Committee to decide on Wells Palace
THE objection raised by the Bishop's Council of the diocese of
Bath & Wells to the decision by the Church Commissioners to
move the home of the Bishop from the Palace at Wells (News,
7 March) will be heard by the Archbishops' Council on 28-29
April. A committee of members of the Council will meet at the
Palace. Unless the Commissioners convince the committee that the
objection should not be upheld, the move will not go ahead. The
decision of the committee is final.
OFQUAL rules against redaction
SCHOOLS must not redact questions in exam papers for religious
or any other reasons, the regulator OFQUAL has ruled. Those that do
will be guilty of "malpractice". The decision comes after the
Oxford, Cambridge, and RSA examination board permitted two
ultra-Orthodox Jewish schools to delete questions on GCSE science
papers which were not in accord with their community's beliefs (News, 7
March).
Street preacher receives compensation
A CHRISTIAN street preacher, John Craven, who was held in prison
for 19 hours after he was arrested over comments made to two gay
teenagers has been awarded £13,000 in compensation. Mr Craven was
arrested for "public order offences" after the two teenagers
reported him. He had answered their question about his views on
homosexuality by telling them that the Bible described it as
sinful, but that, "whilst God hates sin, he loves the sinner." He
reported that, while in prison he was denied food, water, and
medication for 15 hours. The Greater Manchester Police agreed to
pay a total of £50,000 in costs and compensation in an out-of-court
settlement. Colin Hart, director of the Christian Institute, said:
"Nobody should face 19 hours in custody for simply answering a
question about their beliefs."
Boost for St Albans conservation work
ST ALBANS CATHEDRAL was awarded £391,800 by the Heritage Lottery
Fund on Wednesday. The money will be used to undertake conservation
work on the shrine of St Amphibalus, the priest who led Alban to be
converted to Christianity. It will also support an education and
events programme, including a new welcome centre. Over the past 20
years, the HLF has invested more than £70 million in cathedrals in
the UK.
Christian holiday firm goes under
A CHRISTIAN holiday firm has gone into administration in
circumstances that are unclear. A PR company working on behalf of
Richmond World Holidays, which was founded in 2007, confirmed last
week that the firm had entered administration. An explanatory
statement provided by Richmond was later withdrawn, and the PR
company was unable to give more details.