The Catholic Church knew about child sex abuse being commited by its priests and did nothing. That is disgraceful. What makes it even worse is that the reason they did nothing is simply because of the “potential scandal and bad publicity should the abuse be disclosed.”
Well, they’ve got it in spades now.
Last year, the Pope declared that he was “profoundly ashamed” that sexual abuse had been performed by priests – pity he didn’t feel the need to admit the true extent of the abuse perpetrated by his priests.
But the abuse …

I am an unabashed monarchist – I feel that the constitutional monarchy we have best fits our peculiar historical and political history, and that there is no reason to try and “fix” what isn’t broken. However, I also believe that the Royal Family and the succession needs to be reformed.
The current situation is untenable in the modern world, with the discrimination against women and against non-Anglicans. It is completely out of place that someone can be excluded from being sovereig based on their gender or their religion, and there is …

Tony Blair is writing in the New Statesman stating that politicians should “do God” to properly engage with the modern world. Quite ironic coming from Mr. “we don’t do God” himself.
I cannot see any reason for politics and religion to be specifically linked. It is perfectly possible to be non-religious and moral, and the opposite – devoutly religious and totally immoral. Religious convictions are entirely personal, and have no importance in any other sphere. Who cares what a politician’s personal religious beliefs are? How does that affect anything?
I have been …

Archbishop Cranmer has a post on the ability for Muslim Scouts to change the Scout Promise to pledge a duty to Allah rather than God. Unfortunately, this post is (unusually for His Grace) extremely poorly researched. As a Scout Leader, I shall set him right.
For reference, the standard Scout Promise is:

On my honour,
I promise that I will do my best
to do my duty to God and to The Queen,
to help other people
and to keep the Scout Law.

Cranmer writes in his post that:

Muslim Boy Scouts in Dundee will now be able …

Religion now has a new battleground: politics.
I’ve posted before on the battle of the churches being undertaken in the media, and now it appears to have moved into a new politics.
First, five Church of England Bishops attack Gordon Brown and his policies for being immoral and now Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, the most senior Catholic priest in England and Wales, has jumped in to the fray to help Gordo out.
These priests need to get the hell out of politics. It’s not their world and, frankly, has nothing to do with them. …

I’m not in favour of religious leaders getting involved in politics at all, as I made a point of when Cardinal Keith O’Brien, the head of the Catholic Church in Scotland attacked politicians who support abortion. And I still oppose it even now that their intervention supports my views.

Leading bishops in the Church of England have launched a withering attack on the Government questioning the morality of its policies.
Five of the Church’s most senior figures said the Government now presided over a country suffering from family breakdown, an unhealthy reliance …

Pope Benedict XVI has proven that he certainly isn’t Santa Claus but closer to the Anti-Santa, by coming out as a homophobe.
There is simply no way that the Pope’s remarks can be acceptable. He should retract his statements. How exactly can you compare homosexuality with deforesting with any seriousness?
So in the season of goodwill he’s saying that gays are killing humanity. Anti-Santa-isation process is complete!

This is an example of what is wrong about religion – or at least how it can go so very very wrong:

Israeli police have had to restore order at one of Christianity’s holiest sites after a mass brawl broke out between monks in Jerusalem’s Old City…
Two monks from each side were detained as dozens of worshippers traded kicks and punches at the shrine…
Dressed in the vestments of the Greek Orthodox and Armenian denominations, rival monks threw punches and anything they could lay their hands on. (BBC)

How exactly can either side …

Not only is it one of the longest words the dictionary, it also describes precisely what Phil Woolas is saying. A definition of disestablishmentarianism:

–noun
1. a person who favors the separation of church and state, esp. the withdrawal of special rights, status, and support granted an established church by a state; an advocate of disestablishing a state church.
–adjective
2. of, pertaining to, or favoring the disestablishment of a state church.

I fully support this aim. It is precisely what we need. The State and religion – all forms of religion – should be …

A Church of England clergyman has been ordered to remove comments about gay people from his blog, remarks described by his diocese as “highly offensive”.
The Rev Peter Mullen, who ministers in the City of London, said he had gay friends and the words were “satirical”.
He suggested in his internet blog that homosexuals should have their backsides tattooed with the slogan: “Sodomy can seriously damage your health”. (BBC)

Yes, tattoo the gays. Just like the Nazis*. What a forward-looking, modern church the C of E is!
What is almost as bad is his …