Ruth Gledhill - Times Online - WBLG

A bit of a card, what? The Tories' PC Christmas

Two years ago, David Cameron, the Conservative leader, said banning Nativity plays and replacing 'Merry Christmas' signs with 'Season's greetings' risked offending people from other faiths by patronising them. Now the Conservative Party's own Christmas card has been released - and it substitutes Season's Greetings for Happy Christmas.

Thus has the ghost of season's greetings past visited a one-time scourge of political correctness, giving bloggers around the world an early Christmas present and proving once more that there really is a God.

Ha ha ha. Or should that be ho ho ho!

Atheist David Miliband to work closely with Pope for Arms Trade Treaty

Foreign Secretary David Miliband, on course perhaps to become Britain's first openly atheist  Prime Minister, has today, Armistice Day, published an article in the Vatican daily L'Osservatore Romano pledging to work with the Roman Catholic Church to secure an Arms Trade Treaty.

David Cameron 'does God' in fuzzy, sort-of-Anglican way

We all suspected that when Alastair Campbell told journalists that Tony Blair did not 'do God', this was because of the uncomfortable truth that the then British Prime Minister did God rather too well for comfort. Best to ignore his faith altogether than have to face questions about praying with President Bush about going to war or deny reports of pending conversion to Rome that everyone knew would turn out to be true. Denialism is after all a heresy not listed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church - yet.

It is a relief for those of us who have to fish facts from this slippery net with our pens to discover that will be no need for any comparable Christian coyness from David Cameron's advisers. How reassuring to discover that  Cameron's version of doing God is so very Church of English.

This revelation comes in an interview with Evening Standard editor Geordie Greig, published today.

Barack Obama wins Strictly Come Dancing

Ok, so he hasn't entered it yet, and the latest contest isn't even over, but that shouldn't stop him winning first prize. And it would neatly solve the race row currently engulfing the programme.

Yes I agree it is a ridiculous headline, but is it any more ridiculous than his winning the Nobel Peace Prize, which has left him as surprised as anyone? Jen Sorensen has uncovered the real reason he won the Nobel.

David Cameron invokes Bible and Martin Luther King

David Cameron's speech to the Conservative party conference was full of Biblical allusion, according to Paul Woolley of the think tank Theos. His reasoning is below. Archbishop Cranmer considers it 'mildly theological'. The Rev Rob Marshall, one of his clergy in Kensington, has also analysed David Cameron's social theology for Articles of Faith. Conservative Home live blogged the speech, announcing: 'Compassionate conservatism is for real.'

Tony Blair: 'More to life than pleasure.'

Tony Blair today condemned the pursuit of pleasure as 'an end in itself'. He made the case against individualism, linking it to the present financial crisis. He was speaking in Rimini this afternoon at the much-heralded Communion and Liberation movement conference. See our news story now up at Times Online, where he talks the influence of his wife Cherie in his conversion.  He received a standing ovation from an audience of more than 10,000. Read the recent blog by SPUC director John Smeaton for a taste of the delicate terrain into which he is stepping. Smeaton sent an open letter to the organisers urging them to revoke the invitation. MaryMagdalen also previewed the meeting, prompting one commenter to describe it as the 'one to miss'. 

Charities Parliament to debate MPs' expenses scandal

In relation to the scandal over MPs' expenses, the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams, who incidentally was 59 years old on Sunday, wrote in The Times that 'the continuing systematic humiliation of politicians itself threatens to carry a heavy price in terms of our ability to salvage some confidence in our democracy.'

He was not criticising or attempting to take away from the brilliance of the scoop obtained by the Telegraph newspapers, or of the reporting and analysis that has kept us all gripped by this unfolding saga ever since.

He went on to castigate the 'what we can get away with' approach, to recommend a religiously-based morality and to call for a culture of virtue to take the place of a culture of regulation in order to bring about a renewal of trust in figures in public life.

And already, his article has had an impact.

For a start, it has inspired the high-profile Baptist minister Steve Chalke to arrange an event at his new Charities Parliament just south of the river from Westminster to hold a Question Time-style debate of the issues raised by Dr Williams and the political crisis in general.

Swine flu faith guide: 'You may need to suspend public worship'

Update: The revised Government guidelines for faith communities in the event of a flu pandemic are now available and the Church of England has published special prayers for swine flu. The Methodists have also issued guidelines.

What do you think this woman is doing, praying or blowing her nose, or perhaps multitasking and doing both at the same time?

Over the last 48 hours I've been receiving a few calls and emails from clergy and laity wondering where the guidance is for faith communities on swine flu, or perhaps that should be Mexican flu. In  the UK there are thousands of ministers of religion preparing for services this weekend, wondering what they should do. One can only assume the leaders of the established church are praying about it, for that would explain their silence. It does strike me as bizarre though that a national newspaper religion correspondent should be contacted by clergy seeking advice on what their leaders are thinking.

These are some of the questions I'm being asked: For Christians, should they suspend communion altogether, or suspend sharing of the communion cup? What about the hands of the minister if he has caught the infection, blessing and handing out the bread? In synagogues, where services are often followed by celebrations over food, should these go ahead?

No-one knows, and people everywhere seem to be in the dark about how seriously they should take this possible pandemic.

So in the spirit of Christian charity, I've done my best to help. Read on.

Budget09: Pope says crisis born of our greed

In his weekly audience at the Holy See, the Pope has used the plain and powerful language of the seven deadly sins to sum up the root of the economic difficulties facing our world.

'This crisis was born out of greed,' he said, quoting the eighth century religious figure Ambroise Autpert, who criticised the wealth of monastaries at the time.

Autpert had denounced greed as the root of all evils.

'In light of the current global economic crisis, this is still the case,' said Pope Benedict XVI.

The Church of England has also posted new resources to coincide with the Budget and offer ways of coping. 'There is more to life than the financial downturn,' says mission adviser Anne Richards, listing Bible texts that can be used to draw hope from. Various CofE dioceses also have a number of new debt initiatives set up.

Breaking News: Pope's letter to Gordon Brown in full

In his reply to the letter below, which you can read in full here, Gordon Brown pledges 'tough measures' to regulate banks and hedge funds. He says: 'This is a decisive moment for the world economy. We have a
choice to make. We can either let the recession run its course, or we can resolve as a world community to unite, to stand with millions of people struggling in these tough times, to fight back against this global
recession that is hurting so many people in every continent.'

Letter to British PM Gordon Brown from Pope Benedict XVI

His Excellency

The Right Honourable Mr. Gordon Brown

Prime Minister

Dear Prime Minister,

During your recent visit to the Vatican, you kindly briefed me on the Summit taking place in London from 2 to 3 April 2009 with the participation of representatives from the world’s twenty largest economies.  As you explained, the aim of this meeting is to coordinate, with urgency, measures necessary to stabilize financial markets and to enable companies and families to weather this period of deep recession, in order to restore sustainable growth in the world economy and to reform and substantially strengthen systems of global governance, in order to ensure that such a crisis is not repeated in the future.

Pope appeals to Gordon Brown for 'faith' in humanity

Pope Benedict XVI has written to the Prime Minister about the G20 summit which opens tomorrow in London, Gordon Brown revealed at St Paul's today. He said he received a letter in which the Pope said: 'Positive faith in the human person, and above all faith in the poorest men and women - of Africa and other regions of the world affected by extreme poverty - is what is needed if we are truly to come through the crisis.'

Number 10 has posted a full transcript of his speech which was a challenging, sermon-like testimony to the power of faith and hope over what many fear might become experience.

The event was organised by St Paul's Institute with a collection taken for Five Talents UK, the microfinance initiative of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

Faith and health: How believers can turn this to their advantage

See our story today on the reinstatement of Caroline Petrie, an evangelical Christian who was subjected to disciplinary proceedings for asking a patient if she wanted her to pray for her, even though the patient did not object.

Only last month the Government published a new guide on religion and belief for the NHS. It is respectfully liberal, allowing most religious dress observances for example, and suggesting NHS trusts display multifaith calendars so staff know which festivals are coming up when.

On dress, it permits most religious wear except for anything 'below the elbow' for health and safety reasons.

'If Obama were Pope' by Professor Hans Kung

Professor Hans Kung posited this in an article that first appeared in German here.

Another article it might be fun to publish would carry the headline: If Hans Kung were Pope.

Kung and the present Pope were of course colleagues at Tubingen. Now they are rather at opposite ends of the spectrum. I think readers here will enjoy Hans Kung's article. Read on.

Labour 'does God'

As we report, Government minister Stephen Timms has made a powerful address to the Institute of Public Policy Research on the importance of religion in shaping public policy. This comes on the same day that research by Tearfund shows churchgoing rising by as much as a quarter. Religion dead? Not on our Life.

Timms said:

'What I want to argue today is that the faith communities offer a rich resource of hopefulness which, in progressive politics, we need to tap into and draw upon.  The faith communities have not always been seen as the natural allies of progressive politics.  Indeed, in the United States, there has been a powerful alliance between Christian organisations and conservatism.  We saw that alliance loosening with the election of Barack Obama. 

'Faith communities have a great deal to offer us, not least in their resource of hopefulness, as we build a new politics based on hope to respond effectively to the challenges we face.  They can form the basis for a broad coalition of hope.

'There is a twofold challenge here.  A challenge to progressive politicians to show they recognise faith-based perspectives and contributions as valid and mainstream, rather than irrelevant and marginal.  That means recognising that faith cannot be relegated to the private sphere – and as IPPR has already argued – addressing faith literacy in central and local government, so that officials can deal intelligently with input from faith communities.  And it means thinking hard about identity, recognising the part faith plays, and getting beyond ‘We don’t do God’.

Read his full speech here.

'Almighty God' of 'our many understandings'

Here follow the texts of Rick Warren's and Gene Robinson's invocations.  Thanks to commenter Tim, below, for suggesting another by Joseph Lowery, more like a sermon than the benediction. Also readers might be interested in a review of Stephen Mansfield's new book on the faith of Barack Obama himself.

Faith in Barack Obama

As we report, Barack Obama is likely to meet Pope Benedict XVI, the Dalai Lama and other top religious leaders in his first year as President of the US, according to the author of a book on his religious beliefs.

Although, as Bess Twiston-Davies writes, other presidents have referred to God in inauguration addresses in the past, never before has as much attention been paid to the religion of an incoming US president as with Barack Obama. One of the best guides to what he believes is a new book, The Faith of Barack Obama, by Stephen Mansfield. I spoke to Mansfield about Obama's beliefs, and which church he might attend in Washington.

The formidable Sarah Palin

In today's Times, both Alexi Mostrous and I have had a look at Sarah Palin's religious beliefs. Two posts on The Revealer religion website were helpful in researching this. Bruce Wilson's blogsite has been looking at the links between Assemblies of God Pentecostalism, Third Wave and the controversial Latter Rain movement. I was intrigued by Alexi's quote from Sarah Palin's former pastor, who said he looked out of the window, and could see "rain falling". That quote had theological significance in terms of Latter Rain, a movement that has its focus on End Time prophecies. In effect, it means he believes the end is nigh! But it is important to remember that Sarah Palin no longer attends that church and I am sure does not hold Latter Rain beliefs herself.

Boris clergy scandal uncovered

(Update Friday morning: Why is Tom Ambrose's recent dispute relevant to this case? See below for details.)

When Church of England clergyman Ray Lewis was made deputy mayor for young people by Boris Johnson, a couple of people contacted me urging me to write about the powrful example being set for the church by this charismatic leader. I am rather glad I never found time to do it. Because today it has emerged that he was placed on the Lambeth List and barred from office for serious financial misconduct. More details appear in our story, now online. Boris has this afternoon launched an investigation. Lewis has condemned the claims as 'absolute rubbish' and denied he was ever suspended. True, technically he did resign. But Chelmsford diocese has promised full cooperation with Boris' office. And their statement, produced below, is pretty unequivocal.

Church critiques Government's 'moral compass'

As the Archbishop of York Dr John Sentamu finally got God to improve the weather so he could do his parachute jump, our front page story today contains some details of the ground-breaking new report commissioned by the Church of England on the Government's failure to take seriously its contribution to welfare in Britain. We've got more inside the paper, plus a commentary and a leader. The report, Moral, but no Compass, was commissioned by the Bishop of Hulme, Stephen Lowe, from the Von Hugel Institute, with the support of the bishops and archbishops. It is not published until Monday. Readers here might like to see some extracts which I have reproduced below. Meanwhile, our story was mentioned twice this morning on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, and others quick off the mark include John Richardson on Chelmsford Anglican Mainstream, the Cultural Anarchist, and Philip at Bharat Rakshak. (Not forgetting the DTs of course.)

Sentamu hammers Brown's Labour Government

Am slowly getting back on top of this difficult job. The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, spoke last night at a dinner given by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research at Braziers' Hall in the City of London. Here is a brief extract. The full text of his barnstorming attack on Gordon Brown's Government is below. Worth a read, if you have a moment or two to spare. For a brief summary, our news story is also online. I've posted this in full because the Archbishop, whose parachute jump at the weekend was sadly rained off, is becoming known for his 'gesture politics'. This speech proves that his words are equally worthy of note, perhaps more so. I'm meant to be seeing Gordon Brown at a Downing Street faith do next Thursday so let's hope he doesn't read this blog!

ABY: 'I come lately from the city of York where, in 1190, at Clifford Tower, in York Castle, a mob who called themselves Christians set the tower alight, filled with Jews who had sheltered there for safety – many died in the inferno, some took their own lives and those who escaped the fire were massacred.  I belong to a religious tradition which, at times, has organised Crusades and Inquisitions, treating Jews as less than human.  For me, as a follower of Jesus of Nazareth, a Jew, I am sorry and deeply ashamed.  And especially over the Holocaust: where God was violated and blasphemed.  Lord have mercy!' Read it all below.

Faith equals happiness, no faith equals misery

Shadow Attorney General Dominic Grieve MP gave an interesting speech last week to the Conservative Christian Fellowship which you can download here , addressing the issue of British identity. But he also touched on well-being, a topic of concern to party leader David Cameron and which is the focus of an interesting report by a cross-party group of MPs. We've got a story in the paper today on this, which on which I was interested to see this morning a supportive comment by one Benita Hewitt! St Louis Catholic has also posted an interesting response.

'St Boris's Day'

With victory less than half a prayer away for Boris Johnson in the London Mayoral elections, it is worth pointing out that 2 May is the saint day of St Boris in the Russian Orthodox Church. And although, as Sean Clarke notes, the Russian church uses the Julian Calendar where 2 May will not take place until 15 May, it seems nevertheless amusing that Boris should take the day on what still appears to us Gregorians as St Boris' Day. St Boris from now on?

Suicide bombing 'un-Islamic' says top Muslim peer

A very good speech from interfaith expert Lord Hameed in the House of Lords tonight, on why suicide bombing is un-Islamic and how inadequate leadership in Britain's Muslim community is fomenting radicalism among its youth. I've posted the full text below. Lord Hameed was recently awarded the Interfaith Gold Medallion by the Sternberg Foundation.

'Benedict the Benign'

This picture of Pope Benedict XVI, one of many that have come into The Times that we've not found room for in the paper, is so typically American. More pictures below, including my favourite, one of a levitating pilgrim. My own views on this extraordinary visit were published in the paper yesterday. I was among those who trembled when Ratzinger the 'rottweiler' was elected Pope, and have been gladly amazed and confounded by his transformation into 'Benedict the Benign'. But as Christopher Hitchens notes in Slate [ht to Damian], when we religion journalists have finished genuflecting, we need to think a little harder about the continuing ramifications of the child sex abuse scandals, and why the Pope continues to shelter Cardinal Bernard Law. This blog by Bill O'Reilly typifies what many loyal and faithful Catholics think on this.

Tony Blair: why we didn't 'do God'

Tony Blair spoke at Westminster Cathedral this evening. Our earlier reports are in this blog and this article. You can download the full speech here. But one thing of interest came early on, when he explained for the first time that I can recall why Alastair Campbell once said: 'We don't do God.'
 

Cardinal: stop this 'Frankenstein' evil

'This Bill represents a monstrous attack on human rights, human dignity and human life. In some other European countries one could be jailed for doing what we intend to make legal. I can say that the government has no mandate for these changes:  they were not in any election manifesto, nor do they enjoy widespread public support. The opposite has indeed taken place – the time allowed for debate in Parliament and indeed in the country at large has been shockingly short. One might say that in our country we are about to have a public government endorsement of experiments of Frankenstein proportion – without many people really being aware of what is going on.'

Read on for the full Easter Day sermon at St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh to be delivered by Cardinal Keith O'Brien. Our news report is here.

The man can dance

I've had all kinds of emails over the past few weeks, making allegations about the religious beliefs of Barack Obama. But all I know is the man would have my vote, because he can dance.

A measure of God

However God is defined, fewer Americans are believing. The Pew Forum's groundbreaking report, which we cover today, shows a surprising decline in religious affiliation in this most God-fearing nation of all. God is on the public agenda here too. Britain's Charity Commission will tomorrow publish its consultation on religious charities. Religious charities will have to prove public benefit to justify their charitable status. But the Commission is also looking at how to define what followers or adherents of a religion must believe in. Clearly what we need in Britain is a US-style   God-o-Meter that could help the Commission with this eternal problem. The meter is currently looking at how Barack Obama is winning the faith vote. We must get one of these metrical devices for our own faith page! Today, Prince Harry would come out on top. I've no idea what his beliefs are, but he surely is showing 'divine principle' in action in taking on the Taliban in Afghanistan, a story broken today by America's Drudge Report.

Graham Dow: UK Government a 'Revelation 13' Govt

The Bishop of Carlisle has the 'number' of Gordon Brown's government, it seems. At the General Synod launch today of God, Gays and the Church, which we previewed on our front page a few days ago, he was told that many church members feel helpless in the face of the gay rights agenda and was asked what they could do to counter the trend. Bishop Graham Dow responded: 'The challenge is to be brave and bolder than we have been, keeping the issue in the public domain, not falling into the trap of being aggressive. We will be called homophobic consantly.'

He went on to say: 'I happen to believe that our Government is moving into the realm of imposing its morality and it has therefore become a Revelation 13 Government rather than a Romans 13 Government.
In the view of the Book of Revelation, the Roman Empire had become a demonic beast and was imposing its morality.'

Readers of this blog will of course be familiar with Revelation 13, its seven headed beast, mouth speaking blasphemies, the number of the beast, bar codes and so forth.

More on the tragedy of Zimbabwe

This man, Nolbert Kunonga, pictured here wearing the collar and cloth of an Anglican bishop as befits his former position as Bishop of Harare, was once a professor of liberation theology in the US. Today, as we report in TimesOnline, he was unequivocally condemned by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, who professed himself 'appalled'. What happened?

John Henry Newman to be saint 'soon'

This is an original nineteenth century photograph of Father John Henry Newman (1801-1890) taken in around 1865 by RW Thrupp of Birmingham, from the archives of the Birmingham Oratory, Edgbaston. It was one of three given to Pope Benedict XVI by outgoing Prime Minister Tony Blair MP at the end of a his private audience with the Pope in the Vatican on Saturday 23 June 2007. Newman was created a Cardinal by Pope Leo XIII in 1879. The picture, used here courtesy of the Fathers of the Birmingham Oratory, does indeed show Newman in a saintly pose and his numinous expression reminds me here of the late Cardinal Basil Hume, another saintly figure of the English Church.

Tony Blair converts to Catholicism

As we reported exclusively that he would, Tony Blair has been received into the Roman Catholic Church. A story is now on Times Online. Mr Blair was received during Mass in the chapel at Archbishop’s House, Westminster, yesterday. The former Prime Minister has been receiving doctrinal and spiritual preparation from Mgr Mark O’Toole, the Cardinal’s private secretary. Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor said: 'I am very glad to welcome Tony Blair into the Catholic Church. For a long time he has been a regular worshipper at Mass with his family and in recent months he has been following a programme of formation to prepare for his reception into full communion. My prayers are with him, his wife and family at this joyful moment in their journey of faith together.'

'Better the Prophet's turban than the Pope's tiara'

This headline represents the traditional response among some of the older-generation Greek and Turkish Orthodox to attempts to heal the ancient schism of 1054. Which could be precisely why, as we report, Patriarch Bartholomew is so eager to 'climb into bed' with the Pope. Especially if it means leaving the Russians behind, making him the unrivalled 'Eastern Pope' and strengthening his hand immeasurably in dealing with Islam. (You can also read our story on VirtueOnline.)

Blair will be a Catholic 'by Christmas'

As we reported earlier this year, and after a decade of speculation, Tony Blair is to convert at last. As usual his office are declining to comment on what they say is 'speculation'. But significantly, when I spoke to them today they did not trot out the usual line that he is 'still a member of the Church of England.' The story, reported this time by Tablet editor Catherine Pepinster, is being taken seriously by the media and clergy of London. It is in the Mail and the Telegraph this evening and Damian Thompson has blogged it. There are television vans camped outside Westminster Cathedal, where this week's Tablet is already on sale and where Blair is to be received in a few weeks, in Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor's private chapel. And then there's my own news story as well! Musn't forget to mention that, nor indeed the Tony Blair freebie China junket where he got £237,000 for a speech that was by most accounts simply beautifully platitudinous.

Cherie Blair: in time for a new Reformation

Cherie Blair's comments today , that we report on TimesOnline , make me wonder whether it is time our world had a new Reformation, not just in Christianity, but in Islam. Her full speech is now online. A friend has sent me this musical reflection on the last one:

Ministers of religion: servants of God or mammon?

This post isn't really about Tom Ambrose, pictured here. It is about the Rev Sylvester Stewart, of the New Testament Church of God, who as we report has been ruled by the Court of Appeal to be an employee and therefore to have the right to sue for unfair dismissal. I couldnt' find a picture of Sylvester so put Tom instead. But some of you perhaps can see where this is going... read on to find out if you've guessed right.

Bishops get power to choose own Deans

Picture of harmony, isn't it? Bishops throughout the land will be rubbing their purpled hands with glee at the thought that at long last, after all these centuries, they are going to be given the power to choose their own cathedral deans. Gordon Brown doesn't want to do it any more. So, as we report tonight, the Church is going to give the job to the bishops. Of course it just affects the 27 cathedrals (that is excluding Oxford's Christ Church) where the Deans are currently Crown appointments. The laity in parish church cathedrals have the power of veto. This is something the consultation paper published today accepts must continue only with reluctance. There'll be no pesky laity vetoing the Bishop's man in the lovely old new and old foundation cathedrals. Perish the thought!

In the name of love

You think I've got problems? My colleagues at The Times have been cheering me up with this 'Russian wedding' video. I offer it to you as something for the weekend. Read on for some more serious news.

Church fails to welcome Gordon's married couple tax break

We laughed in The Times office as Gordon Brown spoke today. There are such fun political times ahead. Anyway, for the first time that I can remember in decades, a Prime Minister has actually introduced a tax break for married couples. Yippee! And can I find a bishop to welcome this? A bishop from an established Church that has for as many decades been bewailing the manifold sins and wickednesses of successive governments' anti-marriage tax policies? Of course I can't. Ha ha ha. As if. Normally, when big political stories are breaking, religion correspondents are left on the sidelines. Here was a chance to get in on the action! But no such luck. Our church is, sometimes, just pathetic. Anway, read on for what Gordon said. I'm welcoming it, even if the bishops aren't.  I guess I'll have to do. (Update: Pete Broadbent, Bishop of Willesden, has said this: 'It’s good news that Government is at last taking notice that marriage is crucial for the health of society. The changes in the rules on inheritance tax are to be welcomed – though there is much more that could be done. The Church of England has consistently asked Government to do all it can to remove the considerable financial penalties placed on marriage by the tax and benefit system.')

Buddhists, Bennites and Brian Eno

I wept when I watched this video.

Faith in the system

As Alex Frean and I report in The Times today, the Government's response to increasing sectarianism in our society appears to bring yet more independent faith schools into the fold of the maintained sector. This is ironically quite Darwinian, in that it could be interpreted as a political acting out of the principle of survival of the fittest. Faith schools invariably achieve among the best results in the state sector, so they multiply in number. And Islam is among the most thriving of our religions in Britain at present, so is the religion that stands to benefit most from this, with dozens of private Islamic schools likely to become state faith schools. (Update: this was the first item on today's, 9/9, Sunday prog on BBC Radio 4.)

Post-Catholic Britain?

The indult is on its way, to be published 7 July. Some senior bishops already have it. Meanwhile, I am trying to check out a bizarre rumour I've heard - I stress it is just a rumour at present and really barely bloggable, never mind reportable - that Pope Benedict plans on reviving the ancient office of lay cardinal. Further, that the first two lay cardinals appointed will be our own Tony Blair, and France's Jacques Chirac. The picture shows Giacomo Antonelli, one of the last of the lay cardinals

Another seedling going over to Rome?

It's the annual Catholic Communications Day Mass today in London and I've been asked to do the Bidding Prayers. Yes really! I'll update this post this evening with a report on who was there, what was said, all the printable gossip. But it does seem one of those odd (Godly?) coincidences that this be the day we run our story, based on a remark made by Father Michael Seed at a recent memorial service, about Tony Blair becoming a Catholic. (Cartoon from unkemptwomen) (Update: In the Church Times media column of 25 May Joe Jenkins is almost as amusing as Andrew Brown but sadly has made an error. No 'letters of apology' have been sent to Michael Seed, the Blairs or the Cardinal, nor will they be.)

'Falwell' left behind

Sent to me by a friend...

Jerry Falwell 'gone to glory'

Jerry Falwell on why Islam is not evil.

Blair to focus on interfaith work

As Tom Baldwin and I report today, Tony Blair on leaving office is to get involved in interfaith work. The Prime Minister, a devout Anglo-Catholic whose pilgrimage to Rome has long been anticipated, has for years been fascinated by this area. He wants to set up a new foundation to foster greater understanding between the three great Abrahamic faiths, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Just for a bit of fun, though...

Christians' throats slit in Turkey

Middle East Concern has sent me this report of an horrific story, also covered in today's Times. Three Christians have been killed by five young attackers on Wednesday early afternoon. The three victims, two Turks and a German, were discovered at the Zirve publishing house in the eastern city of Malatya. They were bound to a chair and their throats had been slit. This picture of police wrestling an unidentified man after the attacks comes from Christianity Today.

Proud not to be 'part of the union'.

  How many readers of this blog are old enough, like me, to remember the Strawbs song, 'You can't get me I'm part of the Union'? This was released in 1973, just as I was starting to gear up for 'O' levels. By the time I was sitting mocks and other exams, through a series of cold winters, there were periods when we went for months with no heating in our draughty Staffordshire vicarage because there was no coal. We had little hot food or drink because there was no coke for the Rayburn. Stinking rubbish piled up, uncollected.

Religion under attack, says Vin Nichols

Archbishop of Birmingham Vincent Nichols has given a long interview to Times writers Helen Rumbelow and Alice Miles, which we also report in the news pages. His concerns are the place of Islam in British society, of the threats to faith in contemporary life and of the Government's present approach to moral issues. The Archbishop of Westminster is due to offer his resignation to the Pope, as he must under canon law, when he turns 75 this summer. I understand that it will not be accepted this year but probably will next, meaning that Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor will step down in February 2009. Archbishop Nichols is, along with the Archbishop of Cardiff Peter Smith, among the favourites to succeed him.

Akinola 'demonised'

Friends of the Archbishop of Nigeria hope that the news that the Nigerian anti-gay laws have fallen will help throw some perspective on earlier of what is actually going on over there. 'There is a demonisation of Peter Akinola taking place which really is not fair, and sits very ill at ease with the remembrances on the abolition of slavery,' one told me today. 'It seems that Africans are to be welcomed and apologised to, unless we happen to disagree with them.' Integrity USA is running an interesting report from David Mac-Iyalla of Changing Attitude in Nigeria that suggests the bill is indeed dead. But Davis and others will not be officially celebrating until the end of May, in case it is re-introduced by the new parliament. (Picture of Archbishop Akinola in Tanzania taken by Matthew Davies.)