Brand’s podcast Under The Skin features conversations with thinkers and authors on topics such as democracy, truth and beauty and often covers subjects that are moral or political.

On 8th June, the conversation with Rt Rev Stephen Cottrell will be released in which they talk about the relavance of Christianity today.

Trailing it in a video on Twitter together, Brand said: “You gotta listen to Under the Skin this week because I’m with Bishop Stephen Cottrell – you’re an actual bishop!

“I’m a real bona fide bishop!” he replied.

When asked to summarise what they spoke about, Bishop Stephen said: “I think it started off with a book that I’ve written that you came across reflecting on Stanley Spencer’s paintings.

Brand continued: “That’s right and we use that as a launch pad to talk about Christ in the wilderness, the relevance of Christ today, what are the principles of Christianity? What what is the value of Christianity in an advanced capitalist society?

“It was a very, very, very lovely conversation and I think what’s what’s beautiful for me is having a conversation where you can actually spend time talking about these things, because in our sound-bite culture everybody wants a quick answer a quick fix and I felt our conversation was a long bath rather than a shower.

“I’m glad you’re a metaphor in which we are both naked and immersed in water, you being a bishop…

Members of the Church of England gathered at the Archbishop of Canterbury’s residence to learn more about the healing benefits of gardening and put their green fingers to the test on the palace grounds.

Green Health Live 2 brought together chaplains and healthcare professionals to showcase the work of parishes providing therapeutic gardening spaces and share how gardening can help to improve well-being.

Last year a survey of clergy found that the number one problem they faced in their parishes was mental health issues. Research shows that gardening can help to relieve the effects of depression, loneliness and a range of mental health issues, but many people, particularly in towns and cities, do not have gardens of their own.

Speaking to Premier, the Church’s lead bishop on healthcare issues, Rev James Newcome said many churches have redundant green spaces that could be utilised to help people.

He added: “Health and healing are a key part of our ministry. I think if we’re really concerned about the whole person, body, mind and spirit, then we have a huge responsibility to do everything we can to help and this is one way of doing it.”

Public health expert Professor Jim McManus shared some of the practical benefits of gardening and said: “Being in a garden really reduces your blood pressure and can reduce your…

Naason Joaquin Garcia and a follower of La Luz del Mundo, 24-year-old Susana Medina Oaxaca, were arrested after landing at Los Angeles International Airport, California attorney general Xavier Becerra’s office said.

Around 1,000 worshippers gathered at the headquarters of La Luz del Mundo in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, to pray for Garcia as he was held in Los Angeles on 25 dollars million (£20 million) bail.

The 50-year-old, known as “the Apostle” among his followers faces 26 counts ranging from human trafficking and production of child pornography to rape of a minor. The charges detail allegations involving three girls and one woman between 2015 and 2018 in Los Angeles County.

The church, whose name translates as the Light of the World, was founded in 1926 by Garcia’s grandfather. It has been the subject of child sex abuse allegations for years but authorities in Mexico have never filed criminal charges.

It has more than 15,000 churches in 58 countries, according to its website.

Garcia – who was a minister in Los Angeles and other parts of southern California before becoming the church’s leader – coerced the victims into performing sex acts by telling them that refusing would be going against God, authorities said.

“Crimes like those alleged in this complaint have no place in our society. Period,” Mr Becerra said in a press release. “We must not turn a blind eye…

The man described how he cried after the incident at the children’s home run by a religious order but did not tell anyone because he thought no-one would listen.

He told the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI) he felt “devastated” and “dumbfounded” to hear that the man does not accept the allegations made against him.

The fourth phase of the inquiry in Edinburgh, which began this week, is currently examining St Ninian’s, a residential school in Falkland, Fife that was run by the Christian Brothers.

The witness, known to the inquiry by the pseudonym John, was at St Ninian’s in the 1960s and told how the abuse happened when he was around the age of 14.

The abuse by one individual happened “almost right away” when he arrived there and would take place when he was in bed in the dormitory in the evening, the hearing was told.

“He would get in and put his hands inside my pyjamas then touch me,” the witness told the hearing.

He told how he would hear the man, who cannot be identified, enter the room and said that the adult did not speak during the attack.

Junior counsel to the inquiry, Ceit-Anna MacLeod, asked: “How sure were you at the time that it was (the religious brother) that was doing this to you?”

“Very sure,” the witness replied.

He told the hearing that the abuse would happen on a “fairly regular” basis and that he would cry afterwards.

The witness also described…