Priest stabbed on parish visit
A NORTH-LONDON VICAR, the Revd Ian Brady, was stabbed on Tuesday evening on
his way to visit a parishioner. Mr Brady, Vicar of St Anselm’s, Belmont,
Stanmore, and a 46-year-old father of two, was taken
to hospital, where his condition was said to be "serious but stable" at the
time of going to press on Wednesday. The Bishop of Willesden, the
Rt Revd Peter Broadbent, said: "I am deeply shocked to hear of the attack on
Ian. Clearly it is crucial that the person who did this is found, and I would
encourage any witnesses to contact the police immediately."
Sexuality facilitator appointed
CANON PHILIP GROVES was this week appointed the facilitator of the
"Listening Process" for the Anglican Communion. The job entails monitoring the
work done on the subject of human sexuality, and relates to a request made at
the 1998 Lambeth Conference. Canon Groves trained at St John’s College,
Nottingham, and is currently Team Vicar in the Melton Mowbray Team Ministry,
but served in Tanzania for five years. He will take up the post on 1 January.
Rosa Parks revered
CHURCHES in the UK and the United States this week paid tribute to Rosa
Parks, the African-American woman who inspired the civil-rights movement, and
who died on Monday, aged 92. In 1955 she refused to give up her seat on a bus
to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama, and was arrested. The secretary of the
Churches’ Commission for Racial Justice, the Revd Arlington Trotman, said: "She
inspired the social movement that sought to bring about equal and humane
treatment under the law for all black Americans."
ID cards warning
THE BISHOP of Oxford, the Rt Revd Richard Harries, warned on Monday that,
while he supported the idea of identity cards in principle, "the real worry is
that if the scheme went wrong in certain areas it might do a great deal more
harm than good." Speaking in the debate at the Second Reading of the Identity
Cards Bill in the House of Lords, he questioned how the cards would work in
practice: "What particularly worries me is the existence of a high-security
scheme which might even strengthen the position of terrorists who are able to
manipulate it."
Evangelicals ‘can agree to differ’
HOMOSEXUALITY and women’s minstry are "different orders" of issue, the
Evangelical pressure group Mainstream UK has said. A statement issued last week
concludes: "It would not be inconsistent for those who disagree over the
ordination of women to remain in fellowship with each other and to take a
united stand over more vital issues such as the defence of the orthodox
Christian position on homosexuality."
Lambeth library status enhanced
THE COLLECTIONS held in Lambeth Palace Library have been awarded Designated
status under the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council’s designation scheme,
on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The scheme aims to
identify the nation’s pre-eminent collections.
Vetting is ‘strangling’ churches
CHURCHES and charities are being "strangled" by government regulation
including criminal-record checks, says the Better Regulation Task Force. The
government-appointed body says that, in one case, a 70-year-old grandmother had
to be vetted to help in a church crèche, even though her own grandchildren were
normally the only ones she looked after. The Task Force recommended "a lighter
touch and more flexible regulation".
Malawi appeal
PEOPLE who want to support the Malawi appeal (Comment, 28 October) should
send cheques made out to DNM Discretionary Fund, a/c 00576405, sortcode
12-05-65, at Bank of Scotland, 55 Temple Road, Birmingham, B2 5LS. Birmingham
and North Malawi dioceses have been linked since 1966.