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The Archbishop of Canterbury has suggested that Jesus would get vaccinated against Covid. The Most Rev Justin Welby urged people to get jabbed, saying it is a moral issue. He also issued a thinly-veiled criticism of No10 saying he felt ‘real disappointment and sadness’ at seeing photos of Downing Street staff eating cheese and drinking wine during the first lockdown. In an interview with ITV News At Ten, the archbishop said getting vaccinated ‘is not about me and my rights’. ‘It’s about how I love my neighbour. Vaccination reduces my chances of getting ill and reducing my chances of getting...

The Archbishop of Canterbury has said being vaccinated against coronavirus is a moral issue. The Most Rev Justin Welby said that getting the jab reduces the chances of illness being spread and that 'it's not about me and my rights to choose - it's about how I love my neighbour'. His comments come as Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that people could go ahead with their Christmas plans but there is 'continuing uncertainty' about the severity of the fast-spreading Omicron variant and hospital admission rates.

Foes of mandatory coverage of abortion in New York State insurance law will have another hearing after the U.S. Supreme Court ordered a New York state court to reconsider their decision. The law’s narrow religious exemption wrongly disqualifies many religious groups which object to providing abortion, critics said. A group of Anglican nuns is among the objectors. “We believe that every person is made in the image of God,” said Mother Miriam of the Sisterhood of Saint Mary, an Anglican body. “That’s why we believe in the sanctity of human life, and why we seek to serve those of all...

Because our media establishment is total garbage, you probably haven't heard about this: Though barely mentioned in US media, 48 Christian churches in Canada have been vandalized or burned down in the past two months…Much of the arson appears linked to white progressives...” Heartbreaking, important story getting almost no coverage in U.S... Canada's churches are burning. Trudeau shrugs.. Yes, 48 churches in Canada have either been vandalized or set on fire in just TWO MONTHS. Here's one of them: Having a hard time processing this right now. The historic & beautiful St Jean Baptist’s parish in Morinville burned to the...

The Anglican Church of Canada will run out of members by the year 2040 if its current rate of decline continues, according to a recently released report. The Rev. Canon Neil Elliot gave a presentation last Saturday at the ACC Council of General Synod on the statistics for the members of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The statistics were compiled last year and reflected membership numbers in 2017. It was the first report on church statistics since 2001. According to Elliot’s report, in 2017, the ACC had approximately 357,000 members, representing 1 percent of the overall national population. This was a...

Glenn Davies, Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, has a message for people who disagree with him, and his diocese, about same sex blessings – they should leave the church rather than fight. “My own view is that if people wish to change the doctrine of our Church, they should start a new church or join a church more aligned to their views – but do not ruin the Anglican Church by abandoning the plain teaching of Scripture,” he told his Synod (church parliament) in his final address to them. “Please leave us. We have far too much work to do in...

Cardinal George Pell's barrister: loud, socially progressive and an avowed atheist (The Age cannot be posted.)

For someone who is in love and recently married, a wedge of “very odd pain” is lodged in Mpho Tutu van Furth’s heart. It is caused by the South African Anglican church’s refusal to allow the daughter of one of the world’s best known Christian leaders to continue to work as a priest after she married the person with whom she has pledged to share the rest of her life: a woman. “It was hard for me to give up my [priest’s] licence, it felt incredibly sad,” Tutu van Furth – whose father, Desmond Tutu, won the Nobel peace prize...

Queen Elizabeth II opposed the legalization of same-sex marriage in England because of her deeply held Christian values, a close friend has reportedly told a London-based newspaper. The UK Daily Mail published a story Sunday which claimed that the queen, who is also head of the Church of England, secretly opposed gay marriage but was in favor of civil partnerships. The unnamed "friend" said the monarch was frustrated by the fact that she could only "advise and warn" on the issue. "It was the 'marriage' thing that she thought was wrong, because marriage ought to be sacrosanct between a man...

A group of conservative Anglican leaders are reportedly meeting in London to discuss forming a “parallel” church that they feel would be more true to Anglican principles on positions like women bishops and gay marriage. The Independent reported that The Church of England is “at risk of an unprecedented schism” in light of the proposal by the Global Anglican Futures Conference, which seeks to counter what conservatives find is a liberal approach to social issues by the Church of England and the Archbishop of Canterbury. […] Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said back in December 2014 that he fears the...

Archbishop of Canterbury hails a “completely new phase” of its existence after enabing women to become bishops The Church of England has entered what the Archbishop of Canterbury hailed as a “completely new phase” of its existence as legislation enabling women to become bishops came into force. Forty years of debate and campaigning over the role of women in leadership in the Established Church was brought to an end in just 10 minutes as the Church’s General Synod symbolically showed its approval for the change through a simple show of hands and a few signatures on a piece of paper....

Well, that didn't take long. As my colleague Edward Malnick reports, the first gay Church of England priest – a canon, no less – today married his boyfriend. Canon Jeremy Pemberton, 58, a divorced hospital chaplain and father of five, wed his long-term partner Laurence Cunnington, 51. We're not told where, but obviously it wasn't in an C of E church. That's against the law. But they may well be able to have their marriage blessed in church because that's only "against the rules" as opposed to illegal.Campaigners predicted that Canon Pemberton would be the first of many. I think they're...

The Archbishop of Canterbury has signalled that the Church of England will mount no more resistance to gay marriage among churchgoers. Gay marriage will be legalised from Saturday with dozens of ceremonies planned around the country for one minute past midnight. This passing of the legislation caused deep rifts within the church. "I think the church has reacted by fully accepting that it's the law, and should react on Saturday by continuing to demonstrate in word and action, the love of Christ for every human being." Justin Welby told the Guardian. His comments mark a shift in tone, if not...

Christians are being deliberately attacked because of their faith across parts of the Muslim world and even martyred for their faith in large numbers, the Archbishop of Canterbury has warned. The Most Reverend Justin Welby said that there had been more than 80 Christian “martyrs” in the last few days alone. He was speaking about the bombing of All Saints Anglican church in Peshawar, Pakistan, in which 85 were killed and more than 200 injured. But he said that Christians were also being singled out for violence in a string of other countries. …

The archbishop of Canterbury has announced a campaign to stamp out anti-gay bullying in Church of England schools, acknowledging that attitudes toward sexuality have changed. Archbishop Justin Welby, spiritual leader of the world’s Anglican Communion, stressed that the Church of England wasn’t changing its teaching on gay relationships, but that it would be “absurd and impossible” to ignore shifting cultural attitudes. …

Openly gay clerics will be questioned about the intimate detail of their sex life on behalf of the Archbishops of Canterbury or York before they can be considered to be a bishop, the Church of England has disclosed.A legal briefing sent to members of the General Synod reveals that under a new policy any priest in a civil partnership will have to convince an archbishop that they are not sexually active before their name can go forward. It was drawn up in light of a u-turn by the church last year which lifted a blanket ban on anyone in a...

Archbishops To Ask Clergy: 'Are You Having Gay Sex?' Openly gay clerics will be questioned about the intimate detail of their sex life on behalf of the Archbishops of Canterbury or York before they can be considered to be a bishop, the Church of England has disclosed. Dr Jeffrey John, who is in a celibate civil partnership, was twice in line to become a bishop but his appointment was blocked because of opposition from conservatives within the Church By John Bingham 14 Jun 2013 A legal briefing sent to members of the General Synod reveals that under a new policy...

In his first major intervention in the debate, the Most Reverend Justin Welby said he could not support David Cameron’s same-sex marriage Bill in its current form. He warned that the reform “weakened” the concept of the “normal” family as the basis for a strong community and replaced traditional marriage with something “less good”.Archbishop Welby has been reluctant to join the public condemnation of the reforms, despite widespread opposition from Anglicans, Roman Catholics, Muslims and other faith organizations. The Church of England has previously adopted a more conciliatory position towards the reforms, acknowledging that parliament was likely to pass the...

Researchers at Jamestown, Va., may have found the site where the first Protestant church in North America was built. Dr. William Kelso, head of the research team at Jamestown, which was founded as a settlement established by the Virginia Company of London in the 17th century, explained in an interview with The Christian Post that the group began excavating at the site where they may have found the church in the summer of 2010. Kelso, an American archaeologist specializing in Virginia’s colonial period, believes the ruins found are the church because of a “Record of construction in Spring of 1608,...

It is reported in The Mail on Sunday that Pete Broadbent, Bishop of Willesden, has prophesied that the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton will last just seven years. That's precisely what the Established Church needs: generous, humble and optimistic shepherds of the sheep who set their minds on all that is noble, pure, lovely and of good report. He really ought to read what the Bible has to say about soothsaying..... Bishop Pete is a self-confessed republican. Apparently, when news of the Royal engagement was announced, he tweeted: ‘Need to work out what date in the spring or...