People seeking asylum in the UK are not illegal. People setting fire to a hotel are breaking the law and demonstrating both a lack of basic human decency and compassion as well as murderous intent

Krish Kandiah, director of the Sanctuary Foundation, X/Twitter, 4 August

If the Church can’t see its vocation at a time like this, we might as well give up. There is no point the Church having unemployed love, and now is the time to really voice it and show it

Mark Oakley, Dean of Southwark, interview on The God Cast with Fr Alex Frost, 5 August

At the heart of our faith is a pattern for our living and dying which is shot through with a conviction that our interpretation of Christ’s life has, in some cases, been wrong; and a return to, a reassertion of this historic prejudice is, I want to suggest, neither biblical nor faithful. This is not about identity politics, nor is it about church politics: it is a struggle over fundamental Christian teaching and belief about the nature of love, the exercise of power, and the use of, money

Lucy Winkett, Rector of St James’s, Piccadilly, sermon, 4 August

Often during periods of boredom on holiday, in the heat and quiet of some deserted neighbourhood, finding a good book to read can provide an oasis that keeps us from other choices that are less wholesome. Likewise in moments of weariness, anger, disappointment or failure, when prayer itself does not help us find inner serenity, a good book can help us weather the storm until we find peace of mind

Pope Francis, Letter of the Holy Father on the Role of Literature in Formation, 4 August

Sportspeople thanking God for their wins is nothing new, but the sheer number doing so at this Olympics is noteworthy — especially so in France, which has insisted on its own athletes upholding the country’s secularist laws

Emma John, The Observer, 4 August

Given the punishing self-sacrifices they endure, and the odds stacked against them in their quest for glory, it’s not hard to imagine why some sportspeople look outside themselves for a greater power. But social media has also allowed them to be bolder in expressing their faith, and fans are becoming more comfortable with that, too

ibid.

In the same city where a century ago the Scottish runner Eric Liddell won an Olympic gold medal clutching a verse from the first book of Samuel — “Those who honour me, I will honour” — isn’t it heartening that modern Christian Olympians are still proud to demonstrate their faith? Should Christian leaders not be tweeting their praise for that rather than bloviating about a fleeting pantomime?

Patrick Kidd, The Times, 3 August

It takes enormous dedication and commitment over four years of hard training, often unseen through the long cold days and nights of winter, dealing with injuries and setbacks, and all for a shot at glory that might last as little as ten seconds. No wonder so many of us can’t take our eyes off it

Libby Lane, Bishop of Derby, Derbyshire Times, 2 August

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