News and Views 23rd July 2026 

Politics and Faith

• The Catholic faith of Andy Burnham. Britain’s new Prime Minister Andy Burnham, recently sworn into Parliament on a Bible, is on record as having named three important things in his life apart from family: Everton Football Club, the Labour Party, and the Catholic Church. Regarded as Britain’s first openly Roman Catholic Prime Minister, Burnham maintains that his life has been shaped by the Church, although he admits he’s “not particularly religious now.” Certainly, he is seen as a strong supporter of social justice – serving in a Catholic soup-kitchen on the same morning he became PM, and pledging to end rough sleeping in the UK at ‘the earliest opportunity’ in his first speech as Prime Minister (though it has been noted that homelessness more than doubled in his last four years as Manchester mayor).
• Burnham on Christian ethics and Israel. Andrea Williams, chief executive of Christian Concern, said she “can’t actually see anything that’s obviously Christian in his policies. A person that professes and confesses faith will always uphold marriage between one man and one woman, will not champion trans ideology into law and into policy … He’s pro-assisted suicide, he’s pro-liberalization of abortion. So that doesn’t actually match with his faith.” On Israel matters, Burnham frequently spoke out against rising attacks against UK Jews as Manchester mayor. However, he has also signalled a shift in Labour’s mainstream position on Israel and Gaza, including support for greater pressure on Israel.

Kairos II and the CofE

• Ongoing debate over Kairos II. The Church of England’s General Synod’s vote last week - after hours of impassioned debate and procedural delays - to “stand in solidarity” with Palestinian Christians and “hear” their experiences, while at the same time opposing all antisemitism, has led to much ongoing debate within the Church. Many synod members claim that the voices, pain and suffering, of Palestinian Christians is often overlooked in the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, and that they need to be carefully listened to (which is why the word ‘hear’ is used, rather than ‘receive’ or ‘totally agree with’) - especially given the level of mistrust they experience from neighbouring Muslim Arabs, Israeli Jews and the worldwide evangelical Church alike.
• Kairos document should is not beyond criticism. The synod’s final motion laments “the loss of Israeli and Palestinian lives and the violations of human dignity and rights on both sides, as well as the displacement of population. We commit to a better understanding of the situation in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory, seeking peace and security for all the peoples of those lands and pursuing that which leads to the establishment of a just and lasting peace.” Writing in The Jewish Chronicle, the Rev Robert Thompson a Vicar in West Hampstead, said he backed the Kairos motion – “without wavering in my support for Israel to live in peace and security … Like many documents born out of profound suffering and conflict, it contains insights that deserve careful attention and claims that deserve careful scrutiny. (But) I do not believe the Church should receive it uncritically, nor do I believe it should be treated as beyond criticism.”
• Kairos II leaves no room for discussion. A major concern with Kairos II expressed by many is that it goes much further than might reasonably be expected - accusing Israel of genocide, colonisation, and ethnic cleansing, as well as an “apartheid system based on Jewish supremacy.” This has led to a vociferous outcry from a plethora of Jewish and Christian sources (e.g., read here, here, here and here). A number of synod members objected to the document’s dogmatic stance – one of the Kairos II writers stating, for example, “We demand international protection, accountability and reparations” – thus leaving little room for further discussion. Kairos II, of course, while reflecting the views of a number of prominent Palestinian Christian leaders, does not necessarily speak for all believers within that community.  
• Need to listen to the whole body of Christ. Alison Davies, who leads an initiative of the Church’s Ministry Among Jewish People known as Asaph, states that “If the Church of England wishes to hear Palestinian Christians—and we believe it should—then it must also hear Jewish believers, Messianic Jews, Israeli Christians, Arab Christians and others whose lives reflect the profound complexity of the land we all love and pray for. Only by listening to the whole Body of Christ can the Church hope to become a credible instrument of reconciliation.”

The FIFA World Cup

• Brazil, World Cup football and Christianity. Brazil has won the FIFA World Cup 5 times – more than any other country (one of only eight nations to have won the competition in its entire history). Hence the surprise when Brazil was knocked out early in this year’s tournament. Remarkably, many fans were quick to blame the team’s poor performance on the evangelical beliefs of some players! The Institute for Hispano Studies noted that “Brazil was better when their players were womanizers, drunkards and slightly out of shape. In other words, when they were behaving like Catholics— letting the power of friendship and good fun do the heavy lifting. Evangelical Protestant sterilization has flattened their ball, ruined their samba, and obliterated their swag.” Historically, it is claimed, numerous Brazilian Catholic players were “either womanisers or alcoholic. Most of them both.” On the contrary, evangelical players, of whom the Brazilian team boasts quite a few (Kaka, ze Roberto, Taffarel, Firmino, Allison), are seen as being good-living, self-controlled men who consequently play poorer football. The controversial claim, while most interesting, is, of course, somewhat dubious.
• God worshipped at World Cup final. Meanwhile, several members of Spain’s World Cup-winning squad were quick to credit their Catholic faith after last Sunday’s FIFA World Cup final victory over Argentina. Having just won the climatic game, and being applauded by millions around the world, Rodri, the Spanish captain, said to the watching world, simply that he is a Christian, and that he was sure “Someone up there” was helping - that all he wanted was to thank God for everything he had been given - “In the end, God rewards you”.
• World Cup Hallelujah! A further notable ‘God-moment’ in the World Cup final occurred during the halftime musical extravaganza – when an estimated 1.5 billion people watched committed Christian pop-star Justin Bieber use his biggest stage ever to worship God with his heart-rending stripped-down testimony-ballad, 'Everything Hallelujah'. While some slammed the singer for performing an unknown worship song at such a prestigious event, thousands took to social media to applaud him for his courage and originality - being also the only performer to sing both live and solo, accompanied only by his acoustic guitar – and he did it for free. Bieber's record sales have rocketed as a result. Read also.

Persecution of Christians

• Fulani extremists kill 25 Christians. The mindless slaughter of Christians in Nigeria – grossly under-reported or even completely denied by the world’s mainstream media – tragically continues unabated. In mid-July , at least 25 Christians, including a 2-month-old, were killed in separate attacks in Nigeria’s Middle Belt region. The nine people killed in one attack belonged to the same Christian family. More recently, in Northeast Nigeria, Islamic terrorists, suspected to be Boko Haram or the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP), abducted the wife of a pastor and their three children last Saturday (July 18).
• An average of seven terror attacks every day in Nigeria. Fascinating research by the Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa (ORFA) shows that in the past six years there has been an average of seven terror attacks every day in Nigeria. Boko Haram and ISWAP are responsible for the murder of 12% of the total number of Nigerians killed.  A much greater percentage of civilians killed - 44% - are committed by Fulani Terror Groups, which ORFA describes as “an amorphous, shifting network of militias - loosely linked by structure, cross-state logistics, and ties to jihadist networks, and operating out of camps deep in the forests of Northern Nigeria.”
• Nigerian government downplays the persecution of Christians. ORFA also laments the fact that Nigeria’s government “has had over 15 years to enquire into the atrocities its citizens suffer. They have not tried: there has been no inquiry, no judicial forum, no serious investigation into the tens of thousands of innocent lives taken.” The US House of Representatives has just approved legislation that could suspend American assistance to Nigeria unless its government takes measurable steps to protect Christians and prosecute those responsible for religiously motivated violence. Read also.

Antisemitism

• Online ‘Jew-Hunting’ form taken down in Italy. A document has been circulated online, urging Italians to identify Israeli citizens and Jews staying in hotels and other tourist accommodations across the country. It read, "This form is intended to record cases of Zionist tourism, property purchases, and, more generally, Zionist neo-colonization in Italy.” Subsequent pages of the form asked respondents to report on locations where Jewish or Israeli visitors were seen. The data collected was received by a known anti-Israel group called the Global Sumud Movement, but they denied involvement. The forms were removed following intervention by Italy’s National Coordinator for the Fight Against Antisemitism. The Italian Deputy Secretary of State condemned the form as “abhorrent,” saying, “Those responsible must not go unpunished.” The president of the Jewish Community of Milan lamented, “I think we’re going back to the 1930s, to hunting Jews.”

Church Matters

• He once preached Islam to 100,000 followers. Kieos is a white man from Birmingham, who grew up with no religious framework, his parents being atheists. But he always sensed there was something beyond the material world, and encountered Islam for the first time at the age of 25 – becoming deeply committed to the religion. He soon built a following of more than 100,000 people on TikTok, where he staunchly defended Islamic beliefs and engaged in theological discussions with his audience. But over time, things began to change.
• 'I saw Jesus in my dreams three nights in a row'. Leaving Islam was not a sudden or dramatic departure for Keios, rather, a slow, gradual process which included theological doubts and death threats from former supporters. Then, a striking moment in Kieos' journey came. On three consecutive nights, he says he dreamed of Jesus. "I never have dreams … People could argue that if I were looking at images of Jesus, they could be brought forward in my subconscious whilst sleeping. But I never did, which makes it strange." He came into a new realisation of prayer as relationship with God, bringing him a peace he says he had not previously experienced. Today, Kieos says he considers himself fully committed to Christ, despite the slander and threats he continues to receive from those who used to call him ‘brother’.