The Church of England is facing renewed criticism following its decision to close its own Independent Safeguarding Board last year. At the time, church authorities said they closed the board in order to replace it with a more independent and more effective body. But some victims and survivors of abuse say that decision left them feeling abandoned, silenced and re-traumatised. William Crawley hears from one of those survivors, as well as from David Glasgow, a clinical psychologist who has published his own report into the matter, and from Dr Jamie Harrison, chair of the House of Laity on the Archbishops' Council.
In Nicaragua, Catholic universities and charities have been closed or seized by the government because bishops and priests have publicly challenged what they view as the regime's abuse of human rights. Francisco Urrutia, General Secretary of the Association of Jesuit Universities in Latin America, tells the programme that President Daniel Ortega's regime is set on silencing the church's voice in public life.
The rapper Lil Nas X is the latest musical artist to cause controversy with his new song, "J-CHRIST", accompanied by a music video in which he's strapped to the cross in place of Jesus. He has apologised insisting he didn't mean to mock Christianity. Delvyn Case, Professor of Music at Wheaton College in Massachusetts, explores the history of pop music's sometimes uncomfortable relationship with Jesus.
PRESENTER; William Crawley PRODUCERS: Amanda Hancox and Alexa Good EDITOR: Dan Tierney.
Power of religion at Cop28; Shane McGowan's Catholicism; Near-death experiences
Same sex church blessings; Religion in Dr Who; Antonio Banderas on playing King Herod
Same Sex Blessings in the Church of England
Interfaith relations and Israel-Hamas war; The Bard and the Bible; Hindu ante-natal rituals
Use of scripture in war rhetoric & Church of England same-sex blessings
29/10/2023
The Israel-Hamas conflict and its repercussions in the UK
15/10/2023
Violence in the Middle East
Politics and the Lords Spiritual; The Venerable Bede; Spirituality of Sycamore Gap
Pope in Marseille; Khalistan; Definition of Islamophobia
Libya floods, pilgrimage to the city of Uman, racial injustice in the church
British Imams "whitewashing" the actions of the Taliban
Reconciling sex work with faith
The Catholic seal of confession
Hawaii Fires; Jehovah's Witnesses; the Vicar of Moscow
06/08/2023
30/07/2023
Oppenheimer, Manipur, The Sixth Commandment
Soul Survivor; 'Our Problematic Father'; White Privilege
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