The head of the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland, Cardinal Sean Brady, is under pressure to resign after revelations of the role he played in the case of Father Brendan Smyth. Smyth was a serial sex offender preying on young children. It has emerged that Cardinal Brady was present during a church investigation into Smyth’s behaviour in 1975 following allegations brought against him by a 10 yr old boy and 14 yr old girl. The allegations were judged to be true. And the action taken? Smyth reported to the police? No !!! The children were ordered to take an oath of silence – not to speak of their ordeal to anyone other than a few nominated priests. (One can only wonder what dire consequences were threatened if they refused to take the vow of silence or if they later broke...

"That which is lawful is plain and that which is unlawful is plain and between the two of them are doubtful matters about which not many people know. Thus he who avoids doubtful matters clears himself in regard to his religion and his honor, but he who falls into doubtful matters falls into that which is...

 (Repost) I read in the Telegraph about the "secret agenda" and about the governments relationship with the The Islamic Forum of Europe. In response, the Telegraph should note that a Muslim can show a strong political and religious standpoint without being a terrorist. 1. With all the propaganda and prejudice towards Islam...

There is a long list of days and festivals that are observed among the Muslims nowadays, but each of these is the innovation of the Jews, Christians and polytheists; they have no basis in Islam. There are no festivals in Islam apart from Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Fitr. Mothers day has a history ranging from...

This passed me by at the time but his recent comments set me wondering and indeed, the current Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland Matt Baggott is a born again christian and chairman of the christian police officers association and vice president of the National Association of Police Chaplains, hmmm. He has a fondness for the Old Testament and recently wrote an article for Britain’s Christian Police Association (CPA) urging officers to become followers of the Prophet Malachi so “our prayers, attitudes and actions will bring many to the reality and hope of the cross”. He is president of the CPA, an evangelical Protestant group that believes “the Bible is the inspired Word of God without error and is the only complete authority on matters of faith and...

March appears to be the month for talk of Fatwas and it really surprises me that people seem to think this is the all encompassing solution where Muslims are concerned. This time it’s a Fatwa to combat Somalia’s problems, even though the reality is that the deviants that Fatwas of this nature seek to change...

March appears to be the month for talk of Fatwas and it really surprises me that people seem to think this is the all encompassing solution where Muslims are concerned. This time it’s a Fatwa to combat Somalia’s problems, even though the reality is that the deviants that Fatwas of this nature seek to change...

Former prime minister builds network of Christian allies as he prepares to launch a religious 'offensive' in North AmericaTony Blair is preparing to launch a "faith offensive" across the United States over the next year, after building up relationships with a network of influential religious leaders and faith organisations.With Afghanistan and Iraq casting a shadow over his popularity at home in Britain, Blair's focus has increasingly shifted across the Atlantic, to where the nexus of faith and power is immutable and he is feted like a rock star.According to the annual accounts of the Tony Blair Faith Foundation, a UK-based charity that promotes cohesion between the major faiths, the foundation is to develop a US arm that will pursue a host of faith-based projects. The accounts show that...

Fears over Muslims in prison, fears about Mosques, fears about… Jihad Jane, etc, etc. Ian McEwan, The Booker Prize winner, has said that criticising Islam is not racist, however, the credibility of such an argument would depend on the nature of the criticism particularly since he appears to ignore that the majority of terrorists...

Benedict XVI's spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, suggests 'tenacious' plot to implicate pontiff in cover-upThe pope's spokesman has launched a vigorous counter-attack against a report linking Benedict XVI to a sex abuse cover-up while he was archbishop of Munich from 1977 to 1981.Father Federico Lombardi appeared to suggest in an interview on Vatican Radio that the pope, who also has strong links to the city of Regensburg, was the victim of a plot."It's rather clear that in recent days there have been people who have searched – with notable tenacity – in Regensburg and Munich for elements to personally involve the holy father in the question of the abuses," Lombardi said. "To any objective observer it's clear that these attempts have failed."The Vatican has been appalled in recent...

Catholic prelate says priests and deacons should keep sermons brief and maintain eye contact to keep flock well-tendedThe book of Genesis says God created the heavens and Earth in less than a week. Now, Catholic clergy are being asked to follow suit and keep their sermons to under eight minutes in a recommendation issued from the Vatican.Archbishop Nikola Eterovic, the secretary general of the Synod of Bishops, says homilies should be brief to cater for people with short attention spans. Clergy should also work from an outline, rather than a script, to allow for better eye contact.In a book called The Word of God, Eterovic proffers suggestions on how priests and deacons can improve the quality of sermons and retain churchgoers' interest."The homily in general should not go over eight...

I notice that the loopy Father Gabriele Amorth, the Vatican's chief exorcist, is up to his tricks again, declaring in an Italian newspaper interview that Satan is busily at work in the Catholic Church. Especially the Vatican, which he claims has long been infiltrated by "Satanic sects". Paedophile scandals, power struggles in the Holy see, the assassination attempt on John Paul II, domestic tragedies - all explained by demonic activity, says Amorth. Even the mentally disturbed woman who knocked down the Pope on Christmas Eve was acting on Satan's orders, he believes.The Times has the gist of it, but for the full story - including Amorth's ideas about the growing power of the Antichrist - you have to go to La Repubblica. It's bizarre stuff. The priest has a bag which, he claims,...

Christoph Schonborn, archbishop of Vienna, calls for 'unflinching examination' of possible reasons for paedophiliaThe Archbishop of Vienna today said priestly celibacy could be one of the causes of the sex abuse scandals to hit the Catholic church.In an article for Thema Kirche, his diocesan magazine, Christoph Schonborn became the most senior figure in the Catholic hierarchy to make the connection between the two and called for an "unflinching examination" of the possible reasons for paedophilia.He wrote: "These include the issue of priest training, as well as the question of what happened in the so-called sexual revolution."It also includes the issue of priest celibacy and the issue of personality development. It requires a great deal of honesty, both on the part of the church and of...

"When you see an evil act you have to stop it with your hand. If you can’t, then at least speak out against it with your tongue.  If you can’t, then at least you have to hate it with all your heart.  And this is the weakest of faith." - Prophet Mohammed (Sahih Muslim,...

I went to hear Slavoj Žižek speak at Cardiff University last week. He was certainly interesting, albeit at his most incoherent. I must admit I found the ideas he put forward contradictory and the lecture inconclusive. I blame Lacan. He gave us a critique of the racist imperialism underpinning Avatar, which was good fun, but I can’t help thinking that his Marxism clouds his vision when the...

A new religious conservatism is on the march in Egypt, with women the biggest losersIt's no secret that in Egypt religious conservatism is growing. The only people denying this fact are the conservatives themselves, who tell us that we are on a path to hell in blind imitation of the west.This conservatism has taken many undesirable forms, all of which highlight the disturbed psychology of the Egyptian people in recent years. Perhaps the most obvious symptom of this conservatism is the abnormal preoccupation with women, and I don't mean women's rights. The void left by lousy education and unemployment has been filled to overflowing with "religion". If that meant an emphasis on good behaviour, honesty, trust and hard work, we wouldn't have a problem. The sad thing is that there are human...

• Former choirmaster did not know of sexual abuse• Pupils claim headteacher was sexual 'sadist'The elder brother of Pope Benedict XVI admitted today that he slapped pupils at a Catholic boarding school where he was choirmaster and was aware of violent incidents that took place at the school, but not the extent of the abuse. He asked victims for forgiveness for his failure to act.Georg Ratzinger, 86, who was choirmaster at the Regensburger Domspatzen in Bavaria between 1964 to 1994, said he occasionally struck boys in his care, according to what he said had been the "normal reaction" at the time.But he denied any knowledge of sexual abuse. "These things were never discussed," Ratzinger told the Catholic daily, the Passauer Neue Presse. "The problem of sexual abuse that has now come to...

Interesting legal news from the US, where the Supreme Court has decided to hear the case of Snyder v Phelps. The Phelps in question is the Rev Fred Phelps, of the notorious Westboro Baptist Church whose USP is picketing military funerals with signs reading "God damn America", "God Hates Fags", and the like. Last year, you may remember, Jacqui Smith gave them some much-needed publicity by banning Phelps and other members of his family/congregation (the two are more or less the same) from Britain - after the Westies had expressed a desire to call down God's wrath on the sinful people of Basingstoke.Back in 2007, the Westies were sued by the father of a Marine killed in Iraq who had been offended by the sight of the placards at his son's funeral. He told the court that he "became angry...

The fact that Israel has authorised building of 112 new appartments in the Westbank shows that peace is not high up on it’s agenda. It’s a shame as peace could be so close, if it was not for the fact that Palestinians had nowhere to go I’d say give Israel the land as the battle/war...

Islamic Creed Series (UK) (US) (Facebook) - A must read for those wanting a more in-depth understanding of Islam. "Creed (Aqidah) is the most important part of the Deen. It’s absolutely essential for every muslim to learn and understand the foundation of our beliefs. Here we present a great collection of 8 books pertaining to...

“A belief need not include faith or worship of a god or gods, but must affect how a person lives their life or perceives the world.” - guidance on Harriet Harman’s new Equality Bill, explaining why vegans and teetotallers amongst others are to be given the same protection against discrimination as religious groups.  The Bill makes it a legal requirement for public authorities, including schools, to consider the impact of all their policies on minority groups, but these groups include Scientologists and pacifists as well as vegans, teetotallers and many others.  The guidance has already caused controversy after warning that schools which force girls to wear skirts may be breaking the law because the policy apparently discriminates against transsexuals by breaching the...

Officials say more than 500 could have died in clashes between Islamist pastoralists and Christian villagersAttackers wielding machetes killed hundreds of people as further religious violence hit Nigeria yesterday following pre-dawn clashes between Islamist pastoralists and Christian villagers.Bodies were reportedly piled in streets near the central city of Jos and Gregory Yenlong, a Plateau state official, said the death toll could be more than 500."Soldiers are patrolling and everywhere remains calm ... we are estimating 500 people killed but I think it should be a little bit above that," he added.A police spokesman said the number of dead officially recorded so far stood at 55.Some people were apparently burned to death and many others displaced as homes were razed to the ground.Local...

Over the weekend the implications of Mad Hatters Harman’s ‘Equality’ legislation, the policy aimed at making the British people too stupid to even wipe up their own drool as they sit gawping at the latest Celebrity Reality Overly-Besequined Extravaganza On Ice, were set out in a code of practice, drawn up by the Equality and Human Rights Commission. Apparently, the Mad Hatters wants her legislation to prevent ‘discrimination’ against anybody’s beliefs, no matter how absurd, in the totally misguided and hopelessly naïve belief that this will somehow – perhaps by magic – make everything all better. The code of practice implies that this means that no matter how utterly deranged the beliefs of anyone are, as long as they are held sincerely, those beliefs will be...

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The recent guilty verdict for the so-called ‘militant atheist’ Harry Taylor is deeply troubling. Mr Taylor was convicted of the offence of ‘Religiously aggravated intentional harassment, alarm or distress’, which carries up to a seven year jail term. His crime was to leave cartoons mocking religions and religious people in the airport’s multifaith room. The cartoons included: One of a priest with a young girl kneeling in front of him and the words: “No, no my child, blow is just a figure of speech”. Another picture depicted the Pope with a condom on his finger, while a further page showed A Dangerous Book For Boys with reference to the Qur’an. The cartoons included one taken from Danish images of a suicide bomber and another showed a pig...

If I said heres details of Jon Venables new identity everyone would take note, personally I think the public needs to read a bit further into this before fuelling the moral panic. If I said how do we tackle Islamophobia not enough people listen. Thankfully the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) are working on the...

The reality of India I saw was often grim. Yet the country still confounds those who write it offIn my six years there, it was hard not to be infected by the hubris of India – a nation that feels part of history, an essential actor on the global stage. Yet even as I admired a country that had thrived as a democracy despite unbounded poverty, mass illiteracy and entrenched social divides, experiencing India as a reporter was a string of enervating and dispiriting episodes.Whether I was visiting a rural police station where half-naked men were hung from the ceiling during an interrogation, or talking to the parents of a baby bulldozed to death in a slum clearance, the romance of India's idealism was undone by its awful daily reality. The venality, mediocrity and indiscipline of its ruling...

  The racist (and soon to be Dutch Prime Minister) has arrived in the UK. This time, there were no protests for Geert Wilders and his Islamophobic movie ‘Fitna‘ which is good. Just as the cartoons controversy was an opportunity to respond by reintroducing Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) to the West, Wilders’s...

Dutch far right politician, who was last year banned from the UK, said film showing was a 'victory for freedom of speech'The controversial far-right Dutch politician Geert Wilders appeared at the House of Lords today to screen an anti-Islam film and denounce the religion as "totalitarian" and incompatible with democracy.The visit, which was originally planned for last year, sparked demonstrations from anti-fascists and a show of support from the far-right English Defence League.Wilders, 46, who leads the Freedom party, was banned from the UK when Jacqui Smith was home secretary. She said his presence had the potential to "threaten community harmony and therefore public safety".Wilders succeeded in getting the ban overturned and told a press conference that he had screened his film in the...

Pontiff's sainthood could be set back after reports Sister Marie Simon-Pierre has become sick with nervous illnessIt was the miracle that set Pope John Paul II on the road to sainthood and provided faithful followers with proof of his holy powers. But hopes that the former pope's canonisation would be fast-tracked by Sister Marie Simon-Pierre's recovery from Parkinson's disease have been set back by reports that the French nun has fallen ill again.Sister Marie Simon-Pierre described three years ago how she regained her health after a night of prayer to the then recently deceased Polish pontiff. John Paul himself suffered from Parkinson's disease, which is incurable."It's like a second birth," she said at the time. "I feel like I've discovered a new body, new limbs."In 2007 Sister...

It’s pretty good, after all it’s in the capable hands of Peter Taylor. There are many issues that come up in the interviews. An interesting and difficult one is the imprisonment of ‘would-be’ terrorists, young people (some very young) who have been planning terrorist attacks or, at least, gathering and sharing detailed information in order to carry out attacks. Obviously, they cannot simply get...

…well, if you’re Dutch, that is.  From the Telegraph: The far-right politician Geert Wilders is poised to become the next Dutch prime minister after making major gains in regional elections.  Municipal results announced yesterday put his party in first place in Almere, a region near Amsterdam, and second in The Hague, one the country’s largest cities and the seat of the Dutch government.  If repeated in national elections on June 9, the Freedom Party could win 27 out of 150 seats, becoming the largest single party and putting him in line to become Prime Minister and form a new government. “We are going to conquer the entire country we are going to be the biggest party in the country,” he said after the vote. “The leftist elite still believes in...

This is a guest post by Shaaz Mahboob of British Muslims for Secular Democracy (BMSD) The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia appears to be at a crossroads today. For decades the alliance between its powerful clergy and the royal family has proved to be one of the most stable and blissful. However, King Abdullah’s recent flirtation with modernity appears to have backfired. Cracks are now visible in this alliance that has up until now successfully acted as a vanguard against attempts to democratise the oil-rich state or to bring any progressive reforms to its society. The ‘King Abdullah University of Science and Technology’ (KAUST) is indeed a welcome step by the King, who has experimented with putting men and women together in a learning environment, never seen or heard before in a...

Vatican chorister sacked for allegedly procuring male prostitutes for papal gentleman-in-waitingThe Vatican was today rocked by a sex scandal reaching into Pope Benedict's household after a chorister was sacked for allegedly procuring male prostitutes for a papal gentleman-in-waiting.Angelo Balducci, a Gentleman of His Holiness, was caught by police on a wiretap allegedly negotiating with Thomas Chinedu Ehiem, a 29-year-old Vatican chorister, over the specific physical details of men he wanted brought to him. Transcripts in the possession of the Guardian suggest that numerous men may have been procured for Balducci, at least one of whom was studying for the priesthood.The explosive claims about Balducci's private life have caused grave embarrassment to the Vatican, which has yet to...

The age of the universe, I have discovered, is 23 hours 4 minutes and 6 seconds.Well, obviously not. That’s a bizarrely small and bizarrely precise number. Even if you’re a young-Earth creationist, you should be looking at this and thinking that I’d have to be out of my mind to seriously believe that.Now you know how the rest of us feel about you.Archbishop James Ussher notoriously calculated the date of creation to be 4004 BC, just 6014 years ago. The best current science, using observations of cosmic microwave background radiation, puts the age of the universe at 13.73 billion years (plus or minus 120m). So Ussher was out by a magnitude of around 2.3 million times.So here’s where my 23 hours 4 minutes and 6 seconds comes in. If you take how wrong Ussher was, and then apply the...

A great series exploring many issues related to the role of women: our biblical series on women in leadership « christian feminism.If you claim to believe in male headship (or complementarianism as it is commonly marketed) then this series ought to be required reading....

Adrian Warnock kindly sent me an advance copy of his book Raised with Christ. Sadly while I have read much of the book I have not been able to find time write up my thoughts.However, I have been reading a very thorough review by Peter Kirk. It spans 8 parts and is extremely good. I thoroughly recommend the review which makes many of the points I would have raised and lots more besides: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7 and finally Part 8. Peter concludes with the following: I nearly wrote that I was pleasantly surprised by “Raised with Christ”. I was certainly pleased by it. But I wasn’t really surprised to find that Adrian could put aside the sometimes polemical tone he uses on his “blog” and write something as well argued and positive as this...

This seems to be an eminently sensible amendment, which lifts the ban on religious premises holding same-sex civil partnerships: The amendment to the Equality Bill, which was tabled as a free vote by gay Muslim peer Waheed Alli, received overwhelming backing in the Lords, including from a number of prominent Anglican bishops. Under current UK law religious venues are forbidden from holding civil partnerships, although some liberal denominations within Christianity and Judaism have been willing to bless gay unions once a partnership ceremony has taken place elsewhere. There shouldn’t have been a ban in the first place. it should be up to the individual religious houses what they want to do, free of legal pressure. If people wish to be bigoted, let them be. As long as the rest of us...

Interesting...

The BNP’s regressive racist ideology is already well-known; however, they also claim an explicitly religious justification for their beliefs and actions. In fact, during a European Parliament debate in January 2010 about the Haiti earthquake, Nick Griffin himself actually started quoting from the Bible in order to justify his argument that absolutely no humanitarian aid should be given to the victims of the disaster because it had occurred in “somebody else’s backyard”. Irrespective of their claims to speak for “Christian Britain”, the BNP has been heavily condemned and explicitly rejected by both the Church of England and the Methodist Church. The BNP’s racism and divisive tactics have also recently been jointly condemned by Christian, Sikh, Muslim and Jewish faith...