Boris Johnson has asked the Queen if parliament can remain closed after the party conference season, which is around 13th September – 8th October, right up until the Queen’s speech on 14th October. 

The House will return on Tuesday 3rd September for around 3-7 working days, with the House rising again at between 9th and 12th September. 

On Wednesday, the move was criticised by 25 Church of England bishops, who said it did not respect parliamentary sovereignty and raised their personal concerns over a no deal Brexit. 

The Church of Scotland (a separate denomination to the Church of England) has now added its voice to the matter. 

Rev Dr Richard Frazer, convener of the Church and Society Council of the Church of Scotland, said: “We are deeply concerned to learn of proposals to suspend the Westminster parliament for several weeks during a crucial period before the UK’s planned departure from the EU.

“Given the current context, this is not an act of good faith and undermines, rather than upholds, parliamentary democracy.”

Jacob Rees-Mogg, the leader of the House of Commons, said on Thursday that Mr Johnson’s choice was not undemocratic and that outrage was “phoney”. 

Rev Dr Richard Frazer added: “The Church of Scotland has repeatedly stated that Brexit is, and remains, a divisive issue and that leaving the EU without a deal would have a damaging, long-term impact on…

The family of three, were forcibly removed from their home in a village in Northern Vietnam.

They were then beaten, and the six-year-old daughter was beaten so badly she fell into a coma for a month. She has now regained consciousness but does not recognise her parents or remember the incident.

The family had recently stopped the village practice of ancestor worship and become Christians. The local authorities and the whole village had reportedly become angry with their decision to change their religion.

Refusing to deny their faith, the villagers carried out attacks, Open Doors said the family were, “mocked, tied with ropes and severely beaten while being dragged over rocky ground towards the entrance of the village, forcing them to leave.”

Members of their church took them to a nearby hospital where they were treated for three days.

The family has returned to their home and village, after their pastor talked to local authorities to allow them back, however villagers are still threatening and “cursing” them because of their newfound faith.

Vietnam ranks 20 on the Open Doors World Watch List of where it is most difficult to be a Christian. The Communist government in Vietnam monitors Christian activity and exercises a high level of pressure on all Christians.

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The Most Rev Justin Welby visited St Sebastian’s Church in the seaside town of Negombo just after arriving for a three-day visit to the country.

More than 100 people died in the attack on the church in Negombo, which is known as The Little Rome due to its dense Catholic population.

A total of 263 people were killed when seven suicide bombers from a local Muslim group attacked three churches and three luxury hotels on April 21, in the worst violence by the Islamic State group-linked militants in South Asia.

Quoting a sermon by Pope Francis’s personal preacher delivered to the Queen years ago, Mr Welby said: “When they come to kill us do they ask if we are Christians or Pentecost or Presbyterian or Catholic? They ask only if we are Christian.

“So when on Easter morning I heard of the terrible events in this church and other places in Sri Lanka, we knew that our sisters and brothers have been killed and wounded and we kept silence and prayed for you.”

Mr Welby was welcomed by the Archbishop of Colombo, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith.

He knelt and bowed down on the glass-covered tiled floor where the suicide bomber set off the explosives at Easter Mass. The pockmarked area is preserved as a memorial.

Mr Welby is also expected to meet Sri Lanka’s PM Ranil Wickremesinghe and preside over a service in an Anglican cathedral in Colombo.

Deeply moving to be at St Sebastian’s…

Dr Ahmed Shaheed visited the country earlier this month by invitation from the government in response to the Easter Sunday terror attacks that took place in April. 

His preliminary findings were published on Monday, in which he highlighted the hostilities faced by Christian and Muslim communities including interruption of worship, property damage, violence and intimidation and the failure of the state to protect religious minorities. 

Dr Shaheed said: “The long-standing traditions of religious harmony and co-existence in Sri Lanka must be reinforced to address the challenges of the modern context of the country.  

“This is characterised by growing politicisation of religion, polarisation of communities through segregated education based on ethno-religious identity, opening up of under-regulated spaces for communication  through privatised electronic media and spread of social media, simmering resentment against perceived majoritarian privilege, growing frustration over capricious law enforcement, and the spread of religious extremism.” 

In his recommendations, Dr Shaheed concluded that Sri Lanka should take stronger measures to stop religious hatred by prosecuting perpetrators and implementing systems, “to monitor and respond to hate speech in conformity with international human rights standards.” 

Religious freedom…

The Co-op said its research revealed a “staggering shift” towards a less conventional style of funeral, with some unique ways of disposing of people’s remains.

Some people want their ashes put inside a firework or the furnace of a steam train, or made into jewellery, paperweights or pendants, said the Co-op.

Its survey of 4,000 adults and a number of Co-op funeral directors indicated that just one in 10 people wanted a traditional religious funeral.

The use of pallbearers to carry coffins has fallen in the last five years, while there are also fewer obituaries, said the Co-op.

Requests for ceremonies to take place away from churches have increased, with locations including a zoo, on a bus, on a golf course or in a teepee, said the report.

Most of the Co-op’s undertakers said they have arranged a funeral where mourners wore bright clothing and half have known mourners to dress in jeans and tracksuits.

Samantha Tyrer, managing director of Co-op Funeralcare, said: “The funeral sector is rapidly changing. Whilst 16.5 million of us still feel uncomfortable talking about death, we’re clear on what we want and, in the majority of cases, it’s no longer a traditional funeral service.

“Our funerals represent the unique life an individual has lived. More so now than ever before, we’re seeing requests for wonderfully personalised ceremonies, whether that be on the…