The Church of England is “adamant in its rejection” of calls to legalise assisted dying, its most senior lay official has said.William Nye, secretary-general of the General Synod, said that the Church opposed assisted suicide because it could lead to people being pressurised into ending their lives and because “a change in the law would undermine the intrinsic value of every human life”.However, Baronesss Meacher, who introduced the Assisted Dying Bill, said that the church was “out of touch” with its congregation, citing a poll showing that the majority of Christians supported changes in legislation.A separate YouGov poll last June suggested that 73 per cent of the general population backed a change. The Royal College of Physicians and the British Medical Association have dropped their opposition to assisted dying.Nye said: “Opinion polls are not a valid means to test ethical arguments. Opinion polls not only rely upon questions which lack nuance or context, they also invite people to imagine themselves into a situation in which most people have no relevant experience.” He added: “For these reasons — and because no new or better arguments to the contrary have been advanced by any of the lobbyists for assisted suicide — the Church of England has been adamant in its rejection of a change in the current law in parliament, in the media and among medical professions.”The synod is to debate the matter when it meets next month. Dr Simon Eyre, a lay member, has put forward a private member’s motion calling on the synod to confirm its opposition to any attempts to change the legislation on assisted suicide. Eyre said that instead the government should increase funding of palliative care by £313 million a year to keep hospices going.Meacher’s bill failed to proceed beyond the committee stage before the parliamentary year ended in April. She suggested then that there was enough support among MPs to pass it. She said yesterday: “Church leaders always explain their position in terms of a concern for vulnerable people coming under pressure from relatives. In reality, vulnerable people are much more at risk under the current law. They can legally cease treatment or starve themselves to death and may come under pressure from relatives. There are no safeguards. An assisted dying law will have strong safeguards.”
CHURCHES are being asked to provide overnight sanctuaries for pilgrims travelling a network of cross-country routes that link sites of religious or historic significance.The British Pilgrimage Trust, which started publicising the trails eight years ago, is seeking cheap accommodation in churches and church and village halls, modelled on the albergues and donativoshostels on the Camino Way across northern Spain.“The sanctuary project has been set up to re-root us to an ancient tradition that has connected those making pilgrimage to the communities through which they travel for many hundreds of years,” the Trust’s co-founder, Dr Guy Hayward, said.“Taking up sanctuary at the heart of a community has proved for many to be an eye-opening — even life-changing — experience. They can enhance their pilgrimage with a night’s stay in a holy place, or simply find the most economical solution to enable them to make a long journey on foot.“Whether it’s the ancientness of the church, the memories in the stones, the stained glass, or the feeling of being welcomed by the community or connecting with the locals — sleeping in sanctuaries can provide a sounder form of sleep, a deeply restorative experience. Sanctuary solves a basic issue for pilgrims and local communities, but it also aligns in an unexpected way with each church’s purpose of being a place of sanctuary.”The Trust suggests a donation set by the provider of between £5 and £20 per pilgrim, depending on facilities offered, or with a sliding scale based on a pilgrim’s income. “The average price per night per pilgrim for a sanctuary is £10, which makes multi-day pilgrimages accessible to society at large,” Dr Hayward said. “It provides much-needed revenue to churches and shared community buildings like village halls, which get 100 per cent of the revenue: we take no commission.”Unlike “champing”, in which families or groups reserve a site for themselves, sanctuaries offer space for travellers sleeping in the same place, whether or not they know one another. The places are available exclusively to pilgrims who sign up for £24 annually as friends of the Trust. Bookings are made direct with the provider using an Airbnb-style app through its website.So far, three routes are covered by the scheme: the Old Way, from Southampton to Canterbury; the Cornish Celtic Way, from St Germans to St Michael’s Mount; and the Golden Valley Way, a 59-mile circuit based on Hereford Cathedral. Here, all but one of the church halts are next to a pub offering food.A rural pioneer priest in Hereford diocese, the Revd Simon Lockett, said that it was “a wild, frugal, contemplative, spiritual experience of divine presence: an affordable celebration of the incarnational in creation, culture, food, and people, by connecting up churches, local businesses, artists, and growers through fellowship around a circular path. It’s a wonderful example of churches combining gifts, skills and vision.”
A new initiative focused on survivors of church-based abuse and those who support them has been launched today.The initiative spearheaded by Newcastle Diocese, is a response to recent guidance issued by the Church of England to church officers and church bodies on how to respond well to victims and survivors of all kinds of abuse. It has been part funded by the charity Safe Spaces, a free and independent support service, providing a confidential, personal and safe space for anyone who has been abused by someone in the Church.If I Told You, What Would You Do?’ is a suite of accessible materials and resources, including a series of seven videos with more than 50 people reading the words of survivors, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby and the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell. Survivors have also produced original artwork and music, which is being made available.The project was the brainchild of Sarah Troughton and David Creese, both survivors of faith-based abuse, who worked closely with the Diocese of Newcastle’s Safeguarding Advisor Carol Butler to develop the content.The Bishop of Berwick and Acting Bishop of Newcastle, the Right Reverend Mark Wroe said: “I am deeply moved and challenged by this extraordinary piece of work which has been led by those with lived experience of church-based abuse. For far too long there have been those who have suffered abuse in church and not felt safe enough to report it, as well as those who have reported it and not been cared for in the way they deserve. This project works alongside the other safeguarding procedures we now have in place as we continue to learn how to make our churches safer places.“We believe that one of the best ways we can help individuals and communities to respond well to abuse is through creative projects. This creates space for a conversation between those with lived experience and others in their communities. Imagination is one of the most powerful resources God gives us to foster a more empathetic understanding of the needs of survivors and what helpful responses might look and sound like as we journey forwards together. “For these reasons we have engaged in creative projects designed and delivered by those with lived experience of abuse, those who minister to them, and others in our communities who support this vital work.”
Christians being confirmed or baptised in the Oxford diocese will henceforth be asked to commit to protecting the environment as part of the church’s formal liturgy.The addition to the ceremonies is supported by the Right Rev Steven Croft (see photo), bishop of Oxford, and asks people being baptised or confirmed to “strive to safeguard the integrity of creation, and sustain and renew the life of the Earth”.The move, thought to be the first of its kind in the country, comes amid growing concern about the climate and ecological crisis among religious leaders. Earlier this year, more than 500 church leaders signed a letter to the government calling for no new fossil fuel developments, and Christian activists have been at the forefront of many climate protests in recent years.Steven, who is a member of the Lords select committee for the environment and climate change, said the church had a key moral and spiritual role to play in addressing the climate and ecological emergency.“The target of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees is already slipping away from us,” he said. “Society has only a limited time to act but we should be in no doubt whatsoever that there is a strong and deep possibility of change if we act now.”The addition to the liturgy comes as the Oxford diocese announces plans to spend £10m improving the energy efficiency of its vicarages in an effort to hit net zero emissions by 2035. It is one of 10 dioceses to have divested from fossil fuel companies, making commitments not to invest in coal, oil and gas in the future.At a national level, the Church of England has been criticised for not acting quickly enough to cut its links with fossil fuel companies. It began to cut ties to coal and other heavily polluting industries in 2015, then pledged in 2018 to divest by 2023 from high-carbon companies that were “not aligned with the goals of the Paris agreement”. But as the deadline approaches, the organisation has said it is still “engaging” with key oil and gas interests, rather than cancelling all of its holdings.
