A UK Christian couple who fostered two young children for almost a year were barred from adopting the children because, according to social workers, their views that children need “a mummy and a daddy” were ‘concerning’ given that a gay couple had also recently applied to adopt the children. The couple were also told their three-bedroomed home was too small. The couple told a newspaper, “We are Christians and we expressed the view that a child needs a mother and a father. We expressed our views in modest, temperate terms based on our Christian convictions.” They added, “We have not expressed homophobic views unless Christian views are, by definition, homophobic.”
A Middle Eastern country has elected a Christian president. Michel Aoun is now president of Lebanon, after 45 failures by the government to agree a new leader over two and a half years. The 81 year old former general opposes the government of neighbouring Syria; he led a “War of Liberation” against Syrian forces in 1989, but was forced into exile in France where he lived for 15 years.
The US election has dominated the headlines for the past week or two, with abortion being a major issue, especially amongst Catholic voters. In Poland, however, where abortion is illegal in most circumstances, the government has just passed a law to give a cash grant to the parents of any baby which is born with a disability. The grant of approximately $1,000 is intended to complement the current state aid for disabled children of around $300 per month.
The BBC has come under fire once again for its liberal bias, from a journalist who worked for the BBC for 25 years. Robin Aitken wrote, “Feminism is never challenged; atheism is celebrated; ‘human rights’ trumps all (unless it is rights for the unborn).” Perhaps the most substantive criticism comes from the BBC’s News Style Guide, which instructs staff to describe pro-choice campaigners as ‘pro-choice’ and ‘favouring a woman’s right to choose’ but says that pro-life campaigners should be described as ‘anti-abortion’. The BBC has also been criticised for making a programme about transsexualism called “Just a Girl” aimed at 6 to 12 year olds.
In Uganda, a group of Muslims led by an imam attacked Christians who were harvesting rice, shouting ‘We are fighting for the cause of Allah’. 27 Christians were injured, 16 of them seriously; police have made several arrests. The root cause seems to be that the rice plantation is a project funded by churches from three denominations which helps the community in times of food shortage and also sells rice to pay school fees for needy children – and as a result, 21 Muslims have become Christians in the space of six months.
A young man from South Sudan who was snatched from his mother at the age of six and forced to become a child soldier, before being helped to escape by his older brother to Kenya and then to Australia, has won New South Wales’ award as “Australian of the Year”. Deng Adut said he was ‘shocked’ to receive the award, even though he has now qualified as a criminal lawyer; runs a law group which fights for members of the Sudanese community; and is studying for his second Master’s degree.
The Archbishop of Canterbury has appointed a new chaplain and has chosen a woman -- the Revd Isabelle Hamley, currently a tutor at St John’s College, Nottingham. The chaplain’s responsibility is to develop the Archbishop’s priority for prayer and the renewal of religious life.
And finally, a group of Beliebers (fans of the singer Justin Bieber) in Rio de Janeiro have started queueing to get a good spot at his next gig – which is five months away. A group of around 100 take it in turns to occupy the two tents outside the Sambadrome where Bieber is due to play on 29 March. "I'm not put off by sleeping rough," said one fan. "I absolutely love Justin Bieber. He inspires me and touches my heart."
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