A joint plea for persecuted Christians
Anglican and Catholic leaders have made a joint submission to the Foreign Office’s independent review, requesting support for persecuted Christians. In a letter accompanying the submission the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and the Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, said that in many places ‘our Christian sisters and brothers face persecution of an intensity and extent unprecedented in many centuries.’ However, these threats to freedom of religion or belief are not restricted to Christians alone, but are widely experienced by followers of other faiths. ‘We ask the Government to take note of the practical recommendations offered in this submission and to take meaningful action not only in protecting Christians facing persecution but also in promoting freedom of religion and belief more widely,’ they said.
Climate change speeches and demonstrations
16-year-old climate change warrior Greta Thunberg has spoken to the Pope, parliaments and MEPs about species extinction, deforestation and ocean pollution. She is not alone in her action against global warming. For two decades David Attenborough has warned of the dangers. He now says that scientific evidence proves that if we do not take dramatic action within the next decade, we face irreversible damage to the natural world and the collapse of our societies. Since 15 April, Extinction Rebellion protesters have been disrupting cities globally in 18 countries, calling on governments to introduce stricter climate change measures. They said, ‘Prosecution for criminal damage allows us to take this strategy into the courts, providing an opportunity to tell them that, without an urgent and radical change, the consequences for humanity and life on earth are likely to be catastrophic.’ See
Special needs children lose out on support
Government funding has not kept pace with the soaring demands of children with special educational needs (SEN). Councils, schools and colleges should work together to support SEN children, but the number of such children has risen by 33% since 2015, whereas central government funding for their support increased by only 7%. On 27 March 2019 councils were told, ‘Special educational needs support is an approach that all schools and colleges must adopt when it is clear that a child or young person needs additional support to learn and achieve.’ Local council elections are on 2 May. May God raise up men and women in the 248 local council elections who have a desire to meet the needs of the vulnerable in our schools and colleges and know how to apply for adequate funding. See
Brexit, Corbyn and anti-Semitism
Some say Labour could capitalise on the Brexit delay and sweep into power, with Leave-supporting voters turning their backs on the Conservatives over the Brexit interruption. Labour would then become the largest party in the Commons, with a substantial majority. Surveys taken between 2 and 11 April put support for Conservatives at its lowest for five years. A week later backbenchers have urged Corbyn to shift his stance and commit to a Brexit vote, or he might let Nigel Farage snatch a shock European election victory with his new Brexit Party. Meanwhile he has been criticised for Labour's handling of anti-Semitism. Media reports of internal documents showed that the party had failed to take disciplinary action in hundreds of anti-Semitism cases. The Jewish Labour Movement passed a no-confidence vote in him. See
