Cleric honoured by Archbishop ‘linked to extortion gang’ in Pakistan

The Pakistani cleric given an award by the Archbishop of Canterbury has been accused of protecting a blasphemy “blackmail” gang, The Telegraph can reveal.

Tahir Ashrafi, Pakistan’s special envoy on interfaith harmony, was handed the award for his “unwavering commitment” to “religious tolerance” by Dame Sarah Mullally, at a ceremony held on the anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

The Hubert Walter Award was hastily withdrawn last week when it emerged that Mr Ashrafi, a British dual-national, had previously honoured Osama bin Laden.

Now, a Telegraph investigation has found that:

* Mr Ashrafi’s brother is the alleged leader of a “blasphemy gang” that has worked with corrupt police officials to abduct, torture and blackmail dozens of men.

* Mr Ashrafi has publicly defended his brother and accused lawyers for the victims of “protecting blasphemers”. He also called a judge investigating the gang a “dog”.

* Mr Ashrafi has been able to freely travel in and out of London because he has been granted UK citizenship.

In Pakistan, blasphemy carries the death penalty. Police say gangs are using “honey traps” to extort young men after luring them into committing the offence on social media.

The Telegraph spoke to family members of several men targeted by the Pakistani blasphemy gang, all of whom requested anonymity for fear of violent reprisals.

Police say the gang is behind a huge surge in the number of people jailed for blasphemy. There were around 10 a year in 2020 and 2021 but more than 200 in 2023 alone, according to Pakistan’s National Commission for Human Rights.

One source said their relative had joined a Facebook group and struck up a relationship with a young woman who eventually persuaded him to share a picture of a woman’s breasts overlaid with a verse of the Quran.

The man was then abducted by the gang, who demanded a payment of one million Pakistani rupees (£2,700). They then filed formal charges against him, which led to him being jailed.

At least four of the gang’s victims have died from torture, according to an investigation by the exiled Pakistani media outlet Fact Focus.

One was allegedly raped with a wooden baton. Another had severe bruising around the groin, according to a prison post mortem examination that claimed he died of “urine retention”.

Family members of victims said they had been shocked to see Mr Ashrafi greeted so warmly by the Archbishop, claiming that the cleric and his brother were responsible for ruining their lives.

In photographs from Lambeth Palace, Mr Ashrafi smiles broadly beside his wife, whose face is covered with a niqab, and Dame Sarah.

One source said: “We were shocked to see him get the award.” Mr Ashrafi “put us in a ditch from which we cannot get out”, they added, citing the danger, difficulty and financial cost of trying to free their loved one. “Whatever we had, he took from us.”

Mr Ashrafi played the “good cop” while his brother, Hassan Muawiya Ashrafi, was the “bad cop” who entrapped and rounded up victims on the street, the source claimed.

“It’s only possible for Muawiya to [do this] if he has the support of his brother, who has contacts with the intelligence agencies and politicians and bureaucrats.”

Mr Ashrafi has denied that he and his brother are part of a blasphemy gang and invited critics to prove that they had extorted money.

Defending alleged blasphemers is perilous in Pakistan, with lawyers, judges and senators among more than 100 people killed by vigilante mobs in the last 30 years.

In the West, Mr Ashrafi is known as a friend of Pakistan’s Christian minority and an approachable interlocutor with hard-line Muslim groups and terrorist organisations.

A former member of an anti-Shia extremist group, the cleric often broadcasts progressive messages on behalf of the Pakistani government. 

He has supported polio vaccinations, called the Islamic State a “terror outfit” and backed the construction of a Hindu temple in Islamabad.

His edicts carry extra weight because of his role as chairman of the Pakistan Ulema Council, a body of clerics that represents various Islamic sects.

In its original award citation, Lambeth Palace noted Mr Ashrafi’s intervention in the case of Rimsha Masih, a 14-year-old Christian girl who was falsely accused of blasphemy in 2012.

Urdu-language media reports claim it was after this that Britain granted him citizenship. 

The Telegraph was told by a source with knowledge of the matter that Mr Ashrafi had a British passport.

The Home Office refused to answer an approach for comment. Mr Ashrafi did not respond to a request for comment, but has complained that “propaganda” led to his award being withdrawn.

In response to that decision, the Pakistan Ulema Council issued a statement saying Mr Ashrafi’s remarks on bin Laden had been “taken out of context”. 

The cleric had “consistently opposed the misuse of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws,” it added, particularly “false accusations” against “innocent people”.

Mr Ashrafi was “instrumental in releasing many people before the mob can lynch them”, said Dr Azad Marshall, the leader of the protestant Church of Pakistan, which originally nominated the cleric.

However, several sources from various minority faith groups disputed that claim in interviews with The Telegraph, noting that the Church of Pakistan held close ties to the state.

“He stands up for the accused in very few cases, only those that get international media attention,” said Sardar Gill, a human-rights defender who focuses on the persecution of Christians from exile. He claimed that Mr Ashrafi only defended Christians “because of international pressure”.

In 2022, the US state department noted that Mr Ashrafi’s brother had filed several blasphemy complaints against members of the Ahmadis, an Islamic sect that hardliners deem to be non-Muslim.

In 2020, Mr Ashrafi thanked Imran Khan, the former Pakistani prime minister, for excluding the Ahmadis from a government commission intended to safeguard minority rights. “He opposes the [Ahmadis] openly,” said Mr Gill.

‘Political cover for his brother’s hate campaign’

Rabia Mehmood, a journalist and former Amnesty International researcher, said: “Tahir Ashrafi has provided political cover to his brother’s hate campaign, which began by targeting religious minorities and has since expanded to target anyone, weaponising the blasphemy law.”

In the last four years, Muawiya Ashrafi has personally filed blasphemy complaints against 26 individuals, according to police charge-sheets reviewed by The Telegraph. Nobody has accused more people over that period, victims’ groups say.

In 2024, the Special Branch of Punjab police blamed the surge in cases on a “blasphemy business gang” involving corrupt officials in the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Pakistan’s equivalent of the FBI. 

The report named known associates of Muawiya Ashrafi as ringleaders, including Sheraz Ahmad Farooqi and Rao Abdur Raheem, a lawyer.

Muawiya Ashrafi himself was not named, but Fact Focus later described him as the manager of the Lahore operations of the blasphemy gang.

He “operates with unchecked authority” and “routinely portrays himself as a powerful figure with direct influence over FIA officials”, reported the website, which is blocked in Pakistan.

It also published CCTV footage of Muawiya leading police to arrest some of the men he had accused. In one clip, the cleric wags his finger at a man who holds his head in his hands.

The Telegraph spoke to a family member of someone jailed because of a blasphemy allegation filed by Mr Ashrafi’s brother.

The source said their relative had been tricked into sending blasphemous content on WhatsApp.

Weeks later, he was abducted. Family members were allowed to see him, with Muawiya and FIA officials in the room. The accused man was hobbling and had been beaten so badly he “could hardly speak”, the source said.

They were then “asked for the value of our house and our jewellery”. When the family said they were poor, the gang said a case would be formally filed and the man remains in prison.

In spring last year, a champion for the victims emerged. Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, an Oxford-educated judge at the Islamabad High Court, held 40 hearings into the blasphemy gang, in response to petitions from more than 100 families.

The proceedings were livestreamed because of threats to disrupt them. Before they began in March 2025, Muawiya filed a defamation complaint against Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha, the husband-and-wife legal team representing the victims.

The complaint went nowhere and the couple, who have a track record of taking on Pakistan’s powerful military establishment, have since been jailed on “politically motivated” charges, according to Amnesty.

In court, Muawiya Ashrafi denied being part of a blasphemy gang or taking money. He said he had been motivated to file complaints because his mother had told him to “protect the dignity of the Prophet Muhammad”.

Responding to a video clip that showed one of the accused being brought to his house in handcuffs, he claimed it had been “edited”.

In one hearing, he interrupted Mr Justice Khan to accuse him of bias. “Shut up and get out of my court,” Mr Justice Khan replied, raising his voice and pointing to the door.

At the end of the proceedings in July last year, the judge ordered the government to form a commission of inquiry within 30 days. 

He described a pattern of missing evidence, poor police work and the use of the same few women in chats that led to the alleged sharing of blasphemous material.

Nine days later, Mr Justice Khan’s order was suspended after an appeal was filed by Mr Raheem, the lawyer named by police as a ringleader in the gang.

In October last year, Mr Ashrafi broke his long silence on accusations that he and his brother had profited from fake blasphemy cases in an appearance on a Pakistani talk show.

“If anyone can prove that my brother or I took a single rupee from someone on these cases, you can hang me,” he told Azaz Syed, the show’s host.

Describing his brother as a humble and pious man, he turned his wrath on the lawyers defending the accused and the lobbying groups made up of their family members.

“It’s strange that the media calls poor people fighting blasphemers a ‘gang’ but not those who protect these blasphemers,” Mr Ashrafi said, adding that Mr Justice Khan was “one-sided”.

In July 2025, Mr Ashrafi said at a political conference defending Pakistan’s blasphemy laws: “I don’t even consider him a judge. I don’t even consider him a dog.”

In response, Mr Syed noted that Mr Ashrafi had issued a firm defence of his brother and criticised those acting for the alleged victims. “Even if you say you are not part it, it seems you are the one who gives a political umbrella to this group,” Mr Syed said.

Mr Ashrafi replied: “If I have the authority or opportunity to give them a political umbrella, I must do it.” He added that they had never asked for such help and that he had not seen his brother for weeks.

The cleric had not replied to The Telegraph’s request for comment by the time of publication.

Lambeth Palace said: “We fully recognise the widespread concern caused by the inclusion of Imam Ashrafi in last week’s Lambeth Awards ceremony.”

“Lambeth Palace is reviewing how this particular award came to be given – and our wider nomination and vetting processes – to ensure that lessons are learned for the future.”

The nomination was made under the tenure of Justin Welby, the former archbishop, and Lambeth Palace has undergone a period of significant staff turnover since he resigned.

Welsh bishops pull back from same-sex marriage bill, call for theological reflection

The Bench of Bishops of the Church in Wales has announced it will not introduce legislation to permit same-sex weddings in Welsh Anglican churches in April 2027 as previously planned, saying further theological reflection is needed before the province takes that step.

The decision, disclosed in a report to the Governing Body meeting in September, puts the brakes on a trajectory that had appeared to be leading inexorably toward same-sex marriage legislation within months.

The announcement came just five months after the Governing Body voted overwhelmingly at its April meeting in Llandudno to make permanent the church’s liturgy for blessing couples in same-sex civil marriages and civil partnerships. 

That vote — clergy 32–7, laity 48–8, and bishops unanimously — enshrined a rite that had operated on a five-year trial basis since 2021 into the Book of Common Prayer.

In their report to the September Governing Body session, the bishops described the April debate on blessings as having been conducted in “a respectful and generous tone” and acknowledged the relief of those who felt the church was now recognising same-sex relationships. They also thanked those “for whom that decision was a painful one.”

Nonetheless, the bishops said the outcome had “been reached following a period of positive but yet frank interaction” and that “a longer period of time is now needed to assess the best way forward in enabling Governing Body to consider equal marriage.” 

Rather than proceed with final legislative proposals in April 2027, they intend instead to use part of that meeting to host a “facilitated conversation on the doctrine of marriage,” to be conducted by two outside experts — one from a traditional viewpoint, one from a more progressive viewpoint. 

The Standing Doctrinal Commission has been asked to prepare a neutral theological paper on the forms any future legislation might take.

The Church in Wales began its formal journey toward same-sex blessings in 2021, when the Governing Body approved a five-year experimental liturgy on the basis that it was “pastorally unsustainable” to offer no provision to committed same-sex couples.  

That provision was always understood as a way station. 

In November 2025 the Bench issued a pastoral statement confirming it intended to bring two successive bills to the Governing Body: first the permanent blessings bill in April 2026, and then a full same-sex marriage bill in April 2027.

The permanent blessings bill passed in April. 

The same sex marriage bill has now been postponed indefinitely in favour of further doctrinal exploration, though the bishops say they “remain committed to testing the Governing Body’s mind” on the question.

The decision lands in a province whose leadership has changed dramatically. 

Archbishop Cherry Vann, who took office in late 2025 as the Church in Wales’s first openly gay Archbishop and its first woman to hold the primacy, had signalled openness to same-sex marriage. 

Conservative Welsh Anglicans warned after the April vote that it would prompt some clergy and laity to seek alternative episcopal oversight or leave the church. 

The April blessings bill passed with conscience protections for clergy who object, though critics noted at the time that no mechanism existed to allow congregations to bar their buildings from being used for blessing services.

The bishops’ report also disclosed that the Commission of the Covenanted Churches — a fifty-year-old partnership involving five Welsh Christian traditions — is moving toward recommending a seven-year “sabbath or suspension” of the Covenant. 

The report noted, with notable candor, that “enthusiasm for schemes of organic union in Wales is not high in any of the denominations, and recent proposals have not found favour.”

Separately, the bishops noted that the Church in Wales’s handling of the Supreme Court’s April 2025 ruling on the legal definition of a woman — which requires facilities designated for one birth sex to exclude trans persons — presents practical difficulties for church buildings and may force ministry areas to consider providing gender-neutral facilities only.

The report appended the results of a clergy wellbeing survey conducted in February and March 2026, drawing on responses from 267 of the province’s 381 stipendiary clergy. 

The findings painted a consistent picture of clergy who remain deeply committed to their vocation but are experiencing structural pressures that are eroding their wellbeing, morale and long-term sustainability.

Common themes included a chronic “always on” culture with many clergy reporting working sixty or more hours per week; disrupted rest days; administrative burdens flowing from the introduction of Ministry Area structures; poor communication from diocesan and provincial leadership; and significant financial anxiety about retirement housing and pension provision. 

The survey also found that trust in diocesan leadership was fragile in several areas, with some clergy reporting fear of speaking openly and a lack of psychological safety. 

The Bench has asked the Representative Body’s Human Resources Committee to form a working group to develop a wellbeing improvement plan.

New website set to equip people to serve God with confidence

The Church of Scotland has created a new website to support people's faith, ministry and mission.

The platform has a clean new design.

The site, part of a refresh of the Church of Scotland Learning platform, allows people to browse learning modules and sample a selection of resources before signing up for free for full access.

The new website provides an opportunity to try out some of the platform's most popular resources, including material from Unpacking the Bible, a step-by-step guide through the whole story of Scripture, with video teaching and discussion material from the Very Rev Colin Sinclair and Fiona Stewart.

Join the community

The Church's Learning Team hopes the new website will help raise awareness of the breadth of resources available through Church of Scotland Learning and encourage more people to be part of the community.

Visit the new site now: learning.churchofscotland.org.uk

High quality resources

Launched three years ago, Church of Scotland Learning builds on the Church's tradition of creating high-quality, relevant resources to support faith, ministry and mission, offering group and individual learning opportunities in one central online hub.

The platform includes videos along with other resources on a wide range of topics.

Alongside self-paced courses, the platform offers resources designed for use in local church settings such as congregations, kirk sessions, home groups and leadership teams.

Members can also take part in live events and webinars with others from across the Church and suggest topics for future learning resources.

Equipping with confidence

To help members find resources that are relevant to their interests, role and journey of faith, learning materials are organised into six categories:

* Faith & Theology;

* Discipleship;

* Leadership & Teams;

* Mission;

* Pastoral Care;

* Church Management.

New content is added throughout the year, ensuring that there is something for everyone, from those exploring faith to experienced church leaders.

The Learning Team said: "Church of Scotland Learning is designed for everyone, from pew to pulpit. Whether you're a minister, elder, volunteer or church member, we all have a part to play in God's mission. Our goal is to help equip people with confidence, knowledge and skills to serve God wherever He has called them."

Irish Franciscans to leave Glasgow parish at Easter

A "special" Gorbals church is undergoing a major "difficult" change as a much-loved Catholic order is withdrawing from the parish.

Three priests will leave the John Duns Scotus chapel as the Irish Franciscans who have been in the Gorbals since 1866 prepare to depart.

Parishioner Joseph McCauley said he is "devastated" by the news and explained the chapel is home to a very special weekly novena where people can call in with their problems for prayers.

Now the care of the parish is to be handed back to the Glasgow Archdiocese, which said the building will remain open.

However, Joseph said he worries where people will go if the weekly novena at the "active" church does not continue.

Joseph said: "The issue is the possible end of a Franciscan presence in Scotland.

"The Gorbals has a particularly strong historic Irish Catholic connection, with the Franciscans becoming deeply embedded in the community over generations."

The 34-year-old added: "This isn’t just any parish. It has a huge Franciscan history and has served the Gorbals for generations. The St Anthony Novena, the welcome, the prayer and the care for people who are lonely or struggling are all part of what makes this place so special.

"I’m genuinely heartbroken at the thought of losing the Franciscan presence here. Whatever happens next, I desperately hope the Catholic community is served well."

He pointed out the "Franciscans also have a connection with St Francis’ school, providing priestly and pastoral support."

Explaining more about the novena, Joseph said: "The Tuesday St Anthony Novena is particularly significant locally and attracts people bringing petitions and prayers.

"People come with prayers concerning illness, mental health, family difficulties, bereavement and other personal circumstances.

"I genuinely worry about where some of the desperate, lonely and needy people who come through those doors will go if that ministry disappears."

A letter sent to parishioners said: "After much consideration and taking into account the current reality of the Province of Ireland, we the Irish Franciscans, must today announce our withdrawal from Blessed John Duns Scotus Parish in Glasgow and the handing back of the care and pastoral responsibility of the parish to the Archdiocese.

"This is a sad and difficult decision for us to make. However, it is unavoidable, as we, like so many religious bodies, have to deal with and respond to our ageing and reducing membership."

The Archdiocese of Glasgow said: "The parish church of John Duns Scotus is already a parish of the Archdiocese of Glasgow. While there will be much disappointment at the loss of the Franciscan presence, that will not signal the closure of the church building."

A Franciscan friary opened in Glasgow in 1476 but was suppressed during the Reformation. The friars returned to the city in 1866 – establishing a presence in the Gorbals community.

The Franciscan priests are due to leave at Easter.

Their departure was announced during Mass at the Ballater Street church last weekend.

IVE overseers affirm ‘moral certainty’ of founder’s guilt amid denial

Officials with oversight of the troubled Institute of the Incarnate Word underlined Thursday that Church tribunals reached “moral certainty” that the order’s late founder was responsible for abuse, amid ongoing denial from some members of the group.

A statement on the IVE’s official website, dated Sept. 24, said the clarification was intended to be both an act of justice toward those harmed by Fr. Carlos Miguel Buela’s actions and to accurately inform the institute’s members as the order undergoes reform.

The statement was issued after a Sept. 14 meeting in Rome between the pontifical delegates overseeing the IVE and its female counterpart, the Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matará, the provincial superiors of the two institutes, and officials from the Vatican’s Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.

Days after the Rome meeting, an unsigned statement attributed to the IVE’s major superiors argued that Buela’s guilt could not be communicated to members as legally established because the priest died in 2023 before canonical proceedings had concluded.

In a Sept. 23 letter sent privately to members of the IVE and SSVM — obtained by The Pillar — the pontifical delegates urged members to “accept decisively and responsibly” the “painful truth” of Buela’s responsibility for abuse as “unequivocally established by the Church’s tribunals.”

“We can no longer continue putting forward fallacious arguments that lead us away from the truth and, therefore, from God,” said the letter, signed by Bishop José Antonio Satué Huerto, the IVE’s pontifical delegate, and Sr. Clara Echarte Oñate, F.I., the pontifical delegate of the SSVM.

“It is urgent to change our perspective toward the victims, who in fact first suffered the founder’s wrongdoing and then the attitude of both institutes, which on many occasions cruelly discredited and marginalized them, as we have been able to verify through our own experience.”

The flurry of statements is the latest development in a decades-long Vatican effort to reform the two institutes that, together with a secular third order and contemplative branches, make up the Religious Family of the Incarnate Word. 

The group, which was founded in Argentina in the 1980s, has roughly 2,000 religious members in more than 40 countries.

A special canonical tribunal was established in 2020 to consider the allegations against Buela. The tribunal concluded in 2021 that Buela had committed an offense against the sixth commandment “with violence” against five current and former IVE members, prompting an appeal.

An appeal tribunal conducted a further investigation and confirmed the finding on March 30, 2023. While the appeal tribunal reached its conclusion with moral certainty, it was unable to issue a published judgment because Buela died 24 days later, on April 23, 2023.

The Sept. 24 statement — signed by Satué, Echarte, and DICLSAL’s prefect Sr. Simona Brambilla, M.C. — said that accepting the finding was a necessary part of the reform process, which seeks to distinguish “between the gift of the Spirit granted for the building up of the Church and the founder’s personal limitations or actions.”

The unsigned statement that appeared after the Rome meeting condemned abuse, but claimed that it was not possible to determine Buela’s guilt or innocence.

“Given that the penal proceedings did not conclude because of the death of the accused, it is not appropriate for the institute to pass a judgment of guilt upon the founder or to consider legally concluded a process that did not reach its completion,” said the statement, published on the website verbo-encarnado-ssvm-abusos.info.

The pontifical delegates’ Sept. 23 letter, shared with The Pillar, noted that DICLSAL had sent members of the two institutes a letter in January 2025 providing extensive information about Buela, following the canonical proceedings.

“During these months, we have been able to witness personally the pain and difficulty that accepting it has caused some of you, to the point of considering it unbelievable, given your personal experience of Fr. Buela and the image of him that had been conveyed and consolidated within the institutes,” the letter said.

The pontifical delegates described the resistance to acknowledging the finding against Buela as “one of the principal obstacles to carrying out the mission entrusted to us by the Holy See.”

They said they had therefore advised DICLSAL to expand on the information about the priest provided in the dicastery’s January 2025 letter to members. This led to the Sept. 14 meeting in Rome and the pontifical delegates’ letter to members.

“This painful truth also presents an important challenge for the institutes founded by Fr. Buela and for all their members,” Satué and Echarte wrote.

“The path now being asked of both institutes and of each of their members also entails a necessary discernment concerning their charismatic heritage. In particular, it is necessary to distinguish more clearly between the person and experience of the founder and the founding charism recognized by the Church and embraced by the members.”

The IVE’s constitutions define its specific purpose as “inculturating the Gospel — that is, prolonging the Incarnation in every person, in the whole person, and in all manifestations of the human person.”

The pontifical delegates said that, in addition to distinguishing between the charism and the founder, it was “indispensable to begin, without further delay, a serious process of revising the constitutions and, more broadly, the entire proper law of both institutes.”

“This revision should not be understood as merely a formal or editorial updating, but as an integral part of the ecclesial discernment required today,” they wrote.

“It will be necessary to review the norms, structures of governance, formation processes, community and apostolic practices, and the ways in which authority is exercised. Only in this way can the proper law genuinely serve the gift received and its ecclesial fruitfulness.”

They added: “The Holy See expresses its confidence that, through this clarification, the truth concerning the conduct of Fr. Carlos Miguel Buela will be properly acknowledged.”

“It will be our responsibility to continue along the path already begun and to provide the necessary guidance to adequately address the victims, to foster the necessary discernment concerning the life of the institutes, to accompany the correct interpretation and living out of their respective charisms, and, finally, to determine appropriate criteria for the use of images and writings of Fr. Carlos Miguel Buela.”

Women have been priests in Sweden since 1960 – but the battle for gender equality in the Church continues (Opinion)

When Sarah Mullally was confirmed as the 106th archbishop of Canterbury, this meant a woman would become spiritual leader of the Church of England and worldwide Anglican communion for the first time in history. 

For many, it has been a welcome shift that recognises the importance of female leadership at all levels – both ecclesiastical and secular.

But some within the Church took issue with Mullally’s accession. 

For example, the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, a network of conservative Anglican churches across Africa and Asia, issued a statement declaring: “The majority of the Anglican Communion still believes that the Bible requires a male-only episcopacy.” 

Its members have refused to recognise her as their archbishop.

Mullally’s accession follows a pattern, as more and more women gain access to leadership positions in churches across the world. 

As we show in our recent book, The First Ordained Women in the Church of Sweden: Narratives of Vocation and Recognition (2026), when their vocation to the priesthood is officially recognised, it gives them self-confidence, self-respect and self-esteem. 

But it also elicits opposition, with the women themselves usually made responsible for keeping the peace.

The former archbishop of Uppsala, Antje Jackelén (left), at Eva Nordung Byström’s installation as bishop of Härnösand. Magnus Aronson, IKON / Wikimedia, CC BY-SA

Vocational calling

On September 28 1958, after decades of ecclesial and societal calls for women’s vocation to be recognised, the Church of Sweden’s General Synod voted to open the priesthood to women. We retraced the narratives of the first 54 women who were ordained between 1960 and 1970.

Proponents of the reform referred to biblical passages such as Galatians 3:28 as promoting equality: “There is no longer Jew or Greek; there is no longer slave or free; there is no longer male and female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.”

To their minds, the priest is someone called not to represent Christ (as some opponents believe), but to point towards him.

On Palm Sunday in 1960, Margit Sahlin, then 46, was one of the first three women to be ordained in Sweden. Sahlin’s ordination by Archbishop Gunnar Hultgren took place at the chapel of St Catherine Foundation outside Stockholm. She had long fought for womens’ roles in the church to be expanded.

In a diary entry from the mid-1940s, Sahlin described her shock at being told by one leading opponent of female priests, the bishop Bo Giertz, that while Sahlin was welcome to think of herself as a prophet, she shouldn’t delude herself into thinking she had an ecclesial vocation.

“To be obliged in this way to forge my own path,” Sahlin wrote, “borne only by a personal faith in my vocation, without any external ecclesiastical authority to fall back on, constituted an unreasonable pressure.”

Her belief in herself was undermined by an inferiority complex – and the criticism to which she was always exposed “as a pioneer”.

As with Mullally, some opponents of Sweden’s early female ordinations invoked biblical passages that could be interpreted as reserving the priesthood for men, and promoting the subordination of women. 

Others cited different obstacles, including that women would be miserable in a vocation reserved for men.

They also raised the “ecumenical argument” – that such a reform could jeopardise international cooperation with the Church of England, which at that time did not approve of women priests.

To avoid the perceived risk of division of the Church, the 1958 reform included a conscience clause. 

Similar measures had already been taken by the state churches in Denmark and Norway. The clause guaranteed that male priests who did not agree would not have to serve alongside ordained women.

In principle, this meant that both proponents and opponents of the reform could continue to serve as priests. However, it had dire consequences, particularly for the women who were ordained.

The struggle for recognition

This conscience clause meant that women’s vocation was fully recognised – unless opponents were present. 

In that case, it was the women’s responsibility to safeguard what was referred to as “the neutral line”, by stepping aside and refraining from priestly duties.

Over time, this created a code of conduct where the burden of keeping the peace fell on the women alone.

It also enabled denial of recognition. For example, the Church Coalition for the Bible and Confession, formed in Sweden in 1958, provided guidelines for how this conscience clause should be interpreted. 

These guidelines stated, among other things, that laypeople and priests opposing the reform should avoid any contact with ordained women. One of our interviewees, Sofia (not her real name) spoke of the impact this had on her relationships with colleagues:

I have certainly felt disappointment at the absence of fellowship, in everyday life, and at not being able to share the deep joy before the face of God. I have felt particular disappointment at frozen fellowship with former fellow students. Suddenly there was nothing but silence [or] possibly a pleasant facade.

Clara (also not her real name) said that during her studies to be a pastor in 1964, if one of the women gave a sermon in the group, they would all be told: “That’s fine for a parish evening meeting, but not for the pulpit.”

“Sometimes,” she recalled, “I was told that the ordination of a woman was ineffective in all circumstances. It could be equated with the baptism of a pig. Sometimes I was so discouraged that I could scarcely bear to go to lectures and practice sessions.”

In his 1995 book The Struggle for Recognition, German philosopher Axel Honneth describes how being denied recognition can impact a person’s development of self-identity. As one of the other Swedish women ordained during the 1960s, Lena Malmgren, later wrote in the Göteborgs-Posten newspaper: 

“Anyone who does not respect my faith in God and his calling of me as a priest does not respect anything that is important to me, not the innermost part of my person; he violates my very person.”

‘A consequence of the Gospel’

Institutional reforms tend to be judged by the moment they are enacted. But it is still often a slow and storied process. Decisive events and dates — that Palm Sunday in 1960, say – are merely symbolic starting points for a continued struggle for the requisite structures to be put in place.

However, the Swedish reform did not result in any rupture between the Churches of Sweden and England – quite the opposite, in fact. 

The archbishop of Uppsala and primate of the Church of Sweden, Martin Modéus, attended Mullally’s installation as archbishop on March 25 2026.

Modéus also told the Dagen newspaper that having men and women sharing responsibility at every level of the Church was a fuller reflection of the diversity of the people the Church is called to serve – and “a consequence of the Gospel”.

“For those of us who have already had a woman serving as archbishop,” he said, in reference to his predecessor Antje Jackelén, “it is encouraging to see our sister churches taking similar steps. It is also a sign of hope in a world where there are forces pushing back against gender equality.”

Edinburgh University axes Divinity degrees

The University of Edinburgh is scrapping the Divinity programmes it runs for its undergraduate and postgraduates. Divinity is an academic degree designed for people wanting to pursue pastoral and vocational ministry.

The Head of the School of Divinity, Jeremy Carrette said, "Changes in ministerial training across Scotland led to the closure of the B.Div and M.Div programmes, after the Church of Scotland chose to concentrate training in a single institution."

That training now moves to the University of Glasgow from 2027.

Theology as a subject will continue to be taught at the university and students will be able to graduate with a degree in theology.

"Our core programmes in theology, religion, philosophy and ethics remain and are strong, with one of the largest undergraduate intakes in the UK and one of the largest PhD communities in the field" said Carrette.

Cuts to Divinity are part of a wider shake-up at the university which originally opened in 1583.  It's the latest university to reduce and reshape its department.  Exeter University announced cuts to its staffing in the theology department earlier this summer as part of wider humanities reductions.

Meanwhile, the numbers of people training for ordination in the Church of England remain well below what is needed. 

After four years of decline, figures ticked up slightly last year, with 442 people entering training in September compared to a low of 329 the year before, still far short of the 630 new clergy the Ministry Council estimates the Church needs annually.

Campaign group Save the Parish has pointed to a lack of confidence in ministry as a "major obstacle" to recruitment.

However, not everyone sees the closures as a death knell for the subject. Dr Michael Tang, who studied theology at Birmingham University and whose PhD explores the search for God in popular music, told Premier Christian News that interest among Gen Z remains strong, just not on campus.

He described how many young people who don't attend church still gather in coffee shops during church hours to read the Bible together.

"Don't read it as a sign that theology doesn't matter...it still matters," Tang said.

He argued universities need to revisit their core mission for teaching theology, rather than treating it as a purely academic pursuit: young people are still seeking Christian spirituality for themselves through practices like communal Bible reading, "so you don't need a degree in theology to pursue that kind of thing."

Tang has a passion for the subject but his own experience underlines the risk of pursuing the subject academically. 

After completing his PhD in Theology, he was unemployed for a year and now works as a barista. 

His advice to prospective students: question your motivations before signing up.

"If people are very scholarly and want to become a theologian, of course going down the academic path is right for them," he said. "But not everyone wants to become a theologian. So figuring out why you want to study theology in the first place is very important."

At just 63: Popular archbishop dies of a heart attack

The Catholic Church in Bolivia mourns the loss of one of its most committed social representatives: Archbishop Ricardo Centellas of Sucre succumbed to the consequences of a heart attack on Thursday at the age of 63 – quite surprisingly. 

The Bishops' Conference of the Anden nation said the Primate of Bolivia had previously participated in the anniversary celebrations of the Catholic University in Oruro.

Centellas was one of those church representatives in South America whose voice was repeatedly perceived in the media. This was also due to the fact that the clergyman, who was born in a South Bolivian village in 1962, always sided with democracy. 

When left-wing populist President Evo Morales broke his promise in 2017 and unconstitutionally enforced a renewed candidacy, Centellas, as the then bishop of Potosí, warned: "We cannot allow populism to turn into a dictatorship bit by bit." 

At that time he also spoke in his capacity as chairman of the Bolivian Bishops' Conference.

Mouthpiece of the population

When, in the final phase of the Socialist Luis Arce's presidency, the country's economy had fallen into a serious crisis in 2024, Centella's policies and society called for pulling together. First of all, it is necessary to face the truth. 

"Many authorities tell us that everything is fine - but there is nothing okay," he said at the time, speaking from the soul of many compatriots. Centellas repeatedly took on the concerns and hardships of the Bolivian people and made sure that they heard the powerful.

Last year, after Bolivia's left had been clearly voted out after almost 20 years of various socialist governments, the archbishop called on the remaining right-wing candidates to take a reconciliation course before the run-off election: "There is so much talk about the current candidates, but in Bolivia it is above all important that we agree." 

More than 60 percent of Bolivians would have voted for change, for security and sense of responsibility. "So far, we haven't heard of it," according to Centellas' criticism.

Voice of common sense

Most recently, he expressed himself on the occasion of the independence celebrations, which traditionally play a major role in many Latin American countries. In the presence of Christian Democratic President Rodrigo Paz, Centellas took a stand on the ongoing domestic political crisis in August. 

Faced with road blockades because of high fuel prices, he said: "I believe no government can solve the crisis, but anyone can do something to alleviate it. We must not stand idly by and watch the crisis unfold.”

With the death of Centellas, not only an impressive church career ends. Bolivia loses a reminder, a politically never one-sided voice of common sense. Like no other, he was able to express exactly what drove the population at the right time. He'll be missed.

Archbishop Farrell: True education is born of a conviction of the value and worth of all

Today is a day of hope.  Yes, it is a day of remembering, and a day of thanksgiving, but today is first and foremost a day of hope.  Everything that we are doing here today is about hope: this gathering, this Liturgy, your presence here.  This is not a retirement party.  Today is not only about looking back; today is primarily about looking forward and discovering the strength and the vision that will enable Mercyhurst – both College and Preparatory (High) school – to continue its mission, to embrace the future and the world God puts before us all.

This is a place where education happens, a place where life is nurtured and valued, and where the future is formed.  This is a place of hope.  As Pope Francis captured it so well, education is, “above all, an act of hope in those before us …” (24 February 2024).  That hope for the children of this place was made real in the dedication of the sisters to the future of those children and young people.  Education does not just happen of itself; education happens because people give of themselves for the sake of those entrusted to them.  Among the things that have moved me in the few days I have been among you, are your stories of the sacrifice of the Mercy sisters in the establishment of this place.

Education costs: as you know, it costs money, but as importantly it costs energy and time; it demands constancy, evenness, and belief in people, especially when they don’t or can’t, or won’t be allowed to believe in themselves.  The good educator has to find the balance between patience and kindness, on one side, and discipline and rigour on another.  True education is born of a conviction of the value and worth of every person, that in the end we are all brothers and sisters, children of the one God.

It was that same conviction, those same values that brought Catherine McAuley to open, on this day 199 years ago, what she called “a House of Mercy” (on 24 September, 1827).  The Dublin of 1827 was a different world, but Catherine McAuley was a forward-looking woman.  She was a woman of courage who used the fortune she inherited to bring dignity to the poor.

That is no easy task.  Catherine had to face ridicule, and resistance.  There will always be resistance and opposition when one attempts to be in the service of justice and education in a world which can so often be structured around keeping people in their place.  The Gospel we have just heard, Mary’s song of hope, is a prayer of deep confidence in what God does and continues to doi in our lives, and in our world.  “The Almighty has shown his mercy … [God] has scattered the proud in their conceit.  He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly.  He has filled the hungry with good things…”  This is the shape of Mercy in the life of Christ, and in the life of the Christian community, the Church.

The community element is not to be underestimated, because inequality and disadvantage are almost always socially and culturally embedded.  Coming here, one of my friends drew my attention to a recent article in The New York Times, where one of the staff journalists – an African American woman – told of her long and painful struggle to permit her only child to have the education that child deserved (see Nikole Hannah-Jones, “In Fighting for Every Black Child, Did I Betray My Own?” The New York Times Magazine, Sept 20, 2026. Online: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/20/magazine/ny-public-schools-black-students-segregation.html).  

What struck me was how powerless this woman and her husband were on their own.  It wasn’t a question of money, it was a question of “a system [wherein] those who hold the power refuse to change.”  That woman and her husband discovered their powerlessness due to their not being part of a community for whom change mattered.  

Mother Borgia Egan and her companions knew what they were up against, but they were not on their own.  In Ireland we have a Gaelic saying which says, “Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine” – “It is in each other’s shade that we live.”  We can do so little on our own, but together, in each other’s shelter, we discover another resilience and another strength.  Is this not what synodality is all about – discovering God’s way for us together?

Mercyhurst, as a locus of divinely-inspired and divinely-sustained human service, offers an experience of integral humanity that guides all towards that synthesis between the human and spiritual dimensions, the foundation of the fullness of life, offered to us by God in Christ (John 10:10).  We do not live two lives, natural and supernatural, secular and sacred, material and spiritual.  We are offered one rich, multidimensional life, offered to us by the one God (Mark 12:32)  “Authentic education does not flourish merely through the transmission of content, but is fulfilled when knowledge becomes life” (Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, video message, 21 April 2026).

May the God of Mercy and Justice, the one God in whom all are one, the Lord who includes all, bring what he began in this place to its fulfilment. May God “lift up the lowly” (Luke 1:53).  May our Father “fill the hungry with good things.” (Luke 1:54)

To the students

At this centenary celebration it is very important to address a word to the students of today.  While we remember the past, that memory “is not only directed to the past, but nourishes the present and guides the future”  (Pope Leo XIV, 24 May 2025).  Memory shows us the road, it does not replace the journey we have to make, but it does provide us with a direction of travel.

At the opening of Magnifica humanitas, Pope Leo reminds us that, “Each generation inherits the task of shaping its own era, of guiding history to become a place where the dignity of every person is safeguarded, justice is promoted and, fraternity is made possible” (Magnifica humanitas §1).

To the students of both university and Preparatory school, I wish to keep before you the fullness of life that we see and share in Christ, and that is offered to every person by God.  This life is there for all.  It is God’s gift for all – not just Christians, not just people who are religious, but for all – God makes His sun rise on all, as the Prophet Isaiah says.  The re-owning of that truth of our faith is one of the great fruits of Second Vatican Council.  I ask you to make your own this fullness of life.  That is what a truly Catholic education offers you and empowers you to do. 

I am not saying that is easy in this very new world that opens up before us all unrelentingly, day by day.  It demands a courage and a bravery. 

On this centennial day in Mercyhurst, we do well to remember the bravery of Catherine McAuley and the sisters who followed her in taking the risk of challenging the very fabric of society in their time?  Faced with the challenges of living in today’s complex world, it would be so easy to withdraw and fabricate a world of our own.  However, Pope Francis, always at his most prophetic with the young, would tell you: “Take risks!”  He would ask, “How can we reawaken the greatness and the courage of comprehensive choices, of the impulses of the heart in order to face educational and emotional challenges? …Take a risk! Take a risk.  Whoever does not risk, does not walk.  ‘But what if I make a mistake?’  Blessed be the Lord!  You will make more mistakes if you remain still” (see Preparatory Document for Synod on Youth [Doc. I, 3]).

I am here among you today as the Archbishop of Dublin, the place where Catherine McAuley put flesh on God’s work of mercy.  I am very conscious that I am not an American, but I am someone who has visited your country many times since I first came here as a student in 1977.  I have family here, and I know first-hand the generosity of this land.  The great American writer F Scott Fitzgerald says that “America is a willingness of the heart.”  Make that willingness to live, that hunger and thirst for the fullness of life that the Old Testament, again and again, calls nefesh ( Psalm 62(63): 1–2), the cornerstone of your lives.

May you all, young and not so young, see what Mary sees.  May her hope and confidence in the Lord God would be yours.  May you see first-hard how the Lord has mercy on all His creatures… how everyone is important to Him, not just the strong, or the wealthy, or the powerful, but especially the weak and poor, those left behind, and those locked out.  For the last hundred years, that mercy of God has taken flesh in this place.  May this place continue to open the eyes and hearts of all to the wonders that God continues to shower upon all of creation. 

May God bless you in your work, and may Mary the mother of Mercy, keep you close to her Son (John 2:5, John 19:26–27).  

About 2,000 church sex abuse victims have come forward for reparations in France

About 2,000 people who reported being sexually abused by priests or other church representatives have sought reparations from a French independent body created to address decades of abuse, the organization said Tuesday as it prepares to end its five-year mission.

The Independent National Authority for Recognition and Reparation, or INIRR, said its work extended beyond financial compensation to include psychological support.

INIRR’s report comes ahead of Pope Leo XIV’s four-day visit to France, beginning Friday, during which he is expected to meet privately with seven survivors of sexual abuse by priests and other Catholic personnel.

France’s Catholic bishops’ conference agreed to provide reparations after a 2021 report estimated some 330,000 children were sexually abused over 70 years by priests or other church-related figures in France. 

The report described a “systemic” cover-up by church officials and urged the French Catholic Church to respect the rule of law in France.

Here’s a look at the independent reparations program, by the numbers:

1,184 decisions

Over 1,184 decisions granting financial or other reparations from the church have formally been made by the INIRR.

Hundreds of other cases are still awaiting a decision. Some 183 people reached out to the independent body this year.

The INIRR closed to new submissions on Aug. 31, after completing its scheduled mandate, but is still accompanying victims until the end of next year.

It is to be replaced by another body, meant to be permanent and focusing on restorative justice, long-term guidance, and support for victims of sexual violence within the church.

1 letter

After completing the process, survivors receive a “letter of recognition” that formally acknowledges the sexual abuse and details the financial compensation.

“The letter was a shockwave for me,” said Cécile Reneaume, 34, who received reparations from INIRR after she was abused as a young child by the leader of a Catholic community, who has since died.

“I was expecting a very small amount of financial compensation — that’s how I had imagined it. But when I read the letter, it said: ‘The church acknowledges these specific failings’,” she described.

“It meant that the little girl who once had been unable to speak was finally believed. It gave weight and credibility to what happened to me as a child,” Reneaume said.

The Associated Press generally doesn’t identify victims of sexual assault or abuse unless they come forward publicly or give their consent to be identified.

36,892 euros

Survivors who went through the process were awarded an average of 36,892 euros ($42,186) each.

Once the INIRR approves the financial compensation, the case is sent to a special fund financed by the church for payment.

“My first reaction was violent,” said Eric, 55, who didn’t want his last name to be public, when he was informed of the amount. “I felt anger, disbelief. Am I worth this?”

Eric was raped by a priest when he was between ages 8 and 14.

“It took me time to understand that it wasn’t me who was being assessed, nor was it about putting a price on what I had suffered, because you can’t put a price on a childhood,” he said.

The compensation is intended to financially support the healing process.

56 years on average

People reaching out to INIRR last year were aged 56 on average, about two-thirds were men and one-third were women.

Among them, Philippe Gomes was 49 in 2023 when a session of therapeutic hypnosis helped him remember he had been a victim of sexual abuse by two priests from age 7 to 12. Survivors may experience complete or partial loss of memory due to the traumatic events.

“I reached out to the INIRR and that was a real shock, because the first thing I was told was: ‘I believe you,’” Gomes said.

Gomes said the therapy he is undergoing has helped him say he was raped without crying.

“I’m not ashamed, I’m not the one who should be ashamed,” he said.

Reparations also may include nonfinancial support. Requests have included help for victims to write down their stories, organizing meetings with local church representatives, or installing a plaque in memory of victims.

Tipperary church seeks permission for 55 solar panels to cut running costs

A pastoral council in Tipperary has applied for planning permission to add solar panels behind their church in an attempt to keep running costs low and help to sustain it into the future.

Roscrea Pastoral Council applied to Tipperary County Council for permission to install 55 solar panels in an empty field behind St Cronan’s Church in the town.

The pastoral council are also planning on replacing the church’s existing oil boiler with a heat pump system in order to make it more efficient, according to planning files.

The project aims to reduce the church’s running costs, as well as reducing its impacts on the environment, planning documents show.

“At present the church is heated by an oil boiler and lit by electricity from the grid, both partly or entirely burning fossil fuel,” an agent acting on behalf of the pastoral council said.

“By installing a solar array of this scale in an empty piece of land which can generate electricity, will reduce, and at times eliminate the energy requirements of the church and may contribute feed in power to help supply the wider community.

“Further, in the longer term, once the installation costs are paid off, the installation will save the church money, and help sustain it into the future. These are all positive results and should be encouraged and applauded,” the agent added.

Under the plans, the solar panels won’t be visible from inside the church, agents said, but they will be visible from a number of places outside the church.

However, the agent said that the impacts of this can be mitigated by adding screening around them, so that the panels don’t stick out too much.

“The panels are in any case reversible, in that they can be removed and the field made good again. The arrays can be dismantled and are stood on concrete pads which can be dug out in the future if so required,” the agent explained.

“It is suggested that the impact due to the proposed panels is limited and acceptable.

“Suitable planting between the panels and the church, which can mean that they are almost entirely hidden from view,” they added.

Tipperary County Council planners are due to decide on the plans by November 9.

Muslim scholar in awards débâcle deserves apology from Lambeth Palace, says Moderator of Church of Pakistan

THE Archbishop of Canterbury should apologise to the Muslim scholar whose interfaith award was withdrawn by Lambeth Palace last week, the Moderator of the Church of Pakistan, Dr Azad Marshall, has said.

Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi was given the Hubert Walter Award for Reconciliation and Interfaith Cooperation on 11 September for his “outstanding work as an ambassador of interfaith harmony in Pakistan”.

A week later, Lambeth Palace announced that it had been withdrawn, after previous comments made by Mr Ashrafi came to light, including a decision to honour Osama bin Laden as a “Sword of God” in response to Salman Rushdie’s being given a knighthood.

In an interview with Canon Chris Sugden on the Anglican Mainstream website on Saturday, Dr Marshall said that the Church of Pakistan had been “deeply humiliated” by the withdrawal of the award to Mr Ashrafi. “He trusted Canterbury as a Church office and took his wife and daughter there. This is a highest offence against him and us.”

And Mr Ashrafi told the Church Times on Wednesday that he had been subject to “propaganda” and that comments about his wife’s wearing of the niqab had caused her to be “in grief”.

After the presentation, two Conservative shadow ministers, Nick Timothy and Rebecca Paul, wrote a letter to Archbishop Mullally warning that the episode had caused the Church “serious reputational damage” because of previous remarks made by Mr Ashrafi.

On Tuesday, Mr Ashrafi spoke of attempts on his life because of his efforts to speak out against terrorism and extremism, and suggested that critics of the Archbishop were “attacking because she is a woman, and that is politics, not a religion”.

He said: “Hopefully, one day I think these people will realise they are on wrong side and we are right side because we believe in Allah, in our work, in humanity, in peace and dialogue. We do not believe in a propaganda campaign.”

The award nomination was instigated by the Church of Pakistan during Archbishop Welby’s 2022 visit to the country. Mr Ashrafi took responsibility for the Primate’s safety during the trip to Peshawar, the site of a recent terrorist attack, Dr Marshall said.

Dr Marshall gave as an another example of Mr Ashrafi’s “tremendous work” his condemnation of the mob violence against Christians in Jaranwala in 2023. In relation to blasphemy laws, he had been “instrumental in releasing many people before the mob can lynch them”, Dr Marshall said.

“Canterbury had the time and ought to have done due diligence if they wanted to or if they had questions,” he said. “But right at the end, I mean, it was so unfair.” When it came to Mr Ashrafi’s past comments, he said: “People change, and he has definitely demonstrated deep respect for Christians, which has to count for something.” Dr Marshall had “pleaded” with Lambeth Palace not to withdraw the award.

The episode meant that the Church had “lost confidence and standing as a national or international community” in its own country, he said.

The interview was accompanied by an article by Dr Marshall’s daughter, Michelle Samuel, programme director of Lahore College of Theology. “In a bid for curated bespoke optics that tell a sanitised story, the Church in Pakistan’s telling of gritty reality was discarded,” she wrote. “Canterbury treated a relationship formed in the dangerous realities of Pakistan as though it were a public-relations object that could be displayed and then removed when the British political weather changed.”

She acknowledged that Mr Ashrafi’s earlier remarks were “deeply offensive”, but said that he “should have been asked to defend himself and address them directly, state whether he repudiates them, and explain the change his later work represents”.

Among her recommendations was that Lambeth Palace should confirm whether “appropriate government or security advice was sought” during the débâcle. “An institution that frequently intervenes in political questions cannot treat basic due diligence as an afterthought when an overseas Church’s safety and credibility are at stake.”

A graduate of Punjab University, Mr Ashrafi attended the Jamia Ashrafia in Lahore, a centre of Islamic learning named after Ashraf Ali Thanawi, a traditionalist Deobandi Sufi and scholar. Besides coordinating the Prime Minister of Pakistan’s interfaith and counter-extremism body, he chairs the All Pakistan Ulema Council — which, according to the Pakistani Dawn newspaper, serves as “a bridge between the government and different religious groups — both extremist and moderate — whenever the need arises”.

In 2016, the Council issued a fatwa against Islamic State and other terrorists groups. The previous year, Mr Ashrafi received threats from the Pakistan Taliban, having condemned an attack on an army school in Pakistan.

In a 2017 article, Dawn said that he was “known among journalists in Lahore as a ‘liberal’ cleric”, noting his “moderate” stance on issues including sectarian violence, militancy, and suicide attacks.

The Rt Revd Samuel Azariah, a previous Moderator, said in a statement: “People must be evaluated in light of their capacity to change, grow, and contribute positively to society. . . reconciliation itself rests upon the conviction that transformation is possible.”

His words were echoed by the Revd Rana Khan, who began his ministry in the Church of Pakistan, served as an interfaith adviser under Archbishop Rowan Williams, and is now Leader of the St Catwg Ministry Area, Crickhowell, in the diocese of Swansea & Brecon. “Christians desperately need a sound theological framework for reflecting on statements people may have made decades ago,” he said. “Christianity calls us not simply to judge people by their past words, but to remain open to the possibility of grace, growth, and transformation.”

On Tuesday, the Vicar of St Cuthbert’s, Burnley, Canon Munawar Din, who grew up in Pakistan, spoke of his concern for Christians in Pakistan in the wake of the row. The situation was a “mess”, he said. “We are fine here. Mistakes can happen, and you try to correct them. But when we do anything like this, there is a bigger factor for other communities around the world.” The situation “could have been avoided, with proper and rigorous processes”.

The way forward was “interfaith dialogue”, he said, as was happening in Burnley, and prayer for the situation was essential. “Let the Holy Spirit lead us in the right direction.”

On Tuesday, Dr Amineh Hoti, global programme director and international peacebuilding leader at Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge, spoke of the wider context in which the controversy had taken place, including “a deep lack of understanding” and a need for more “deep interaction” between Christians and Muslims.

“We sometimes categorise people in good and bad boxes, but humans are more complex than that,” she said. “Pope Francis says that we should be more tolerant of even the more fundamentalist people in our own faiths and explain things to them in the hope that their perspective grows. We should not be dismissive or arrogant because we may think that our perspective is more evolved. And the best interfaith dialogue is not with people who think like ‘us’, but those most different to us in their thinking, dress, and words, because that is where true change can happen, often through holding space and kindness.”

The backlash to the Lambeth Palace award began with a focus on a photo of its presentation, in which Archbishop Mullally stood next to Mr Ashrafi’s wife, Saima Ashrafi, who was wearing the niqab. In their letter, Mr Timothy and Ms Paul said that it “could appear to condone one of the most repressive manifestations of Islam”, and that women around the world and in Britain faced “coercion and culture pressure to veil themselves too”. Women clergy in the Church of England were among those raising concerns.

On Tuesday, Mr Ashrafi said that it was his wife’s choice to wear the niqab, which was “our sharia, Islamic hijab, an Islamic value”. The same was true of his daughter, who had recently graduated as doctor. “If she said, ‘No I don’t wear,’ then I would not push that,” he said. “You must understand why I give this award to my wife because my whole life after my marriage she helped me lots in my work against extremism and terrorism.” He spoke of their 22-year marriage and six children.

The comments about his wife’s attire were “very, very bad”, made by “close-minded people”, and had caused her to be “in grief”, he said. “The Archbishop of Canterbury is without hijab and wears what she wants; my wife wears what she wants. . . I am proud of my wife, and she is proud of me, and if we are happy, why does anybody have any problem?”

A Lambeth Palace spokesman said on Wednesday: “Archbishop Sarah is reflecting carefully on the very difficult events of the past week. She has been in personal contact with Archbishop Azad and continues to seek to understand more fully his views on the situation. While there was no intention to cause offence or distress, she recognises that this situation has caused significant upset and concern to many in and outside the Church — both here and in Pakistan — and views that as a matter of deep regret.

“Archbishop Sarah is praying particularly for the leadership of the Church of Pakistan, and for all those who hold its interfaith relationships, which she knows have been forged in immensely challenging circumstances. Archbishop Sarah continues to pray for Pakistan’s Christian community and for the people of Pakistan.” 

State-funded LGBTQ group hosted church parties ‘sexualising’ Catholicism

A state-funded LGBTQ group that hosted “unholy nights” at an Australian church has been accused of sexualising and mocking Catholicism by the Archbishop of Sydney.

Divine Playhouse turned the deconsecrated, 158-year-old St John the Evangelist Church into an arts space hosting parties that incorporated religious themes. Promotional materials featured crosses and promised confession, hymns, adoration and processions.

Some who attended the opening night were dressed as nuns and choirboys, while performers dressed as pigs offered McDonald’s chips as “holy communion”.

Anthony Fisher, the Archbishop of Sydney, said the group carried out the “deliberate appropriation and, in our view, sexualisation and denigration of symbols, language and rituals that are sacred to Catholics”.

Divine Playhouse received a grant of 100,000 Australian dollars (£53,000) from the New South Wales (NSW) government. The Archbishop called on the NSW government to withdraw the grant.

After the “queer arts space” opened in July, religious protesters gathered outside and called on the NSW government to shut it down. Fit for the Kingdom, a Catholic apostolate and fitness group, described the arts space as “hateful blasphemy that mocks what we hold most sacred”.

The group was evicted from the church under an obscure “offensive trade” law, typically used to regulate foul smells and industrial waste.

The team behind the short-lived venue, now using the name Unholy/Divine, plan to host a residency at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA) in Sydney next month.

The three-day event is being billed as including an “Unholy Funeral” to lay to rest the memories of Divine Playhouse, followed by an “awakening”. The third night has been advertised as an event to “confess your sins and surrender to a night of delicious indiscretion and very naughty art”.

In an open letter, the Archbishop said he recognised the “right to freedom of artistic expression” but said he was “deeply concerned that the government is financially supporting productions that mock, degrade or deliberately provoke the Catholic community”.

He added: “The government cannot credibly call for religious tolerance and social cohesion, while quietly funding intolerance and division based on religious belief.”

John Graham, the NSW arts minister, said: “I don’t really support people mocking each other, but the idea that the government is going to say ‘yes’ and ‘no’ to who’s performing on stage is not a principle that we accept.

“It’s up to companies to determine what they’re performing, and we’ll be continuing that approach.”

He added that the money given to support Divine Playhouse could not be withdrawn because it had been spent setting up the original venue, before the promoters were evicted, and funding for MCA would continue.    

Kat Dopper, the founder of organisers Heaps Gay, said she received “constant” death threats and homophobic messages following the opening of her experimental venue, and had taken precautions to remove things others may find offensive from the original venue.

Earlier in September, the London nightclub Fabric announced a collaboration with St Paul’s Cathedral to stage events inside the place of worship.

Religious groups and descendants of those buried in the cathedral, including the family of Lord Nelson, criticised the move.

Sandra Lynes Timbrell, the cathedral’s director of visitor engagement, suggested that a “carefully curated programme of exceptional concerts” would draw new visitors to the site.

Catholic priest Robert Hickman jailed for sexually abusing two girls

A former Catholic priest and serial paedophile who sexually abused two young girls in foster care 36 years ago has been jailed for more than two years.

Robert James Hickman, 81, was previously imprisoned for sexual offences in New South Wales against multiple victims.

Hickman had pleaded guilty to sexual penetration of a child, and indecent dealing with a child in Perth in 1990.

WA District Court Judge Karen Shepherd described his actions as a "breach of trust" given his position, and too serious to justify a suspended term.

He was sentenced to two years and six months in jail, to be served immediately at Casuarina Prison.

The court heard the Perth victims were aged 11 and 13 when Hickman flew over from Sydney on official business in 1990, and attended a dinner with other members of the Catholic Church at their foster home.

The man the girls knew as "Father Bob" then went into their bedroom to give "goodnight prayers" and read out a bible story.

He told one of the girls he was going to give her a "special blessing" before touching her indecently.

The priest then groped the other girl in a similar manner before leaving the room, saying "goodnight girls, God bless, it was lovely to meet you".

The court heard the girls had then cried themselves to sleep.

One girl reported the incident to the foster mother, who initially dismissed her as a liar.

Nine years later, the foster mother reported the incident to the Catholic Church's WA Professional Standards Office, and received a letter of apology from Hickman.

The church offered money as part of a non-disclosure agreement.

'A very evil soul'

In a statement read out in court by prosecutor Rachael McCallum, one of the victims described the impact of the abuse as "immeasurable".

The woman said she had to carry the burden of having been sexually abused, and being told she was a liar, at a time when she was living in a new environment after her parents had died.

She "had to keep everything inside", the statement said, going on to describe Hickman as "a very evil soul".

The other victim provided a statement in which she said the abuse had changed her life "forever", but she had decided to forgive Hickman for her own mental health.

"I choose not to give you any power from this day forward," she said in the statement.

Health issues

Hickman was investigated by the child abuse squad in 2015 and arrested and extradited to WA from NSW 10 years later.

His lawyer Simon Freitag said he had served five years of a ten year prison sentence in NSW, from 2015 to 2020, for sexual offences against multiple victims.

In 2001, he received a suspended sentence, and a community corrections order had been imposed for similar offending in 2024.

Mr Freitag said Hickman's offences occurred from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, but he had "not reoffended in decades... He is not presently a danger to children".

Hickman is recovering from cancer surgery and has several other health issues.

He will eligible for parole after serving 15 months in prison.