UK urged to finance South Sudan peace-building
A Christian Aid poll reveals 53% of British adults agree that the government should be a leader in providing humanitarian aid and commit to financing a peace process in South Sudan. The leaders of Christian Aid, CAFOD, and Tearfund have written a joint open letter to the PM after the Pope, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Moderator of the Church of Scotland visited South Sudan last week. The charities warned of South Sudan’s growing hunger crisis with 54% of the population already living with crisis-level food insecurity. Despite the worsening situation, the UK's aid budget for South Sudan was cut by 59% in 2021. This triggered cuts to critical peacebuilding and resilience work with communities. CAFOD’s director said that the people of South Sudan have suffered much due to conflict and instability, but instead of being able to rely on UK support, the UK has cut its funding.
President Zelensky visits UK
Volodymyr Zelensky's surprise visit to the UK included meeting Rishi Sunak, making a speech in Parliament and having an audience with King Charles. He arrived as Downing Street announced that the UK will train Ukrainian pilots to fly NATO-standard fighter jets in the future, as requested by Ukraine. It is also expected the UK will announce fresh sanctions on Russia. Downing Street added that British training would be scaled up by training a further 20,000 Ukrainian soldiers. Mr Zelensky next visited Brussels, having urged France, Germany and the UK to provide fighter jets for the war against Russia. ‘Europe will always remain free as long as we are together,’ he told the European Parliament. He will meet all MEPs at a summit of EU leaders, on his second trip abroad since the war began. See Ukraine has received signals from Poland and the Netherlands to say that they are ready to supply RAF Typhoons and F-16 fighters.
CofE to bless same-sex couples
The Church of England has backed proposals to allow prayers of blessing for same sex couples. Its position on gay marriage will not change, and same-sex couples will still be unable to marry in church. The plans, set out by bishops last month, have been criticised both by those who think they go too far and those who think they don’t go far enough: but the motion was passed in all three of synod's 'houses'. Priests will be allowed to bless gay couples, but can opt out: the first blessings could be in the summer. The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, said the Church was ‘in a better place’ as a result of the vote. However, he and the Archbishop of Canterbury acknowledged that ‘deep differences’ remained. The CofE Evangelical Council said it was ‘deeply saddened and profoundly grieved’ by the move. A spokesman said, ‘The Church of England now appears set on a course of action that rejects our historic and biblical understanding of sex and marriage. This seems to us to be a lose-lose position for everyone.’
Half-term drag queen story time
Tate Britain will host a drag queen story hour in half term hosted by ‘queer hero of literature’, neuro-divergent drag queen Aida H Dee. Catholic commentator Caroline Farrow has launched a petition for the Tate to stop ‘promoting gender ideology to children’ through its half-term free event. Her petition received over 8,000 signatures on its first day. She said drag queens are a form of adult entertainment mainly found in gay nightclubs, presenting a highly demeaning and distorted vision of women, which many find offensive. Drag acts do not constitute education and do not teach tolerance. Their aim is to expose children to sexualised and political messaging regarding the LGBTQ+ movement. Caroline is also concerned that the Tate produces a teaching and guidance resource for teachers and schools. It is co-authored with a transgender lobby group, is full of gender ideology, and encourages educational professionals to break the law.
