Bishop speaks to lost divorce amendments

PARENTS should be made aware of the negative impact of divorce on their children, the Bishop of Carlisle, the Rt Revd James Newcome, has said. “It seems to make every sense to bring that to the attention of the parents,” he told the House of Lords on Tuesday of last week, “as well as the fact that children apparently often tend to do better even with fractious parents than they do after a divorce, although I fully acknowledge that cases of domestic abuse are a different matter.” The Bishop was supporting two amendments to the Divorce and Dissolution and Separation Bill at its report stage. Both were opposed by the Government and not put to vote after debate. The Bishop agreed that parents should be “given access to information about mediation and marriage counselling. . . The statistics suggest that as many as 2500 relationships are currently rescued each year as a direct result of this sort of intervention.”

Proposal to reduce Exxon emissions blocked

A SHAREHOLDER proposal co-filed by the non-profit organisation As You Sow and the Church Commissioners which urges ExxonMobil to set Paris-aligned emission targets has been blocked by the United States’ Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the second year running. The Commissioners’ head of responsible investment, Edward Mason, said on Monday: “ExxonMobil is doubling down on its investment in carbon-intensive oil and gas infrastructure and production at a time when every company should be taking responsibility for reducing its carbon emissions. Exxon is woefully unprepared for a low-carbon future, and its strategy poses extreme financial, environmental, and social risks.”