1+ week, 5+ day ago (1177+ words) After decades of fierce controversies over sexuality and theology in the Anglican Communion, some leaders of a conservative coalition say it's time to make a final break from what has long been one of the world's largest Protestant church families. That would make a slow-growing Anglican schism complete " if it happens. But how many church provinces go along with the rupture remains to be seen. Some of the communion's largest and fastest-growing churches in Africa belong to the conservative group that announced the break " known as the Global Anglican Future Conference, or Gafcon. But several member churches have been silent on the plan, weeks after it was announced. Gafcon's announcement came shortly after the October appointment of Bishop Sarah Mullally as the first woman to be archbishop of Canterbury, the Anglican Communion's symbolic spiritual leader. Many in England and other…...

1+ week, 2+ hour ago (986+ words) Among the most sensitive family disputes Moses Kutoi mediates are those involving upset men questioning why some of their children don't resemble them. For the Ugandan clan leader attuned to the wisdom of his ancestors, the matter is taboo, never to be discussed with others. Yet Kutoi feels compelled to intervene in the hope of saving marriages that sometimes turn violent and are on the verge of breaking. "Even me, I don't resemble my father," the clan leader recently told one disbelieving man he was helping. Paternity has become a key test of faith in this east African country as DNA testing becomes more widely available, fueled in part by published reports of well-known Ugandans who eventually discovered they were not the biological fathers of some of their children. The matter has become so heated that clerics and traditional leaders…...

3+ week, 22+ hour ago (1259+ words) The Eternal Wall of Answered Prayer will be twice the height of Angel of the North, and seen by more than 500,000 every day. Alex Ross speaks to the man behind it " and the donor who spent "30m to make this ambitious plan a reality According to the Bible, it was when God had had enough of human wickedness and violence that he sent a message to Noah, telling him to build an ark. For Richard Gamble, his message from the Lord Almighty came as he lumbered through the village of Burbage " carrying a wooden cross " on a 77-mile tour of Leicestershire to spread the word of Jesus. "I felt a flash through my mind from God of an idea to build a wall of a million bricks by a motorway," Mr Gamble, aged 56, said. "Every brick [was to] represent an answered…...

1+ week, 4+ day ago (684+ words) Richard Gamble's passion for Jesus has always been outsize. Twenty years ago, he had a vision from God to drag a 9-foot wooden cross for 77 miles during Holy Week leading up to Easter. After that grueling marathon in 2004, God gave him a bigger, bolder vision: Build a wall that tells a million stories of how God has answered prayer. Last week, Gamble, 56, broke ground on that vision " a 168-foot-tall architectural landmark that is expected to be one of the largest Christian monuments in England, if not the world. (Christ the Redeemer, the iconic statue of Jesus in Rio de Janeiro, is 98 feet.) It is planned to open to the public in 2028. "We live in a country where Christianity has been pretty much put on mute," Gamble said in an interview at the Eternal Wall offices near the construction site. "To…...

1+ week, 2+ day ago (499+ words) Two Roman Catholic priests who were imprisoned on what human rights officials said were politically related charges were released from prison Thursday following talks with the Vatican, officials said. The move, which was confirmed by the Conference of Catholic Bishops in Belarus, comes amid speculation about warming relations between Minsk and the West after a phone call between authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko and U.S. President Donald Trump in August led to the release of some political prisoners. The Rev. Henrykh Akalatovich was sentenced to 11 years in prison after a treason conviction in 2023. He served two years. The 65-year-old cleric, who criticized the government in his sermons, was accused of spying for Poland and the Vatican " charges he denied as based on "lies, threats, and blackmail." His arrest was the first time politically driven charges were made against Roman Catholic clergy in…...

4+ hour, 10+ min ago (964+ words) Pope Leo XIV wrapped up his visit to Turkey on Sunday before heading to Lebanon, where he hoped to bring a message of hope to its long-suffering people and bolster a crucial Christian community in the Middle East. Leo had two key appointments in Istanbul before flying to Beirut: a prayer at the Armenian Apostolic Cathedral and a divine liturgy with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, whose invitation to commemorate an important Christian anniversary was the impetus for Leo's visit. On the second leg of his maiden papal trip, Leo was visiting Lebanon at a precarious moment for the small Mediterranean country after years of successive crises. He is fulfilling a promise of Pope Francis, who had wanted to visit for years but was unable to as his health worsened. Francis often quoted St. John…...

4+ day, 7+ hour ago (708+ words) Posters for Goa retreat include Christmas motifs " but also offer sessions on "cosmic orgasm" and "mystery of masturbation" Police have shut down a Christmas retreat in India after posters said it would celebrate the festive season with sessions on tantric sex, masturbation and "cosmic orgasms. Catholic groups in Goa reacted angrily to viral social media posts about the four-day programme beginning on 25 December titled "Tales of Kamasutra & Christmas Celebration. The poster features Christmas motifs like baubles and candy canes while also offering sessions on "tantra love making, "cosmic orgasm and the "mystery of tantric ejaculations. "Singles and couples both are welcome, at the event for a price of Rs 24,995 (213.50) per person, the poster declared. It says attendants will be required to wear white and maroon robes at all times during the retreat. Organisers said they had cancelled the event after…...

2+ week, 4+ day ago (1042+ words) Our community overwhelmingly believes that true remembrance is personal, with many choosing to forgo the poppy and honour the fallen in their own meaningful ways Helen Coffey's piece questioning whether poppy wearing has become performative " and if the white poppy offers a better alternative " has struck a chord with Independent readers. Responding to the article, many said they no longer wear a poppy at all, preferring to remember in their own quiet way and respect others' choices to do the same. Several felt the symbol has been warped by politics and public pressure, arguing that the annual outrage over who does or doesn't wear one has stripped it of its true meaning of remembrance and unity. Several praised Charlene White for calmly explaining her stance amid abuse, while others said they've stopped wearing a poppy precisely because of the expectation…...

1+ week, 5+ day ago (598+ words) Pope Leo XIV could soon accept the resignation of an ailing Spanish bishop who is under church investigation for allegedly sexually abusing a young seminarian in the 1990s, the head of the Spanish Catholic bishops conference said Monday. Archbishop Luis Javier Arg'ello Garc'a told reporters in St. Peter's Square that the conference hierarchy had discussed the case with Leo during an audience Monday. Arg'ello confirmed a report in El Pa's newspaper that a canonical investigation into C'diz Bishop Rafael Zornoza, 76, had been opened two weeks ago. It is believed to be the first publicly known church investigation of a Spanish bishop accused of abuse since the Spanish church began reckoning in recent years with a decades-long legacy of abuse and cover-up. The diocese of C'diz has denied the accusations against Zornoza but confirmed the investigation was being carried out by the…...

2+ week, 3+ day ago (791+ words) U.S. Catholic bishops voted Wednesday to make official a ban on gender-affirming care for transgender patients at Catholic hospitals. The step formalizes a yearslong process for the U.S. church to address transgender health care. From a Baltimore hotel ballroom, the bishops overwhelmingly approved revisions to their ethical and religious directives that guide the nation's thousands of Catholic health care institutions and providers. More than one in seven patients in the U.S. are treated each day at Catholic hospitals, according to the Catholic Health Association. Catholic hospitals are the only medical center in some communities. Most Catholic health care institutions have taken a conservative approach and not offered gender-affirming care, which may involve hormonal, psychological and surgical treatments. The new directives will formalize that mandate. Bishops will have autonomy in making the directives into law for their dioceses. "With regard to the gender ideology,…...