Tag: religious freedom

Church Commissioner Questions: Christian Persecution, Church Schools, Religious Freedom, Net Zero, Ukraine, Russia, Institutional Racism

On June 23rd 2022 MPs put questions in the House of Commons to the Second Church Estates Commissioner, Andrew Selous MP:

Persecution of Christians Overseas

Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)

  1. What steps the Church is taking to support the implementation of recommendations in the final report of the Bishop of Truro’s review on persecution of Christians overseas. (900659)

The Second Church Estates Commissioner (Andrew Selous): The murder of 50 Catholics in church this month in Ondo state in Nigeria and the ongoing murders for alleged blasphemy are a stark reminder of why the Church of England stands foursquare behind the implementation of the Bishop of Truro’s review.

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Church Commissioners Written Answers: Religious Freedom and Support for Education

On 3rd December 2021, Andrew Selous MP, representing the Church Commissioners, gave the following written answers to questions from an MP:

Religious Freedom

Jim Shannon MP (DUP, Strangford): To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what assessment the Church has made of where persecution of religion and belief is most concerning.

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Bishop of St Albans calls for diplomacy to be matched with action on Uyghur population in China

“what moral authority will we lose, and what price will the Uighurs pay, if we do not do all in our power, whatever the cost, to confront these dreadful atrocities that are unfolding in front of our eyes?”

In the House of Lords on 25th November 2021 Peers debated a Motion from Lord Alton of Liverpool, “That this House takes note of the reported remarks of the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs that a genocide is underway against the Uyghur population in Xinjiang, China.”

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I too pay tribute to the noble Lord, Lord Alton, for his tireless work in this area. I also share with him a sense of frustration—I feel as if I have stood up so many times as we have engaged with this issue, yet it seems that we are not able to confront it in a way that is really making a difference. Despite all our hopes of human progress, it is quite extraordinary that here we are, at the start of the 21st century, witnessing events such as we see and which are now well documented. There is no doubt that they are going on.

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Bishop of St Albans asks questions about rights and treatment of Armenians in Azerbaijan

25th May 2021.

Asked by The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the report that the Azerbaijani military blocked Russian peacekeepers accompanying Armenian pilgrims to the Dadivank Monastery in Nagorno-Karabakh, what representations they have made to the governments of (1) Azerbaijan, and (2) Russia, to ensure the continued rights of Armenians to practise their religion in sites located in the territory ceded to Azerbaijan. [HL91]

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Church Commissioners Written Questions: Church Land, Religious Freedom, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Remote Education

On 11th March 2021, the Second Church Estates Commissioner, Andrew Selous MP, gave the following written answers to questions from an MP:

Church Land

Jim Shannon MP (DUP, Strangford): To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the church is taking to provide affordable, sustainable and beautiful housing on land it owns.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about protection of cultural sites, monasteries and churches, in Nagorno-Karabakh

On 23rd November the Bishop of St Albans received a written answer to a question on protection of cultural sites, including monasteries and churches, in the Nagorno-Karabakh region:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Azerbaijan about (1) the rights of Armenians, and (2) the protection of cultural sites, including monasteries and churches, in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. [HL10377] Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about protection of cultural sites, monasteries and churches, in Nagorno-Karabakh”

Church Commissioners’ Written Answer: Christian persecution worldwide

On 14th September 2020 the Second Church Estates Commissioner, Andrew Selous MP, answered a written question from Alexander Stafford MP on Christian persecution:

Alexander Stafford: [88422]: To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what assessment the Church of England has made of the extent of global persecution of Christians during the covid-19 pandemic. Continue reading “Church Commissioners’ Written Answer: Christian persecution worldwide”

Church Commissioner Written Answers: ethical investment, St Margaret’s Westminster, Christian persecution, South Sudan, church schools, coronavirus, church buildings, lead theft, Beirut explosion, marriage, mental health, ordinations

On 14th September 2020 the Second Church Estates Commissioner Andrew Selous MP answered eleven written questions from Jim Shannon MP, on ethical investment, St Margaret’s Westminster, Christian persecution, South Sudan, church schools, coronavirus and church buildings, lead theft, the Beirut explosion, marriage, mental health, and ordinations: Continue reading “Church Commissioner Written Answers: ethical investment, St Margaret’s Westminster, Christian persecution, South Sudan, church schools, coronavirus, church buildings, lead theft, Beirut explosion, marriage, mental health, ordinations”

Trade Bill: Bishop of Blackburn delivers maiden speech in House of Lords

On 8th September 2020 during the House of Lords second reading debate on the Government’s Trade Bill, Rt Revd Julian Henderson, the Bishop of Blackburn, delivered his maiden speech. The full text is below:

The Lord Bishop of Blackburn (Maiden Speech): My Lords, I am extremely grateful for the warmth of the welcome that I have received in my Introduction to your House. When I told my elderly father in 2013 that I had been appointed to serve as the next Bishop of Blackburn, many miles away from his home in Sussex, he was very quiet and somewhat disappointed that my wife and I would be living so far away, but then a light came into his eyes and he asked, “Does that mean you may be invited to enter the House of Lords?” When I replied in the affirmative, he said very quickly, “Well, then, that makes it all right.”

I come, first and foremost, as a Christian who will seek opportunity to support the convictions and values foundational to our faith in Jesus Christ, and to draw attention to those many today, around the world, who are persecuted for their faith in him, and then to advocate for the right for all to enjoy freedom of speech and belief, wherever they may live, and to do so in peace.

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Bishop of Rochester calls for targeted sanctions to defend freedom of religion or belief, and protection for Uighurs in China

On 29th July the House of Lords debated a motion from Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon “Global Human Rights Sanctions Regulations 2020”. The Right Revd James Langstaff, Bishop of Rochester, spoke in the debate.

The Lord Bishop of Rochester: My Lords, I, too, welcome this new regime of sanctions, but we must of course ensure that targeted sanctions do not become empty gestures. As other noble Lords have indicated, these sanctions will be most effective when they are consistent with other foreign policy priorities and done through co-ordinated, collective action. Without the support of a wider coalition, we risk being isolated diplomatically.

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