Law and religion round-up – 3rd January

OK: enough of the carols and mince pies: back to work…

… well, after the Epiphany carol service this evening.

New Year Honours

There were two names in the New Year Honours list of particular interest for readers of this blog. William Fittall, who recently retired as Secretary General of the Archbishops’ Council and General Synod of the Church of England, becomes a Knight Batchelor “for services to the Church of England”, while Professor Malcolm Evans OBE, Professor of Public International Law at Bristol and Chair of the United Nations Subcommittee for the Prevention of Torture, is awarded the KCMG for “services to torture prevention and religious freedom”. The Church Times has reviewed the list and identified a number of other recipients associated with the Churches – though the piece fails to mention Malcolm Evans.

The Columba Declaration

On Christmas Eve the Church of Scotland and the Church of England issued a statement announcing that they had reached a historic agreement, the Columba Declaration, on their ecumenical partnership and the groundwork for future joint projects: we posted about it here.

But rejoicing has not been universal. Continue reading