Father Martin Magill, the Parish Priest at St John’s Parish, Belfast, has spoken about the life of Lyra McKee at her funeral. 

Ms McKee, an award-winning young journalist, was killed by indiscriminate fire as she observed clashes between police and New IRA dissidents on the Creggan estate in Londonderry on April 18.

The Priest said: “For those of us who follow Jesus, we believe that the shedding of his innocent blood on the cross was enough – in the words of the hymn: ‘the cross has said it all’.

“We don’t need any more innocent blood to be shed. The irony could not be more poignant when we consider the signing of the Good Friday agreement which was about ensuring there would be no more deaths like Lyra’s.”

The service of thanksgiving was held in the Church of Ireland’s St Anne’s Cathedral, a short distance from her north Belfast home.

He referenced the Beatitudes, saying: “The beatitude ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God’  is very timely. Many of us will be praying that Lyra’s death in its own way will not have been in vain and will contribute in some way to building peace here.

“Since Thursday night we have seen the coming together of many people in various places and the unifying of the community against violence. I commend our political leaders for standing together in Creggan on Good Friday.

“I am however left…

“A lot of my friends tease me.” she told the May issue of Vanity Fair, in which she features on the cover.

The Moulin Rouge actor is married to Keith Urban, a singer and music producer who does world tours with his country music and the couple have two children – Faith, 8, and Sunday, 10, who attend church with their parents.

Nicole Kidman told the magazine: “That’s how we are raising our children. Keith has his own beliefs but he comes, too.

“I had a very Catholic grandmother, and I was raised praying, so that had massive impact. I wouldn’t say it’s absolutism, there’s constant questioning – I’m a willful, feisty girl.

“For me it’s very important that I don’t have judgment. My dad would always say, ‘Tolerance is the most important thing.’”

Kidman has previously spoken about how she considered being a nun when she was younger and received critcism for acting in The Golden Compass because of it’s anti-Catholic themes.

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Christian campaigners urged the Rugby Football Union (RFU) to “confirm that it is willing to engage players who agree with this view about marriage” following disciplinary action against Billy Vunipola.

Mr Vunipola was sanctioned earlier this month after he defended comments made by fellow Christian rugby star Israel Folau, who said “hell awaits” homosexuals unless they repents.

The Saracens player wrote about Folau: “What he’s saying isn’t that he doesn’t like or love those people. He’s saying how we live our lives needs to be closer to how God intended them to be.

“Man was made for woman to pro create. That was the goal, no?”

In a letter to the RFU, director of the Christian Institute, Colin Hart said the belief that sex is only for heterosexual marriage was “worthy of respect in a democratic society”.

Vunipola “holds to the Easter message of hope that sins can be forgiven through trusting in Christ’s death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead”.https://t.co/BbRDhLqzZu

— The Christian Institute (@christianorguk) April 23, 2019

The note, addressed to head of discipline at the RFU, said: “Vunipola believes himself to have fallen short of God’s standards.

“He holds to mainstream Christian teaching that ‘all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God’ (Romans 3:23).

“He holds to the Easter message of hope that sins can be forgiven through trusting in…

Islamic State has claimed responsibility and released images that purported to show the seven bombers who blew themselves up at three churches and three hotels on Sunday.

It was the worst violence the South Asian island nation had seen since its civil war ended a decade ago.

The government has said the attacks were carried out by Islamic fundamentalists in apparent retaliation for the New Zealand mosque massacre last month, but has said the seven bombers were all Sri Lankan.

New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, said she had not received any official advice from Sri Lanka or seen any intelligence to corroborate the claims.

Sri Lankan prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said investigators were still working to determine the extent of the bombers’ foreign links.

Police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara said on Wednesday that 18 suspects were arrested overnight, raising the total detained to 58.

The prime minister had warned on Tuesday that several suspects armed with explosives were still at large.

IS has lost all the territory it once held in Iraq and Syria and has made a series of unsupported claims of responsibility around the world.

Sri Lankan authorities have blamed a local extremist group, National Towheed Jamaar (NTJ), whose leader, alternately known as Mohammed Zahran or Zahran Hashmi, became known to Muslim…

The Church of England said that the celebration of the nation’s patron saint would instead be marked on 29th April this year, rather than the usual 23rd, due to the timing of Easter.

According to the Church’s rules: “When St George’s Day or St Mark’s Day falls between Palm Sunday and the Second Sunday of Easter inclusive, it is transferred to the Monday after the Second Sunday of Easter.

“If both fall in this period, St George’s Day is transferred to the Monday and St Mark’s Day to the Tuesday.”

However, that appeared to be news to York Minster, which tweeted: “The flag of #StGeorge is lofted high up in the Stoneyard just across the way from York Minster this #StGeorgesDay.”

The flag of #StGeorge is lofted high up in the Stoneyard just across the way from York Minster this #StGeorgesDay pic.twitter.com/nSN17bksfw

— York Minster (@York_Minster) April 23, 2019

Questioned about whether its staff knew the date had been moved, the account replied: “We do but we love him so much we thought we’d celebrate him twice this year.”

A few people asking whether #StGeorgesDay (#NotStGeorgesDay) still falls on 23rd April in the week following Easter. Here’s what the CofE Common worship rules have to say on the matter: https://t.co/OrgRgpVtk5 pic.twitter.com/BelbM1VkBu

— Nick Edmonds (@nickedmonds575) April 23, 2019

Westminster Abbey posted an image of a stained glass…