On 20th and 21st November the Bishop of Southwark, Rt Revd Christopher Chessun, received written answers to six questions on Israel – freedom of religion, Holy Land sites, church property and the Church Lands Bill before the Knesset:
The Lord Bishop of Southwark:
(i) To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the Church Lands Bill which is being considered in the Israeli Knesset.
(ii) To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel regarding the Church Lands Bill which is being considered in the Israeli Knesset.
(iii) To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of freedom of religion or belief in Israel.
(iv) To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of recent alleged breaches of the Status Quo of the Holy Land sites in Jerusalem.
(v) To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel on the importance of respecting the Status Quo of the Holy Land sites in Jerusalem.
(vi) To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel on the importance of protecting Church property in the Old City of Jerusalem, following the decision in July of the Jerusalem District Court in the Jaffa Gate case. Continue reading “Bishop of Southwark asks about Israel – freedom of religion, Holy Land sites, church property”
On 21st November 2017 the Bishop of Oxford, Rt Revd Steven Croft, received a written answer to a question on food banks:
On 20th November 2017 Baroness Doocey asked Her Majesty’s Government “what assessment they have made of the impact that the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union Open Skies Agreement would have on the United Kingdom’s tourism industry.” The Minister was unable to give a clear commitment to deal with aviation separately and in advance of the main negotiations with the EU on Brexit, so the Bishop of Leeds, Rt Revd Nick Baines, asked a follow up question:
The Lord Bishop of Coventry: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many funding proposals on freedom of religion or belief have been received by the Cabinet Office’s Commonwealth Summit Unit’s Kickstart programme; how many of those proposals were successful; and what was the value of the successful proposals. 
On 20th November 2017 the Bishop of Leeds, Rt Revd Nick Baines, received two written answers to questions on religious freedom and the 2018 Commonwealth Summit:
The Lord Bishop of Southwark: My Lords, the Minister is only too aware both of the United Kingdom’s historic links with Zimbabwe and of the difficult relationship with ZANU-PF; that is reflected in the Statement, which has won support around the House. Speaking as chair of the most reverend Primate the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Zimbabwe round table, I pass on the concern of Anglican bishops in Zimbabwe that any transition should not be allowed to lead to a reoccurrence of conflict in a country that has suffered much. I ask that the UK offers help sensitively and purposefully where it is possible to do so, supporting key stakeholders who are committed to a peaceful transition and who are prepared for it. 
The Lord Bishop of Ely: My Lords, I am very grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Cormack, for his intervention, Lincoln having recently won a favourite cathedral award—Ely is not too bad either. Of course, these churches, cathedrals and chapels are part of our shared heritage, but does the Minister agree that even more important is the work undertaken by cathedrals and churches in food banks, in supporting economic regeneration and in working with homeless people and the lonely, especially in remote parts of the country? Does he agree that the Government should endorse that work and will he encourage the way in which they can support it through the use and deployment of these buildings? 
On 15th November 2017 the Bishop of Leeds, Rt Revd Nick Baines, received a written answer to a question on the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
On 15th November 2017 the Bishop of Leeds, Rt Revd Nick Baines, received written answers to three questions on Saudi Arabia: on arms exports, reforms, and violent extremism:
The Lord Bishop of Coventry:
The Church of England in Parliament 
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