The Internal Market Bill could damage the relationship between the UK's four nations. So say the archbishops of York and Canterbury and the heads of the Church in Scotland, Wales and Ireland.

The bill sets out rules for the operation of trade in the UK internal market after the end of the Brexit transition period in January 2021.

The bill would allow aspects of the EU Withdrawal Agreement to be superseded.

Opponents argue that it breaks international law and have vowed to stop or amend it.

The five Anglican bishops warn any breach could undermine peace in Northern Ireland.

"We believe this would create a disastrous precedent.

It is particularly disturbing for all of us who feel a sense of duty and responsibility to the Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement - that international treaty on which peace and stability within and between the UK and Ireland depends.

The UK negotiated the Northern Ireland Protocol with the EU to "protect the 1998 Agreement in all its dimensions."

The Anglican bishops warn that the bill "currently asks the country's highest law making body to equip a government minister to break international law. This has enormous moral, as well as political and legal, consequences."

A number of Tory MPs have criticised the intervention. However, Archbishop McDowell told BBC Radio 4's Today church leaders had a role to play in maintaining the "civic dialogue." This was an essential part of a healthy democracy.

"Pretty much every political act, and every piece of legislation or social policy, has an ethical element to it," he said.

A total of 113 peers are discussing the bill this week in the House of Lords. The Archbishop of Canterbury is one of 113 peers due to speak in the two-day second reading debate.

Sources

• Independent Catholic News
• BBC
• CruxNow

Just 36 hours beforehand Flello was announced as the Lib Dem candidate for the Stoke-on-Trent South constituency.

The Party concluded his values diverged for theirs.

The British media report that Flello's views on abortion and same-sex marriage are the cause of his deselection.

"We do our best to screen candidates in our approval process," a Party spokesman said.

"In this case, it only really became clear over the past few hours how greatly his values diverge from ours."

In 2005 Flello won the seat for Labour in 2005 but lost it in the 2017 election to the Conservatives.

Profoundly disillusioned with Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party, Fello joined the Lib Dems earlier in 2019.

During his political career, Flello had been once considered among Labour's most promising MPs, serving as private secretary to three Ministers.

However, Flello was consigned to the backbenches after his defence of human life and conversion to the Catholic faith.

"I could no more leave my faith at the door of the House than I could my name, my gender or my arms and legs", he is reported to have said during a debate on the defence of human life.

Flello was a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Pro-Life Group that consistently voted against abortion, and in 2012 was one of 22 Labour MP's to oppose David Cameron's redefinition of marriage to include same-sex couples.

At one point he also asked Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to resign.

Fello is accusing the Lib Dem's of religious discrimination and a lack of tolerance.

He said he was "deeply shocked and very disappointed" by his deselection, adding: "I feel utterly misled by the Lib Dem Party who claim in their constitution to acknowledge and respect the right to freedom of conscience."

"Not only do I feel betrayed by the false promises of the Lib Dems but I am profoundly concerned that people of faith who adhere to their religious beliefs are not welcome in their party."

Later, Lib Dem deputy, Sir Ed Davey insisted a judgement will have been made about values rather than religion.

"The party has many Catholics in it ranks and would continue to do so", he said to Shelagh Fogarty or LBC radio.

• Source: The Tablet

"Even the Unionists, that is those (in Northern Ireland) who feel they are rather more English, are of the opinion that from the economic point of view it would be better to remain part of Ireland rather that be an English colony.

"Brexit is being led by English nationalism and really has little to do with the Scots or with us in Northern Ireland. We are a colony. If Mummy says, ‘We want to leave Europe', all her children have to say, ‘Yes, of course, Mummy'.

"We don't want that. We have gained far too many advantages from the (Good Friday) Agreement and from the abolition of the border. We don't want to go back to a new hard border right behind my bishop's residence.

"I live roughly 10 km (6.2 miles) from the border," McKeown wrote on the Cologne archdiocese online portal.

His diocese in the town of Derry is on both sides of the border.

He said that the (Brexit) problems actually have nothing to do with the Churches.

All the bishops in Northern Ireland shared responsibility for the whole island and are neither northern nor southern Irish Churches.

He says they are mainly concerned about the effect Brexit may have on people who are poor and weak.

These concerns include a possible rise in unemployment and therefore more hopelessness.

He says as the economy throughout the whole island is now integrated, people don't want to go back to the time when a frontier cut through the middle the Derry diocese.

"Both main Churches [Anglican and Catholic] think alike on this. Our fears have to do with pastoral work and not with church power", McKeown says.

Whatever happens on 31 October (the official Brexit deadline), the Anglican and Catholic churches will work together together to "strengthen the rights of the weak, the poor and the hopeless as, at this time of uncertainty, our role is to strengthen people who have a right to hope and the right to good government.

"Do not think of yourselves [on that date], or only about what England wants and about those who are powerful in London, but think of those who will lose out most."

Source

• The Tablet
• Image: Irish Times

Welby made this statement to over 5,000 Christians across various denominations and traditions gathered at a Pentecost event marking the culmination of "Thy Kingdom Come", a 10-day prayer initiative.

"We're all different, we look different, we have different cultures and backgrounds and yet, in Jesus, we're brought to be one," he said.

"What makes it possible for people with such differences to be in one church, to minister to so many different people outside the church, to show them the love of Jesus and to speak of Jesus? The Holy Spirit of God, nothing else.

"We can say what we like but we can't do very much in the human heart, only the Spirit speaks from heart to heart."

He then spoke of the UK's politicians who are "struggling" and "suffering" as they try to find agreement on Brexit.

"We're so contemptuous of them but they are trying to rebuild the broken. Most of them go into politics for good reason ..."

Welby said when he sees the nation's politicians he hears them saying they've never known a time as hard as this in the 35 years they've been in parliament.

"What can change it? It's the Spirit of God and God is calling the church to be confident about bringing the healing and hope in Jesus to this country," he said.

"We have a moment of opportunity in saying yes, we're different, and Jesus does not say to you all be the same, he says I made you different and you will be drawn in your difference with love for one another through the cross and resurrection, through Ascension and Pentecost, through the coming of the Spirit, and we will see our society transformed."

Other church leaders attending the event included the Coptic Orthodox Archbishop of London, Archbishop Angaelos, and the chair of the Redeemed Christian Church of God UK, Pastor Agu Irukwu.

The Anglican Bishop of London, the Rt Rev. Sarah Mullally, led the square in praying for Metropolitan Police commissioner Cressida Dick and other representatives of the London emergency services.

Christian singer Matt Redman, the Kingdom Choir (who performed at the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex last year), worship artist Lou Fellingham and Sounds of New Wine Gospel Choir (which recently picked up the Premier Gospel Best Newcomer Award) led the music at the gathering.

Source

• Christian Today
• The Tablet
• Image: Christian Today

History could not be clearer.

The diversion of the Russo-Ukrainian conflict into the Sea of Azov is precisely the kind of escalation that has preceded Europe's past cataclysms.

A great power treats a little one with contempt.

A little one responds with violence, expecting friends to come to its aid, diplomatically, economically, then militarily.

For four years, Ukraine has disobeyed the old pragmatism that if you share a border with a powerful dictator, you behave with extreme caution.

Kiev's anti-communists flirted with Nato - with the US's encouragement - at a time when Georgia was also flirting and the Baltic states had already joined. Vladimir Putin echoed Yeltsin, that Russia would "take this as a direct threat to the security of our country".

When Ukraine elected a pro-western leadership in 2014, Moscow supported an uprising in its Russian-speaking eastern provinces.

There followed Moscow's invasion of Ukrainian Crimea, and now a tightening of the noose on Ukraine's eastern ports. Ten thousand Ukrainians have already died in this secret war.

It is classic escalation.

Ukraine's president, Petro Poroshenko, is accused of hanging tough as he faces defeat in forthcoming elections.

On Sunday he appealed to "Ukraine's allies to stand united" against Russia.

He did not specify who they were, or what they should do. After the invasion of Crimea, a ragbag of trade, financial and travel sanctions were imposed on Moscow by western powers.

As usual, such feel-good weapons had no effect beyond counter-productivity.

Sanctions cemented Putin more closely in power and to his cronies.

They encouraged him to ever greater mischief, backing Russian minorities in bordering states and cyber-meddling in western elections.

The thesis that impoverishment would somehow force him to cease from, as he sees it, restoring Russia's pride was absurd. Dictatorship loves poverty.

Sanctions merely fuelled Donald Trump's casual remark last year that Nato was "obsolete".

What is glaring is that Europe now lacks any collective forum in which such escalations can be discussed and possibly resolved. Continue reading

• Simon Jenkins is a Guardian columnist, author and BBC broadcaster.
• Royal Oak Foundation

This follows Britain's planned exit from the EU.

The Pope told reporters on his flight back from Armenia that it is clear "something isn't working in this unwieldy union [the EU]".

Francis said Europe must reflect on the "air of division" being sowed in Europe and beyond.

Continue reading