A Happy “Ed Balls Day” to our readers
Whilst not featuring in the Church’s Liturgical Calendar, Ed Balls Day serves as a reminder to users of Twitter/X (by whatever name called) of the perils faced by internet users, for which the “Liking” of a Tweet may lead to a CDM Tribunal.
Sikh tribunal opens in London
The Times reports that a group of Sikh lawyers have opened a Sikh forum for alternative dispute resolution, with the aim of providing a mechanism for dealing sensitively with civil and family matters within the Sikh community. Sikhism does not have its own legal code; and Baldip Singh, of counsel, stressed that it was not a religious tribunal: its purpose would be “to assist Sikh families in their time of need when dealing with conflict and disputes in line with Sikh principles”. He also emphasised that under the rules of the new court the consent of both parties would be required in order for an adjudication to proceed.
As an example of the kind of issue that the new tribunal might have resolved, he cited a separated Sikh couple who disagreed over cutting their son’s hair. The mother wanted it cut short, while the father applied for a court order for the boy’s hair to be kept long. The parties could not afford an expert to provide evidence to the court, which ruled in the mother’s favour as the child’s primary carer.
The Bishop in Tynwald
Manx Radio reports that the Isle of Man Constitution Bill 2023, which would remove the Bishop’s vote in the Legislative Council and Tynwald, has made further progress in the House of Keys, passing its clauses stage. The third reading will take place in the next few weeks. [With thanks to Peter Edge.]
Ecclesiastical Law Society
At the AGM of the Society yesterday, Lee Coley was elected as Chair in succession to Elizabeth Wilson. Tickets for the Day Conference 2024 – The Law of Liturgy in the Church of England: Dead or Alive? sold out in advance of the event. The absence of “Liturgy” as a sub-heading in our Index reflects the paucity of consistory court judgments in which this is addressed specifically, although it was pointed out that in most “reordering” cases, there was an implicit consideration of the associated issues.
The Pagan Federation
The Pagan Federation has announced that it has been registered as a charity in England and Wales, with the charitable objects of “the promotion of equality and diversity for the public benefit by: [1] – the elimination of discrimination against pagans on the grounds of beliefs which are recognised and protected in law and consistent with the Equality Act 2010; [2] – advancing education of the public and raising awareness of the beliefs and practices of pagans; [3] – cultivating a sentiment in favour of equality and diversity”. Its registration number is 1207576.
Increase in Special Marriage Licence application fee
One we missed. On 22 March 2024, the Faculty Office announced that with effect from 1 April 2024, the application fee for Special Marriage Licences will be raised from £400.00 to £440.00. Members of the clergy have been urged to update their fee schedule records accordingly.
Quick links
- Ecclesiastical Law Society: Bitesize Ecclesiastical Law #1 “What is Ecclesiastical Law?” The Revd Russell Dewhurst and the Ven Moira Astin talk about the basics of ecclesiastical law in a monthly series of accessible ‘bitesize’ discussions. This 30-minute Zoom discussion is open to members and non-members and is free of charge.
- House of Commons Home Affairs Committee, Written evidence submitted by The Venerable Rick Simpson, Archdeacon of Auckland: disputing the evidence to the Committee from the Revd Mr Firth that he had encountered a “conveyor-belt” of asylum seekers pursuing baptism at St Cuthbert’s, Darlington.
- Ofsted: Deep and meaningful? The religious education subject report.
- Khalid Mahmood MP, Sir John Jenkins & Martyn Frampton, Policy Exchange: A definition of Islamophobia?
- Religion Media Centre: Briefing: Ban on prayer rituals in a London school raises questions on religion in multicultural Britain.
- The London Central Mosque Trust & Islamic Cultural Centre: Statement Regarding Michaela Secondary School (17 April 2024).
- Stefan Theil, UK Human Rights Blog: Substantively orthodox: three takeaways from the ECHR climate change decisions: on the “the living instrument interpretative approach” in Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz and Others v Switzerland [2024] ECHR 304, which we noted briefly here.
- Cathérine Van de Graaf, Strasbourg Observers: Georgian Muslim Relations and Others v Georgia – a bleeding pig’s head and other expressions of religious hatred with no police intervention: we noted the case here.
- Miles Windsor, The Critic: Religious freedom is back on the agenda: “The International Freedom of Religion or Belief Bill, currently before parliament, is an important step for securing Britain’s role in promoting religious liberty” – though whether, even with Government support, it will arrive on the statute book is still an open question.
And finally…I
On 24 April, the Standard headline read “King Charles approves crackdown on rogue pedicabs in London with new licensing system” – err, in much the same way he “approved” the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill which became law on the following day, albeit with a less populist headline in the paper.
And finally…II
The Catholic Herald reported AI priest avatar gets the chop in first week of digital ministry: “The ‘Fr. Justin’ interactive AI app was launched by Catholic Answers, a US-based media ministry focused on apologetics and evangelisation, to answer questions about the Catholic faith, using material from the Catholic Answers library of resources, such as articles, talks and apologetics materials”.
Perhaps there is scope to reissue some of our Queries and Comments, the series of occasional posts that ran from 13 August 2017 to 24 February 2020 providing quick answers to questions of topical interest that arose from searches on L&RUK.