“On the Church Appointments (Repeal of Discriminatory Provision) Bill, I am not sure that many of us Jews and Catholics have really felt discriminated against since 1829 by the provisions that are being repealed…“.
Sir Edward Leigh, Gainsborough (Con).
Papal incapacity
The unexpected announcement that Pope Leo XIV was to be admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on 13 October again raised the issue of governance of the Roman Catholic Church during a period when the pope is unconscious or otherwise incapacitated. This was addressed following the resignation of Benedict XVI, here and here, and most recently reviewed when Pope Francis underwent three-hour surgery on 7 June 2023; now as then, the Pope remains the highest authority in the Vatican and the Catholic Church, even while under anaesthesia or hospitalised.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 882) affirms the Pope’s supreme authority, although it does not address when he cannot exercise it. Likewise, his supreme authority in the Church is defined in Canons 330 to 335. The Roman Curia continues day-to-day administration, particularly through the Secretary of State, who oversees much of the Vatican’s routine governmental work. During Pope Francis’s hospitalisations, Cardinal Pietro Parolin continued to manage ordinary affairs. More detailed analyses of the legislation are here and here.
Antisemitism
The Campaign Against Antisemitism has referred the Green Party to the Equality and Human Rights Commission, alleging that, by its adoption at its party conference of Motion E02, “Zionism is racism”, has “discriminated against Jewish members and/or associates and continues to do so”, contrary to sections 101(2)(d) and/or 101(3)(d) of the Equality Act 2010. The referral letter is here. [With thanks to the Religion Media Centre.]
Protecting charities from extremist abuse: consultation
The Government has announced a consultation on proposals to strengthen the Charity Commission’s powers to tackle extremist abuse of charities by disqualifying trustees and senior managers who pose a serious risk. Under the proposals, people convicted of specified hate-related offences would be automatically disqualified from acting as a charity trustee or senior manager, extending existing rules that already apply to those convicted of terrorism and other serious offences. The proposals would also give the Charity Commission new discretionary powers to disqualify individuals where there is evidence that they have promoted violence or racial or religious hatred. The measures have been developed jointly with the Charity Commission, drawing on its casework experience of where current rules fall short.
The consultation is here, and responses can also be submitted by e-mail to charitylaw@dcms.gov.uk. It closes on 23 December.
Places of Worship Renewal Fund
On Thursday, Historic England announced the first round of grants under the Places of Worship Renewal Fund, launched in May after the closure of the long-running Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, to help pay for capital works including fabric repairs and essential improvements such as electrical upgrades, heating and step-free access. The recipients range from Newcastle and Birmingham (Anglican) Cathedrals to Fore Street Methodist Church, St Ives. The Church Times gives further background. The scheme, funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and administered by Historic England, is for England only and will provide £23 million a year for four years.
On Friday, the Commons Digital, Cultural, Sport and Media Committee published the Government response to its Third Report of Session 2026–27, Protecting built heritage: we noted the response here.
Religious diet preferences in schools
Wendy Morton (Aldridge-Brownhills, Con) asked the Secretary of State for Education whether the revised standards for school meals impact the provision of halal meat; whether schools will be expected to identify halal-certified meat on published menus; and what guidance she will provide on suitable alternatives for pupils.
To which Paul Waugh (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, DoE) responded as follows:
“Headteachers, governors and their caterers are best placed to make decisions about their school food policies. The department expects schools to act reasonably, providing choices that take account of cultural, religious and special dietary needs. Schools may consider providing both halal and non-halal food each day or ensuring that dishes are clearly labelled to allow pupils to select the appropriate choice. We would expect any significant changes to school food to be discussed with parents.”
Representation of the People Bill
The Bishop of Leicester, the Rt Revd Martyn Snow, has tabled an amendment to the Representation of the People Bill which would prohibit the inclusion of pictures of religious buildings in election material at a parliamentary election, an election to a devolved legislature or a local election. The Committee stage of the Bill in the House of Lords is due to commence on 2 November 2026.
The Church Times notes “For clergy in the Church of England…the expectation that they serve all parishioners is ‘harmed when the impression is given that the church is aligned with a particular party…This is especially the case when the political views and actions of the candidate are at odds with the ethos and mission of the Church.” The example is given of St Thomas, Batley, which featured in electoral material in 2021 from a candidate who was the former deputy leader of Britain First.
Not “lost in translation” – I
Whilst our language skills do not extend to Vietnamese (or many others), as was necessary this week we always check the meanings of submitted Comments through Google Translate, even when they do not use Latin script. This provides sufficient direction to determine whether to “bin” or “mark as spam”, according to our Comments Policy and General Conditions.
Not “lost in translation” – II
The Church Times reports on a translation service for churches that can provide live captions and spoken translation on any phone:
“Breeze Translate works on any computer that is connected to an audio feed, which could be a sound desk feed, a clip-on microphone or a phone placed near a speaker lectern. The person running Breeze logs into their account, selects the audio input, and then presses ‘start’.
Breeze will then begin transcribing whatever is said. Worshippers can access a translation on their smartphone by scanning a QR code, which will take them to the church’s translation page. They can choose from around 200 languages and listen in around 75. Breeze is able to translate from around 60 languages”.
Quick links
- DCMS: Consultation on the extension of the Charity Commission’s powers to tackle extremism.
- Professor Mark Elliott: Public Law for Everyone: Constitutional Law 101: Does the UK have a constitution?
- House of Commons Library: Church Appointments (Repeal of Discriminatory Provision) Bill 2026-27.
- Clare Radcliffe, Lexology: What are the proposed reforms on the law of cohabitation?
And finally…
On Thursday, the Commons passed a very unusual Business of the House motion:
“That notices of Amendments, new Clauses and new Schedules to be moved in Committee in respect of the Church Appointments (Repeal of Discriminatory Provision) Bill may be accepted by the Clerks at the Table before it has been read a second time.—(Harpreet Uppal.)”
It is expected that all Commons stages of Bill will be taken on Wednesday, with half a day allocated to its passage [ With thanks to the Hansard Society.]