Most Rev Justin Welby addressed the UN Security Council in New York on Wednesday. 

He told the council that the Church is embedded in communities where conflict and violence is rampant and said that the Church “cannot and will not walk away” from those who are suffering.

“Let me pledge my support to you, Mr Secretary-General, in this work,” Archbishop Justin said.

“I have the privilege of having assembled a team in my office that is already learning from past experiences. Many of them worked with the UN. Together we can reach out to counterparts from other faiths to encourage their involvement and support, as they are already doing.

“This is our collaborative offer to you in this time of global pain.”

The Church has already begun mediation efforts in South Sudan, however Archbishop Justin admitted that it’s not enough.

He said: “Mediation by itself, however skilled, is like using a garden hose to put out a forest fire, when what you need is rain over the whole area to let new life grow and sustain itself.

“We therefore need to complement mediation – in fact the whole conflict cycle – within the framework of reconciliation.”

Archbishop Justin urged the UN Security Council to “invest in reconciliation and learn how to support transformation in human relationships better”.

Today I pledged my…

The Rev Canon Philip Mounstephen, 59, will become the 16th bishop when he is consecrated later this year.

He is currently the executive leader of the Church Mission Society having been ordained in 1988, and is serving in the Dioceses of Oxford and Southwark. He was also the chaplain of St Michael’s Church in Paris.

Prior to ordination, he taught for four years in a rural comprehensive school in Oxfordshire.

Canon Mounstephen is married to Ruth, who is a strategic planner in the charity sector, and they have one adult daughter, Kitty.

He enjoys gardening, travelling and reading, and is a long-time fan of Newcastle United, which he describes as “a triumph of hope over experience”.

Canon Mounstephen has significant family roots in Cornwall with several generations of his ancestors living in Tregony from the mid-18th century, before moving to Truro.

“I am absolutely delighted to have been called to lead the Diocese of Truro in mission and ministry,” Canon Mounstephen said.

“With my family roots in Cornwall, I am very well aware of what a rich Christian heritage we have.

“I rejoice in Cornwall’s strong sense of identity and I look forward under God into leading us in what I hope and pray will be a fruitful and exciting future.”

Canon Mounstephen will succeed The Rt Rev Tim Thornton who was appointed as the Bishop at Lambeth last year.

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At a church ceremony in Berlin, two skulls in glass boxes along with a coffin covered with a Namibian flag were placed in front of the altar ahead of the handover.

The repatriation of the remains is a reminder of Germany’s short-lived past as a colonial power in Africa – which included the bloody suppression of a Herero and Nama uprising between 1904 and 1908 that left tens of thousands dead.

“We intend to do something today we should have done many years ago, namely to give back mortal human remains of people who became the first victims of the first genocide of the 20th century,” German Lutheran Bishop Petra Bosse-Huber told the fully packed church.

Germany is returning 19 skulls, five full skeletons and bone and skin fragments that were stored in hospitals, museums and universities for decades.

In the early 20th century, German scientists tried to prove the “racial superiority” of white Europeans over black Africans by, for example, analysing the facial features of the skulls, well before Nazi-era scientists conducted similar experiments on Jews and others.

“These skulls tell the story of brutal, godless colonial past and its consecutive suppression of the Namibian people. They say, ‘Never again!'” Lutheran Bishop Ernst Gamxamub from Namibia said during his sermon.

It was the third time Germany has returned human remains to Namibia. In 2011, 20 skulls were handed…

Francis presided over his weekly general audience in St Peter’s Square and spoke about his weekend trip to Ireland, where the abuse scandal has devastated the Catholic Church’s credibility.

The final day of the trip was overshadowed by release of a document from a retired Holy See diplomat accusing Vatican authorities, including Francis, of covering up for ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick – despite knowing for years that he regularly slept with religious scholars.

The author of the document – retired Vatican ambassador to the US Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano – said Francis should resign for his complicity in the McCarrick scandal, which has implicated US and Vatican church leaders over a period of two decades.

Francis referred to the Irish culture of cover-up, but he omitted from his remarks a line in his prepared text noting how he had prayed in Ireland for the Virgin Mary to intervene to give the church strength to “firmly pursue truth and justice” to help victims heal.

US bishops have called for an independent investigation to find out who knew about McCarrick’s abuse and when, and how he was able to rise through the ranks even though it was an open secret that he regularly invited seminarians to his New Jersey beach house and into his bed.

Francis last month removed McCarrick as a cardinal and ordered him to live a lifetime of penance and prayer after a US church…

Police and fire crews were called to the Guru Nanak Gurdwara in Sheriff Brae at around 5am on Tuesday. No-one was injured. The blaze was condemned by the Church of Scotland.

A 49 year old man was arrested on Wednesday and Police Scotland said he has now been charged over the incident.

He has also been charged in connection with a second fire at The City of Edinburgh Methodist Church in Junction Place which also happened in the early hours of the same day.

The man is due to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Thursday.

The gurdwara, situated in a former church, is the only Sikh centre in the Scottish capital, serving a community of more than 500 people.

**UPDATE**

A 49-year-old man has now been charged in connection with fires at the Sikh Temple in Sheriff Brae and Methodist Church in Junction Place, which took place in the early hours of Tuesday 28 August. He is due to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Thursday 30 August.

— Edinburgh Police (@EdinburghPolice) August 29, 2018

A Police Scotland spokesman said: “A man has now been charged following the suspicious fire at the Sikh Temple in Sheriff Brae, Edinburgh.

“The 49-year-old is due to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Thursday 30th August, where he will also appear in relation to a second fire at the Methodist Church in Junction Place which also happened in the early hours of Tuesday 28th August.”

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