Jacob Rees-Mogg accused Jo Coburn of singling out the views of the Roman Catholic Church during their discussion about the openly gay politician and leader of the Scottish Conservatives Ruth Davidson.

Asked whether he would support any decision by Davidson to marry her partner Jen Wilson, the MP for North East Somerset told the BBC Daily Politics said “the sacrament of marriage is available to a man and woman”.

He added: “This is the teaching of the Catholic church, which I accept.”

Earlier in the programme, Rees-Mogg described Davidson as a “formidably capable person” with “great political skills and wide electoral appeal” when asked whether he thought she had potential to lead the Conservative Party.

Coburn then suggested that Rees-Mogg’s views on same-sex marriage could be perceived as “a problem for many people”, given his position as a “senior politician.”

Rees-Mogg posed the question: “I make no criticism of any of my colleagues but do you believe in religious tolerance?”, to which Coburn replied: “I do.”

The Tory politicians continued: “So, why do you pick on this view of the Catholic Church?

Coburn responded: “I am saying there are people who might have a problem with it.”

Mr Rees-Mogg replied: “You are saying that tolerance only goes so far and you should not be tolerant of the teaching of the Catholic Church, so isn’t this stretching into religious…

The organisation linking 45 Protestant churches in the African country, l’Eglise Protestante d’Algérie (EPA), made the plea after the total number of churches closed since November 2017 rose to four.

“As full citizens, we call on the highest authorities in the country to ensure that all the fundamental rights of the citizen are protected, regardless of their religious affiliation”, the EPA said in a statement.

A number of other churches have reported to have received notifications to close down immediately.

While the EPA had been officially recognised by the government since 1974, new laws introduced in 2012 meant that it had to re-register.

Despite fulfilling all requirements to when it reapplied in 2013, the EPA remains without official legal status as it is yet to have received a response for its application.

The keyhole of a closed down church sealed with wax in Oran

Christian advocacy group Middle East Concern said the treatment of churches and Christians in recent months signals a “coordinated campaign of intensified action against churches by the governing authorities”.

Last month, three pastors from Algeria visited the UK to ask politicians to lobby the Algerian government to stop its current crackdown on its Christian minority.

The pastors want to see the de-regulation of places of worship,…

Rt Rev Sarah Mullally was accompanied at an introduction ceremony on Thursday morning by Most Rev Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Committing her loyalty to the Queen, she said: “I, Sarah, Bishop of London, do swear by Almighty God that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, her heirs and successors according to law, so help me God.”

Bishop Sarah became one of the 26 bishops from the Church of England – the state church of England – who serve in the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

A former Bishop of Crediton and chief nursing officer, the 56-year-old was installed as the first female Bishop of London during a ceremony held at St Paul’s Cathedral in central London earlier this month.

Speaking last December, when her appointment to the role was announced, she said: “I have always had one vocation: to follow Jesus Christ, to know him and to make him known, always seeking to live with compassion in the service of others, whether as a nurse, a priest, or a bishop.”

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The 23ft installation created by artist Luke Jerram uses detailed NASA imagery of the lunar surface and includes a sound composition created by award-winning composer Dan Jones.

Assistant mayor and cabinet member for culture, tourism and events, Cllr Wendy Simon, said in a statement: “This bank holiday weekend we are bringing together the worlds of art, music, tall ships, great food and drink.

“Commissioned by Culture Liverpool and part-funded by Arts Council England, this exciting programme of international and local artworks, installations, music, dance and theatrical performances is celebrating ten years since Liverpool’s reign as European Capital of Culture.”

The Museum of the Moon artwork is part of the Changing Tides programme curated for the Three Festivals Tall Ships Regatta and Bordeaux Wine Festival.

The Very Rev Dr Sue Jones, Dean of Liverpool said the location will provide “an incredible sense of an intimacy”.

He added: “We feel blessed to be able to host this amazing installation at Liverpool Cathedral. While we are foremost a place of worship, we are also a focal point for people in Liverpool and visitors to the city.

“Around 500,000 visitors come to see us each year. And this artwork enables to us to continue in our mission to be a place of welcome and hospitality for both the spiritual and the…

In an interview with the hosts of US TV chat show The View, he said Prince Harry and Meghan chose the scripture Song of Solomon 8:6-7, which reads: “Set me as a seal upon your heart, a seal upon your arm. For love is as strong as death. Passion fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire. A raging flame. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it out.”

“They selected the scripture passage, I didn’t select that. And they [picked] the Song of Solomon from the Hebrew scriptures right in the Bible, which is love poetry,” Bishop Michael said.

“Literally, in the passage that they selected, it was when the woman in the poetry actually realises that their love that they’re experiencing is part of a greater love. And that’s pointing in the direction of the God who is the source of all this love.”

The sermon entitled “The Power of Love” was heard by 2 billion people.

He said during an interview on Good Morning America that he gave Prince Harry and Meghan an outline of his sermon a week before the royal wedding.

He told host Robin Roberts: “I only deviated slightly. You can’t get a preacher – you’re going to deviate a little bit. They were aware of the basic outline and what was in it.”

The presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, said the Duke and Duchess of Sussex chose him to deliver the sermon at…

They can also access prayers specifically for the morning, evening and the night-time – as well as ask a limited number of faith-based questions, such as ‘What is the Bible?’.

The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu said: “We’re thrilled to be launching the Alexa skill… to enable regular churchgoers and those exploring faith to connect with God in another way at a time that’s right for them.”

The new function, known as a skill, can be accessed by anyone asking their Alexa device ‘Alexa, open the Church of England’.

‘Who is God?’ and ‘What is a Christian?’ are among other questions which users can pose – as long as they are preceded with the words ‘Alexa, ask the Church of England…’. There are plans to expand the range of answers the skill can offer.

The new Church of England skill, which was developed by the app developer Aimer Media, also allows users to find their nearest Anglican congregation. It is thought to be “one of the first significant faith-based skills” available for smart speaker…