Investigation of US bishops concludes
THE Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States, Dr Sean Rowe, has concluded a Title IV investigation of his predecessor, the Most Revd Michael Curry, and a former bishop in the Office of Pastoral Development, the Rt Revd Todd Ousley, with a pastoral response, it was announced this week. The investigations related to the Bishops’ responses to allegations made against the former Bishop of Rocester in western New York, the Rt Revd Prince Singh, who, last month, was suspended by Dr Rowe for three years on the grounds of domestic abuse and alcoholism (News, 20/27 December 2024). In a letter on 30 December, Dr Rowe said that Bishop Curry and Bishop Ousley had agreed to write separate apologies to the complainants, Bishop Singh’s ex-wife and his two adult sons. Bishop Ousley, who previously served as intake officer for Title IV complaints against bishops, has been instructed to complete training in the Title IV canons.
Take steps against persecution, say Indian Evangelicals
MORE than 400 church leaders and groups have urged the Indian President, Droupadi Murmu, and Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, to take “concrete steps” to address a surge in violence against Christians, media report. In an open letter, signed by Bishops of the Evangelical Church of India, among others, they write that at least 14 incidents of violence, threats, and disruptions targeted at Christian gatherings were recorded across the country during the Christmas season. “It saddens us deeply that almost all political leaders from the highest [levels] in the Union government and the states have chosen not to condemn them,” the letter says. “Rising hate speech, especially from elected officials, has emboldened acts of violence against Christians. Mobs disrupt peaceful Christian gatherings and threaten carol singers with impunity.”
Professor David Hays, biblical scholar, dies, aged 76
THE biblical scholar Professor David Hays has died, aged 76. Appointed the George Washington Ivey Professor Emeritus of New Testament at Duke Divinity School in North Carolina in 2002, he was considered one of the world’s foremost scholars of the New Testament. A minister in the United Methodist Church, he taught at Yale Divinity School before his time at Duke. He wrote several books, including The Moral Vision of the New Testament (Bloomsbury, 1997). In 2024, Yale University Press published his book, written with his son, Christopher, The Widening of God’s Mercy, in which he set out how he had changed his mind on the Bible’s teaching on same-sex relationships, moving to a position of affirmation. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2015.
Church in Sudan attacked in Christmas raid
THE Rapid Support Forces (RSF), currently fighting the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), attacked a church belonging to the Sudanese Church of Christ (SCOC) in Al Hasaheisa, Gezira State, during a Christmas prayer service on 30 December, Christian Solidarity Worldwide reports. The charity cites sources reporting that the soldiers looted the church, then forced the 177 Christians who had gathered there to leave. At least 14 people, including women and children, were assaulted and injured during the attack. CSW says that Christians in areas under RSF control have been subjected to “widespread human-rights violations” since the civil conflict broke out in 2023 (News, 21 April 2023). “The RSF has repeatedly attacked churches, and continues to pressure Christians to convert to Islam on a widespread and systematic basis.” The SAF has also attacked places of worship, it says, with at least 11 people killed in a strike on Al Ezba Baptist Church in Khartoum North, on 20 December.
Death of Dr John Wijngaards, RC dissenter
THE Dutch scholar who founded the Wijngaards Institute for Catholic Research, Dr John Wijngaards, died on Thursday of last week, aged 89, a statement from the Institute says. “For nearly fifty years, John — whom many knew as ‘Hans’ — was a prominent supporter of the ordination of women in the Catholic Church.” In 1998, he resigned from the priesthood in protest at papal decrees prohibiting discussion of the subject. During the Second World War, he and his family were held for four years in Japanese camps, while his father was a prisoner of war. Afterwards, they were repatriated to the Netherlands. Dr Wijngaards studied at Roosendaal in the Netherlands, and then in Mill Hill, in London, and Rome. He served as a missionary in India and became Vicar-General of the Mill Hill Missionaries in 1976. From 1982 to 2009, he directed Housetop, an international centre of adult faith formation, and was Professor of Sacred Scripture at the Missionary Institute London. He founded the Wijngaards Institute in 2005 as a think tank for “taboo topics such as contraception, same-sex relationships, and authority in the Church”. He produced more than 350 articles, 12 educational websites, 12 pamphlets, and 35 books.
Christians murdered in Nigeria over Christmas
DOZENS of people have been killed in attacks on Christian communities in Nigeria over Christmas, reportedly carried out by militant Fulani herdsmen. At least 33 people were killed in an attack on a village in Benue state, Nigeria, on Christmas Day. Three days earlier, 15 people, including two children, were killed in a similar attack on a village in Plateau state. Houses were set alight during the assault, which was carried out during a government curfew. The president of the Aten Development Association, Clement Chup, said that the organisation was “baffled as to how the criminals found their way to perpetuate their evil plans without the security personnel detaining them. This is most disturbing.”
