Canadian bishops speak out against ‘niqab ban’
ANGLICAN bishops in Canada have spoken out against a new law that prohibits people from wearing face coverings when giving or receiving a public service, and has been described as a “niqab ban”. The Bishop of Montreal, the Rt Revd Mary Irwin-Gibson, and the Bishop of Quebec, the Rt Revd Bruce Myers OGS, said that they felt “compelled to express our deep distress at the manner in which the religious neutrality law passed by the National Assembly implicitly targets another minority religious group in this province”. They said that it would help to foster “a climate of suspicion and fear” which would threaten the safety of Muslims.
Just Walk pilgrims arrive in Jerusalem
AFTER a 147-day, 3400km walk across Europe, more than 60 people arrived in Jerusalem last week to mark the centenary of the Balfour Declaration. As they journeyed through the West Bank, they were joined by Palestinian and Israeli peace activists. The Just Walk to Jerusalem pilgrimage was organised by the Amos Trust to “call for equal rights for everyone who calls the Holy Land home”.
Sudanese Presbyterians fined during ‘property grab’
TWO leaders of the Sudan Evangelical Presbyterian Church were convicted of criminal misappropriation and criminal trespass, on 30 October, Christian Solidarity Worldwide reports (CSW). Both men were ordered to pay a fine. The case concerns a dispute between the Church’s Lands and Buildings Committee and a government-backed committee described as “illegitimate” by CSW, which reports that the government has attempted to seize control of church affairs and selling church properties to private investors.
Work under way to harness sun on church land
PLANS for solar fields on church land across Africa are under way, as a result of emerging partnerships between Anglican Churches, the Jerusalem-based Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development (ICSD), and the social enterprise Gigawatt Global. In Rwanda, Gigawatt has built an £18-million solar field to provide energy for a village that is home to orphans from the genocide. The work is being overseen by the Anglican Church of Southern Africa’s environmental coordinator, the Revd Dr Rachel Mash, who said that bishops had responded “enthusiastically”.