Secularism in the media

Consideration of "single education system" included in NI education review

A consideration of what a "single education system" would involve is to be part of a review of Northern Ireland's education system. The review will also examine how much segregation is involved in education.

BBC

Church dismissed priest’s sex abuse as drunkenness

Church officials dismissed claims a priest was sexually abusing young men as "drunkenness", a report has found.

BBC

Charity denies ‘sham’ church elder inquiry

Kenneth Ferguson, a treasurer and elder with the Free Church of Scotland, is suing the Robertson Trust, a poverty relief charity linked to one of the biggest whisky producers in Scotland, for unfair dismissal, religious discrimination and religious harassment.

The Times*

Religious group breaking Covid rules 'ignored' request to leave Northampton hotel

Hotel Campanile says it has now cancelled all future bookings with the "religious group" involved with the event.

Northamptonshire Live

‘Northern Ireland should study free speech fears over Scotland’s hate crime proposals’ – NSS mentioned

MLAs must tread very carefully when considering new legislation on hate crime, says Jamie Gillies. NSS's support for the Free to Disagree campaign is referenced.

News Letter

‘Britain needs to catch up in curbing Islamist extremism’

Various Islamist groups use their ample resources to spread a divisive message within British Muslim communities but most civil servants lack the tools to counter or even understand the phenomenon, says Lorenzo Vidino.

The Times*

Charlie Hebdo trial: Fourteen found guilty of being accomplices in 2015 terror attacks

Fourteen people have been found guilty of being accomplices in terrorist attacks in France in 2015, which included the attack on the magazine Charlie Hebdo.

Sky News

US asks High Court to halt mail delivery of abortion pills

The Trump administration asked the US Supreme Court to reinstate a requirement that women visit a medical facility to obtain abortion-inducing pills, seeking to lift a lower-court order that has allowed delivery by mail during the pandemic.

Bloomberg

New Zealand child abuse inquiry finds quarter of a million harmed in state and faith-based care

Up to a quarter of a million children, young people and vulnerable adults were physically and sexually abused in New Zealand's faith-based and state care institutions from the 1960s to early 2000s, a public inquiry revealed on Wednesday.

Reuters

Senior faith leaders call for global decriminalisation of LGBT+ people

More than 370 figures from 35 countries representing 10 religions have signed a historic declaration ahead of a conference on 16 December in a move that will highlight divisions within global religions.

The Guardian

secularism.org.uk

Challenging Religious Privilege

Your daily media briefing - Thursday 17 December