When people are too scared to express their genuinely held and legally protected beliefs, that is very dangerous for democracy

Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, House of Lords, 10 December

I wouldn’t be a vicar today were it not for the vicars who provided when I was growing up. I didn’t realise it at the time, but they were making something highly improbable look possible: that, long ago, in a distant land, God became man, to the immense surprise of shepherds, roused by angels singing by starlight. I could never wholly resist the magic and the mystery, and hearing the first solo verse of “Once in Royal David’s City” by candlelight, at the thrillingly late hour of midnight mass, moved me deeply. It moves me still

Richard Coles, Vicar of Finedon and broadcaster, Radio Times, 11-17 December

Without facts, you can’t have truth. Without truth, you can’t have trust. Without trust, we have no shared reality, no democracy, and it becomes impossible to deal with the existential problems of our times: climate, coronavirus, now, the battle for truth

Maria Ressa, Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, 10 December

A small Church which has to produce six bishops, six deans, and 18 archdeacons from a relatively small talent pool may lead to clergy gaining expectations of preferment and being disappointed if they do not gain a senior position, potentially becoming embittered in the process

Monmouth Enquiry and Review Report on the culture of the Church in Wales, 13 December

The prevalence of swearing and an excessive intake of alcohol among bishops and senior clergy was commented upon by several witnesses in their evidence to us

Ibid.

[Tom] Holland [the historian] says that an Armenian theologian called Abraham Terian has found a non-canonical Gospel from the 6th century, translated from an older, lost text, that has nine-year-old Jesus playing a game in which people throw balls for him to hit. It mentions him walking over the sea to retrieve the ball, which would make him useful at New Road in the spring floods

Patrick Kidd, The Times Diary (referring to the Worcestershire County Cricket ground), 11 December

People like me are often accused of deconstructing traditional Christian values. In truth, we’re simply yearning for authentic faith, as opposed to an ideology where it’s possible for those in power to cover up their own abuses whilst denying others access, belonging & equality

Steve Chalke, Twitter, 12 December

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