Jesus “incredibly important” to Man City after starring role in thrashing of Norwich

Sports headline, BBC website, 21 August

As the United States and Britain withdraw, we’re creating a vacuum, and a lot of other countries are going to come into that. Pakistan, Iran, China, Russia will start providing funding to the Taliban as we leave, and we’re going to end up with many, many refugees. . . That means that Prime Minister Johnson needs to think about the ways we can provide financial support for refugees outside Afghanistan, and also keep development assistance going to Afghanistan itself. Probably the best thing we can do is support charities and agencies operating on the ground

Rory Stewart, former International Development Secretary, BBC Breakfast, 23 August

In Britain today, confident atheists and confident theists remain minorities in society. They may be the most vocal, but they’re outnumbered by people who are agnostic, or keep an open mind, or believe in unseen forces and powers, or God and gods — or who just think it likely that there’s “something more out there”

Linda Woodhead, Professor of Religion and Society, Lancaster University, BBC Science Focus Magazine, 23 August

The Building Safety Bill as it stands is not enough. The Government can’t have it both ways — persuading people to buy their own homes, but then pushing all the onus on leaseholders to cover the costs when the buildings they have bought in good faith turn out to have been shoddily built. The “polluter pays” principle ought to be at the heart of the Government’s response

Graham Tomlin, Bishop of Kensington, The Spectator, 25 August

The climate crisis always generates more serious humanitarian crises and the poor are the most vulnerable regarding extreme weather events. A solidarity founded on justice, on peace, and on the unity of the human family is needed

Pope Francis, Twitter, World Humanitarian Day, 19 August

Honestly, I feel like that’s just part of my God-given nature. Maybe because I had children in my 20s. God gave me a lot of patience and it’s tested all the time, but I’ve had a lot of time to practise my patience

Candace Cameron Bure, US actor, on her forgiving approach to online criticism, reported on Fox News, 24 August

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