A witness told how she had hoped she would be protected when the nun walked in on the assault in 1970, when she was eight, but was instead called a “whore”, grabbed and thrown towards a wall.

Theresa Tolmie-McGrane said she was then given a “real hiding” by another nun and threatened with having her other arm broken if she told anybody what had happened.

Ms Tolmie-McGrane waived her right to anonymity at the Scottish child abuse inquiry to recount a catalogue of other abuses during her 11 years at Smyllum Park orphanage in Lanark, South Lanarkshire, which closed in the 1980s.

These included beatings, humiliations, freezing showers and children being force-fed inedible food, being told to eat their vomit and having their mouths rinsed out with soap.

The witness told the hearing in Edinburgh how she arrived at the institution, run by the Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul, at the age of six in 1968 after an abusive early childhood.

She recounted how, about two years later, she had a job dusting pews in the church.

One particular priest would arrive early and ask her to sit on his lap, before progressing to making her to perform a sex act on him or watch as he did so, the inquiry heard.

“He said ‘I need you to be a soldier of God, a good little soldier’,” she told the inquiry, adding the abuse went on for several months.

On one occasion, a nun walked in to the room as it was happening, she said.

She told the hearing: “I thought ‘praise the Lord, she’s…

The Living Way Ministries Church in Opelika was criticised online after sharing a Facebook post of a sign that was put up outside its church which said “They falsely accused Jesus. Vote Roy Moore”.

A church in Alabama encourages people to vote for Roy Moore. The church is a tax exempt organization, this is against the law. I filled out IRS Form 13909 and I am sending it with this picture. A copy of the form is below in this thread. Just add your name and mail with Pic. pic.twitter.com/G3Zz0RT9OB

— Julie Suchard (@JulieSuchard) December 4, 2017

Moore, 70, who is a Christian, has been accused of sexual misconduct with young girls but has denied the claims deeming them a conspiracy from “lesbians, gays, bisexuals and socialists”.

The Church’s politically sparked billboard may be in violation of Internal Revenue Service rules governing political speech by churches and charities.

Although the church has taken down the post, people have continued to criticise the sign on its Facebook page.

One person posted: “Actually for those bible ignorant folks – Jesus was NOT falsely accused… He was guilty as charged and had planned from day one for the verdict and sentence to be what it was

“How dare you compare a politician to Jesus. Jesus was A-POLITICAL seeking to serve only a heavenly kingdom.”

A church official told a Huntsville-based station WHNT-TV that a congregation member posted the message without telling the…

A survey by Aviva UK Health found that half of UK adults (26 million people) would feel uncomfortable or unsure about telling others if they experienced a mental health problem.

Corin Pilling, deputy director of Livability, told Premier churches have a vital role tackling the issue.

He said: “It’s really about trying to create communities where we normalise talking about our well-being.

“There’s a real need for us to start normalising the level of conversation that we have in our churches.

“The reality is that there’s quite a negative impact when we don’t start talking about these things.”

The survey also focused on how mental health among young people.

It found that young adults aged between 16 and 24 are the most likely to experience mental health issues, citing money issues and body image concerns as the main causes but they were least likely to be open about it.

The findings also showed that most young people think being called a “snowflake” is damaging to mental health.

The term is used to criticise how hypersensitive, and easily offended and hurt the young generation are sometimes perceived to be.

Pilling encouraged churches to move away from criticism and adopt a culture of complete honesty.

He said: “Developing a culture of honesty isn’t easy.

“That’s something that needs to come from the top and the bottom.

“Both our leaders themselves need to start talking about their own emotional and mental well-being but also, within younger adult’s groups, we need…

His intervention comes ahead of the expected announcement that the United States will recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

The Pope made his comments on Wednesday during a previously scheduled meeting with a Palestinian delegation of religious and intellectual leaders.

The Vatican says it was coincidental that the audience fell on the same day as the US announcement.

In his remarks, Pope Francis said the Holy Land was the “land par excellence of dialogue between God and mankind”.

He said: “The primary condition of that dialogue is reciprocal respect and a commitment to strengthening that respect, for the sake of recognising the rights of all people, wherever they happen to be.”