Alice Roberts, a University of Birmingham professor, broadcaster and author criticised the zoo in comments on Twitter on Sunday.

I honestly don’t see how a zoo like this can win awards and say it supports education when it’s so blatantly, openly creationist & anti-science! “We think that evidence shows the world is much older than 6000 years but much younger than 4.5 billion years.” https://t.co/VAxqfgdv63

— Prof Alice Roberts (@theAliceRoberts) March 11, 2018

Anthony Bush, one of the owners of Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm, told Premier she has criticised the zoo before but he doesn’t know why she does it.

“Alice Roberts has had a go at us before”, he said.

“I like Alice Roberts. She lives in our parish. She sends her child to our church school and yet she seems to have a go at me for some reason. It’s sort of a slight mystery as to what she’s got against us.”

Noah’s Ark Zoo has won numerous awards including The national ‘Quality Badge’ from the Learning Outside the Classroom Scheme and the Gold Award in the Green Tourism Business Scheme.

The zoo prides itself on being “a unique hands-on zoo” that celebrates “the wonders of creation”.

Its website states: “Did life arise naturally or supernaturally? Can undirected, random processes result in complex life forms or is there evidence to support the notion of a Creator? Can we reconcile our knowledge of evolution and a belief…

While the Vatican’s Secretary of State praised him for a papal term marked by “joy”, Catholic figures in the UK hailed the 81-year-old as a reformer who has improved perceptions.

Catholic journalist Austen Ivereigh said Francis has made the Church’s governing body more open and dynamic, while placing a greater emphasis on pastoral care.

Setting out another change during the Argentinian’s papacy, he added: “He’s introduced a free-wheeling news conference on the papal plane coming back from his trips.

“In his first big foreign trip in July 2013, he stood in front of the world’s media for an hour and a half – and they literally asked him anything they wanted – and of course that generated a huge amount of headlines.

“There’s no question that he’s fascinated the world, he’s fascinated the news media; that’s really his single greatest accomplishment, to make the Church exciting, dynamic and interesting in many ways to the world outside the Church.”

Issuing his own tribute to Francis, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said: “I would like to say that the fundamental characteristic of this Pontificate is precisely joy, a joy that does not arise evidently from carelessness, but from the fact of knowing that one is loved by the Lord.”

Paul Vallely, who wrote a biography about Pope Francis, credited the Catholic…

Dr Hisham Shafiq al-Maskuni, 61, a radiologist at a nuns’ hospital, his wife Dr Shaza Malik Dinno, a gynaecologist at the same hospital, and her elderly mother, Khairiyah Dawood Abada, were stabbed by four men last Thursday who then stole money and some items from the house.

According to World Watch Monitor, the bodies were discovered by neighbours the next morning, after noticing through the open door Mr al-Maskuni’s body in the corridor. The police later found his wife’s body in the kitchen and her mother’s on the second floor.

Attacks on Iraq’s Christian community have forced thousands to flee from their homes, particularly in the capital. The significant loss of the Christian populace in the city led to eight churches closing their doors after nearly seven years of low to no attendance.

A spokesperson for Iraq’s Interior Ministry announced over the weekend that the suspects had been arrested.

While the motivation behind the murders remains unknown, a local source told World Watch Monitor the incident has increased fears among Iraqi Christians.

Fr Biyos Qasha of Baghdad Maryos Church echoed this fear and told Iraqi news agency Rudaw: “This (attack) means that there is no place for Christians. We are seen as a lamb to be killed at any time.”

He also shared his concern that “these are the signs of a start of a (new) plan to force the Christian population from their homes and out of the country”.

This is the…

In an interview with Canterbury Christ Church University, Most Rev Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury said communities cannot just rely on local councils to address homelessness as they are constantly suffering from budget cuts.

He told students: “The churches should be open for this. [Deciding] which churches [should be open] is a case of which are most suitable for the occasion.

“There’s a nationwide scheme…where churches get together in groups of seven, and each church will take one night a week.”

He also said that shelter is not enough, but churches should also ensure rough sleepers are fed and are kept in a warm and safe place.

“You’ve got to meet the need in a way that gives dignity to the people you are meeting the need for, and gives them security,” he said.

Archbishop Justin’s comments come after Canterbury City suffered a recent £2 million cut in its budget.

He added that he would support opening Canterbury Cathedral to the homeless.

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