Sunday

A look at the ethical and religious issues of the week

This week's Sunday explores the latest on the conflict in the Middle East, and its repercussions in the UK for Jewish and Muslim communities. The archbishops of Canterbury and Jerusalem unite in a call for peace. As the Metropolitan Police reports a spike in anti-semitic hate incidents, a Jewish woman from London tells the programme how her Muslim friends escorted her to synagogue in an act of sol...

A look at the ethical and religious issues of the week

We report the latest from Israel after a wave of surprise Palestinian attacks. Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has said the Palestinian militant group, Hamas, will pay "an unprecedented price" for their offensive across the border. Thousands of rockets were fired from Gaza, with gunmen entering Israel across land and sea. Israeli fighter jets have been striking Gaza in retaliation. It...

Prayers are being said at church services today for the family of 15 year old Elianne Andam, who was stabbed to death while on her way to school in Croydon. A 17 year old man has been charged with murder. William Crawley speaks to local Anglican bishop, Rosemarie Mallett who has been working to tackle knife crime and supporting Elianne's family. It's called the holy grail of medieval history; the...

This weekend Pope Francis made an historic visit to Marseille, France; the first papal visit to the port city since Clement VII in 1533. The purpose of the trip is to show solidarity with the migrants as the French government takes a stricter stance amid rising Mediterranean crossings. Edward Stourton speaks to French Christian Journalist, Sophie Lebrun. Relations between Canada and India have bec...

The BBC has been told that bodies are still washing up from the sea in Derna, a week after massive flash floods in Libya. Now there are fears for survivors in the city with not enough medicine and clean water for those who have been made homeless. We hear live from Libya the latest on the situation on the ground and also look at the impact on the Muslim community both in Libya and here. Manchester...

Former diplomats and politicians from Afghanistan are among around 900 people who've signed an open letter calling on British authorities to investigate what they call a "propaganda" and "whitewashing" campaign by UK Muslim scholars on behalf of the Taliban. William Crawley speaks to one of the signatories of the letter. Pope Francis is planning to publish a sequel to Laudato Si', his encyclical,...

Can you be a sex worker and still follow your faith? Sex work has always challenged religion. Although it’s broadly considered immoral within Christianity, Islam and Judaism, sacred texts carry some mixed messages. We hear from a British woman who grew up as a devout Muslim but now makes adult content for the online service Only Fans. She’s often pictured wearing a hijab. She’s received death thre...

If priests were required by law to report child sex abuse, what would it mean for the Catholic seal of confession? Priests can never disclose anything they hear during the sacrament of confession. But a proposed new law could legally require people to report cases of child sex abuse. If a priest were to hear such evidence during confession, how should he respond? How could he, and the Church recon...

Most of the town of Lahaina, which served as the first capital of the former Kingdom of Hawaii has been destroyed, along with many of the sacred sites of Hawaii's indigenous religion as wildfires ripped through the region. Mokihana Melendez, who teaches aspects of Hawaiian traditional culture, talks to William Crawley about the significance of the religious and cultural heritage that has been lost...

Hundreds of thousands of young people have greeted the Pope for World Youth Day in Lisbon. Find out why it matters to UK Catholics who have travelled there. Hear from the ex-Catholic nun, who cast off her habit to work as a nurse, an author, and finally a stand-up comic. Kelli Dunham has a show at the Edinburgh Fringe that takes in her past lives as well as difficult topics like grief and death. M...

A look at the ethical and religious issues of the week

J. Robert Oppenheimer had a life-long fascination with Hinduism, and the Hindu sacred text, the Bagavad Gita, which he famously quoted in response to the first Atomic bomb detonations. As 'Oppenheimer' is released in cinemas this week, William Crawley explores the connections between Oppenheimer, the Gita and the Bomb, with Emeritus Professor of History Jim Nijiya and Hindu scholar Acharya Vidyabh...

The Church of England's National Safeguarding Team has said it will not discipline Soul Survivor's Mike Pilavachi. Pilavachi, who founded Soul Survivor church and its Christian youth festivals resigned four months after more than 100 people alleged inappropriate behaviour that including wrestling with young teenagers. Edward Stourton speaks to David Gate, a former Soul Survivor church member, who...

Emily Buchanan travels to Moseley Old Hall in Wolverhampton to hear about a 400 year-old missal recently bought by the National Trust that belonged to a Catholic priest who saved the life of King Charles II 'Water cremation’ will be available as a funeral option in Britain later this year. It’s said to be an environmentally friendly approach to disintegrating human remains – but is it appropriate...

Irish lawmakers are currently debating a bill on hate speech. The aim is to update 35 year old legislation that the Irish Justice Minister has called “ineffective”. A spate of anti-immigration protests in the country are said to have a pronounced Islamophobic focus. We speak to an academic to explore Ireland’s relationship with issues of racism and immigration. South African soprano Golda Schultz...

The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell talks to Sunday, days after the Church of England sacked its Independent Safeguarding Board. William Crawley hears from one of those sacked, Jasvinder Sanghera, and from Jane Chevous from Survivors Voices. How much is your vicar worth? Some Anglican clergy are calling for a pay rise of 9.5% to help them manage the increased cost of living. How does the pack...

Roman Catholics in the Northeast are welcoming a new Bishop this weekend and digesting a damning report about the previous incumbent. An independent review by the CSSA says that Robert Byrne ignored safeguarding advice which put people at risk. We’ll be hearing from Chair of the Catholic Safeguarding Standards Agency Nazir Afzal. There’s an intense debate in Switzerland over a potential nationwide...

Scores of British Muslims have had difficulty booking their Hajj pilgrimages on the new Nusuk app which was designed to manage travel arrangements for pilgrims. The service has been beset by technical glitches, slow customer service and poor communication. We hear about the problems it's caused to Muslims in the UK and speak to the Labour MP, Yasmin Qureshi, who has taken up the issue with the Sau...

In China, protesters have clashed with the police over the planned demolition of a mosque's dome in a largely Muslim town in Yunnan, a southern province which is one of the most ethnically diverse areas in the country. Social media videos showed crowds outside the 13th-century Najiaying Mosque in Nagu town this week and it's reported that the clashes were sparked when the community was told to tak...

The government has announced plans to deal with the problem of child sex abuse, but what are the implications for religious organisations? Almost every week, there are news stories about churches or religious groups facing allegations of the abuse of children or vulnerable adults. While the issue exists across society, its prevalence in religious settings has been striking. We explore why this is...

As the biggest cyclone in the Bay of Bengal in 10 years hits Bangladesh and Myanmar, we explore what this devastation means for the persecuted Rohingya Muslim refugees. Edward Stourton speaks to the Global Advocacy Director for Islamic Reliefs Shahin Ashraf. We speak to the British Catholic who is taking the helm of one of the world’s biggest aid organisations. Alistair Dutton has just been appoin...

Voters in Turkey go to the polls today in the country’s presidential election. The two main candidates, the incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his challenger, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, have set out their visions for the nation's future. We explore the religious differences between the candidates and consider how the outcome of the election could affect life and faith in Turkey and the country'...

The Primate of the Episcopal Church, Archbishop of Sudan, Ezekiel Kondo talks to Emily while barricaded into a church building for safety with 15 others. They are some of the millions who are trapped in the capital Khartoum where there are shortages of food, fuel and water. Gunfire is heard raging in the distance despite the ceasefire. The President of Tibet tells us that the Dalai Lama's recent i...