The tragedy of Boris [Johnson] is he had several of the qualities a leader needs, but not the seriousness or the hard work, or, I have to say, the honesty. . . He did find it very hard to be serious. . . You can’t become Prime Minister and not be deadly serious. It’s the most incredible honour to be Prime Minister, and you can’t jape around and think that everyone’s at Eton or Oxford pulling jokes. It’s just not respectful to the country, and that, ultimately, saw him down

Anthony Seldon, historian, commenting on the forthcoming publication of Boris Johnson’s memoirs, Sky News, 1 October

The way God acts in the world is a very complex thing and people ask me whether what happened [the death of his first wife] affected my faith, but I’ve always been a member of the S*** happens school of theology and while bad things happen to Christians, they happen to everyone else and I believe that God can bring good out of those things, like as had happened to me

John Inge, Bishop of Worcester, interview with Express and Star to mark his retirement on 9 October, 29 September

Around the world, more than 90 per cent of babies found to have Down’s syndrome are aborted up to birth. A mother’s womb is the most dangerous place for a baby with Down syndrome to be. . . Eugenics is becoming a thing to admire. A perfect baby, a perfect family, a perfect society are now possible. But are they, really? No, of course they aren’t. There is no such thing as perfection. You can try to kill off everyone with Down’s syndrome by using abortion, but you won’t be any closer to a perfect society. You will just be closer to a cruel, heartless one

Charlotte Helene Fien, advocate for people with Down’s syndrome, address to the United Nations, 27 September

Strange how algorithms polarise us politically but homogenise us culturally. We sit in white tiled hipster cafes drinking the same blended frappuccinos streaming Ed Sheeran while cancelling each other for having different views. We hail diversity but happily live without it

Simon Burton-Jones, Bishop of Tonbridge, X/Twitter, 27 September

Though the idea of having nothing terrifies me, I see the attraction of being unencumbered by the things that weigh us down, that take our eyes off the stuff that, I think, really makes us human: love, connection, feelings that transcend the material. Maybe this is why Jesus and early Christians warned of the excesses of riches and pointed towards the eternal value of treasures in heaven rather than on earth

Chine McDonald, director of Theos, Thought for the Day, Radio 4, 26 September

Things I didn’t know — there have been eight Christian Prime Ministers of Japan, including two so far this century; hugely disproportionate to the Christian share of the population. Japan has had a Christian leader for around a sixth of the last 106 years!

Gerry Lynch, Rector of the Wellsprings Benefice in Salisbury diocese, X/Twitter, 27 September

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