On 16th November 2015, the Bishop of St Albans, Rt Revd Alan Smith, received written answers to questions about the security of Camp Liberty in Iraq.
Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the recent missile attacks on Camp Liberty in Iraq. Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks Government about security of Camp Liberty”
On 11th November 2015 the House of Lords debated a motion from Lord Sheikh: “To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to encourage more bilateral trade between the United Kingdom and African countries.” The Bishop of Southwark, Rt Revd Christopher Chessun, spoke in the debate, raising the situation of Zimbabwe and the tax treaty between the UK and Senegal.
The Lord Bishop of Southwark: My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Sheikh, for a debate so pertinent to the times in which we live. I, too, look forward to the maiden speech of the noble Lord, Lord Oates. Although my knowledge of Africa at large is somewhat limited, I am a regular visitor to Zimbabwe, with my diocese having close links to four of its five Anglican dioceses: those of Central Zimbabwe, Manicaland, Matabeleland and Masvingo. The bishops, clergy and people of those places share a good deal of the reality of their lives and faith with me, and demonstrate remarkable resilience and strong hope in the face of adversity. Continue reading “Bishop of Southwark raises Zimbabwe and Senegal during Lords debate on bilateral trade between UK and Africa”
On 9th November 2015 Lord Roberts of Llandudno asked Her Majesty’s Government “how many refugees have entered the United Kingdom under the vulnerable persons relocation scheme for Syrian nationals, and what, if any, are the advantages of that scheme as compared to entry under normal immigration regulations.” The Bishop of Southwark, Rt Revd Christopher Chessun, asked a follow-up question on progress towards implementing a private sponsorship scheme for refugees.
The Lord Bishop of Southwark: My Lords, how close are Her Majesty’s Government to announcing the details of a third route in addition to the two mentioned in the noble Lord’s Question—namely, the introduction of a private sponsorship scheme, in which many faith and community groups have expressed strong interest? This would enable faith communities to work in partnership with the Government and reflects a desire to do this, as expressed by the Bishops in their recent letter to the Prime Minister. Continue reading “Bishop of Southwark asks Government about progress towards a private sponsorship scheme for Syrian refugees”
On 4th November 2015 the Bishop of Coventry, Rt Revd Christopher Cocksworth received a written answer to a question about support for the King Adbdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue in Vienna.
The Lord Bishop of Coventry: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what support, financial or otherwise, they have provided to the King Adbdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue in Vienna. Continue reading “Bishop of Coventry asks about support for interreligious dialogue centre in Vienna”
On 4th November 2015 the Bishop of Coventry, Rt Revd Christopher Cocksworth, received a written answer about the King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue in Vienna.
The Lord Bishop of Coventry: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what support, financial or otherwise, they have provided to the King Adbdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue in Vienna. Continue reading “Bishop of Coventry asks about support for Viennese centre for inter-religious dialogue”
On 30th October 2015 the Bishop of Coventry, Rt Revd Christopher Cocksowrth, received a written answer to a question on religious freedom in Saudi Arabia.
The Lord Bishop of Coventry: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of steps taken by Saudi Arabia to revise textbooks, curricula, and teaching methods to remove
content disparaging religions other than Islam. Continue reading “Bishop of Coventry raises religious freedom in Saudi Arabia”
On 29th October 2015 the House of Lords debated a motion from Lord Truscott, to “ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the recent assault by the Syrian armed forces on Aleppo, what is their strategy for tackling the refugee crisis in Syria.”
The Bishop of Southwark, Rt Rev Christopher Chessun, spoke in the debate.
The Lord Bishop of Southwark: My Lords, I have the honour to be a patron of the charity Embrace the Middle East and visited Syria in May of last year for the enthronement of the Syrian Orthodox Patriarch, His Holiness Aphrem II, at Maarat Saidnaya, just outside Damascus.
I thank the noble Lord, Lord Truscott, for giving your Lordships the opportunity to discuss this pressing matter. With over half its population displaced, Syria is now a land of the dispossessed, and we are looking at a topography of dust, rubble and dried blood. This is the land where we read in Acts that the designation Christian was first used but where all minorities are now especially vulnerable in the particular context of the destabilisation of the state. We are witnessing a humanitarian disaster in slow motion, with repercussions which are impacting on many nations including our own. Continue reading “Bishop of Southwark speaks on Syrian refugees, the aid challenge and refugee camp conditions”
On 28th October 2015 the Bishops of St Albans and Coventry received written answers to questions of Government on religious freedom in Saudi Arabia and its use of the death penalty.
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Saudi Arabia concerning the cases of Dawood Hussein al-Marhoon and Abdullah Hasan al-Zaher. Continue reading “Bishops ask Government about religious freedom and death penalty in Saudi Arabia”
On the 27th October 2015 the Bishop of Coventry, Rt Revd Christopher Cocksworth, received a written answer to a question about the UK’s commercial relationship with Saudi Arabia.
The Lord Bishop of Coventry: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will review their commercial relationship with Saudi Arabia in the light of the sentencing of Ali Mohammed al-Nimr to death by crucifixion. Continue reading “Bishop of Coventry asks Government if it will review UK’s commercial relationship with Saudi Arabia”
On 22nd October 2015 Lord Alton of Liverpool hosted a debate in the Lords “To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking, if any, to promote Article 18 of the 1948 Universal Declaration on Human Rights.” The Bishop of Coventry spoke in the debate, on religion and national identity / loyalty.
The Lord Bishop of Coventry: My Lords, I, too, am very grateful for this debate. I will focus my comments on the interface between religion and national identity, and the theological and political dangers of too close an alignment between them. Too often, the abuse of religious freedom arises from a false collusion between religion and national loyalty. We saw it once in our own land and, yes, in my own church. We see it now in the “gozinesh” criterion for state employment in Iran, in the treatment of the Rohingya in Myanmar, and in the actions of the so-called Orthodox Army in the Donbass region of Ukraine.
Religions, which at their best seek to serve all humanity, find themselves yoked to a form of patriotism that is insecure and sees minorities as the enemy within. Continue reading “Bishop of Coventry on Article 18 and freedom of religion and belief”
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