The appeal of Christian faith is no longer that it inducts you into the moral mainstream but that it offers an exclusive identity. To some young people raised in a post-religious environment, Christianity has taken on something of the exotic appeal of Buddhism in the 1960s

James Marriott, The Times, 18 July

The new government’s aim to halve violence against women in a decade is a necessary one. For those who experience it, it’s like domestic terrorism. And like terrorism, it’s communities that are best placed to call it out. For men, it’s standing against a rising tide of misogyny

Simon Burton-Jones, Bishop of Tonbridge, X, 17 July

I am appalled by the news that [the Wall Street Journal’s] Evan Gershkovich has been sentenced to 16 years in prison. Journalists worldwide should be free to hold power to account without fear. We pray for the hundreds of journalists currently imprisoned for their vital work.

Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, X, 19 July

The human institution that is the established church is a mosaic of godliness and worldliness. Examine the question of where any given priest would like to be in five years’ time and the hopes they have for their future and you open a window on this. First of all, there are the things you must not say: “I would like to be sitting in your chair, Bishop,” or, alternately, “I have no hope. I vaguely remember when I did, but not now. Don’t mind me”

Alice Goodman, priest and writer, Prospect, August/September 2024 issue

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