I think God is very proud of the job I’ve done, and that includes for religion

Donald Trump, US President, at a White House press conference marking his first year back in office, 20 January

Have no doubt, this is a moment: if pursued as a non-negotiable demand, Trump’s plan [for Greenland] ends any lingering hope that the liberal rules-based order can stumble on through his remaining time in office

Gordon Brown, former Prime Minister, The Guardian, 20 January

I agree . . . about the importance of diplomacy in this, yet I feel that there is a danger that diplomacy takes place at a high level, over the heads of the Greenlanders themselves

David Walker, Bishop of Manchester, House of Lords, 19 January

The idea that death in battle for your country equates to Christian martyrdom seems to be the most bizarre and unjustifiable interpretation you could take. There is something really, really disturbing about the systematic, comprehensive rebranding of Christianity as Russian national ideology

Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury, quoted in The Independent, 19 January

In the past 11 years 197 consecrated places of worship closed in the Church of England out of nearly 16,000 church buildings. Most remain bustling at the heart of the communities they have long served, and still do, for the benefit of all

Emily Gee, director for cathedrals and church buildings for the Archbishops’ Council, letter in The Times, 16 January

We need evensong more than ever to connect us to our identity in our era of cultural confusion and identity crisis. The Church of England, and our schools, need to do much more to support the choral tradition. . . If the music stops, then the sound of England permanently goes out

Bijan Omrani, The Daily Telegraph, 16 January

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