refuse to hire people whose private conduct is inconsistent with their teaching. The Government had been proposing to water down these restrictions in Harriet Harman’s Equality Bill, which was being debated in the House of Lords yesterday. However, the key amendments to change the law were thrown out by peers in a vote by 216 to 178 in a humiliating defeat for Miss Harman. Miss Harman can try to force the measure through the Commons – and risk losing the whole Bill because of the short amount of...

Atheist David Miliband Sends Son To Faith School David Miliband has been accused of hypocrisy for sending his son to a Church of England school even though he himself is an atheist. By Alastair Jamieson 24 Jan 2010 The foreign secretary and his wife, Louise, have sent the eldest of their two adopted sons to a faith school more than one mile from their north London home despite living close to a secular primary. The headteacher of their chosen school is an outspoken critic of government education policy and does not support controversial tests for 10 and 11-year-olds. Children should...

January 18, 2010 Bishop Attacks Morals Of Monks Who Brew Scotland’s (15% Proof) Tipple Of Choice A bishop has condemned Buckfast, the fortified wine [Pic in URL] made by monks and regarded by some as the scourge of Scotland. The Right Rev Bob Gillies, Bishop of Aberdeen and Orkney in the Scottish Episcopal Church, accused the Devon-based Benedictine monks of betraying Christian values. Bishop Gillies is the first senior clergyman to criticise the monks of Buckfast Abbey, who have always claimed they are not responsible for the antisocial behaviour that results from the widespread abuse of their product. Speaking on...

Christian Campbell, an Anglican blogger who aspires to full communion with Rome, excerpts an article in French newspaper La Croix which details how rapidly France is de-Christianizing: The IFOP Institute has just made a survey on Catholicism in France for the daily La Croix. The result is mind-blowing: *Whilst, in 1965, 81% of the French declared themselves as Catholics, they were no more than 64% in 2009. *More serious: whilst 27% of the French went to Mass once a week or more in 1965, they are no more than 4.5% in 2009. *At a doctrinal level, generally, itÂ’s a catastrophe:...

Two recent news items concern the progressive Islamization of Europe: one from Dr. Bruce Bawer on the sustained, emotional and physical attacks on critics of Islamic traditions, including the harsh treatment of women; and another from Cardinal Miloslav Vlk, retiring Archbishop of Prague, who warns, "The fall of Europe is looming." When one reads the important insights from Bawer, one can see that, given the current trend, the Cardinal is correct. Critiquing a writer who "sneers" at alarms being set off about Europe's Islamization, Bawer says: His thesis: Europe is chugging along just fine; Islam poses no real challenge to...

How Long Before Small Boys Here Ask: A Church? What’s That, Grandad? PETER HITCHENS I had hoped to have a sort of Christmas truce this week, but the controversy just keeps on raging, drowning out the choirs and bells. And one of the problems is Christmas itself. How much longer will it exist in the form we know today? I fear it won’t be much longer. Many of its traditions are visibly dying. Teachers complain that children don’t know the carols any more, because their parents don’t know them either. Dying tradition? Members of the Royal Family attend the Christmas...