Every Friday CCFON will bring to you stories of fundamental significance to Christians and our Nation. To equip you to pray and act. To put the hope of Christ at the centre of our Nation.
Abortion, Bio-Ethics, Church, Education, Euthanasia, Family, Islam, Religious freedom and Teenage Sexual Purity
Abortion
CCFON: The Third Reading of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill will take place on 14th July 2008. Liberalising amendments have been laid by pro-abortion MPs
An Early Day Motion has been laid to petition for a free vote for all MPs on the Bill at Third Reading.
Evening Standard: Abortion laws could be relaxed for the earliest terminations but tightened up for women seeking to end their pregnancy later. MPs on both sides of the debate are preparing to back the compromise.
http://rss.thisislondon.co.uk/c/365/f/ 5284/s/16163dd/story01.htm
Bio-Ethics and Human Fertilisation
Telegraph: The HFEA pre-emptively grants a licence to the University of Warwick for research on human-pig hybrid embryos.
Daily Mail: Gordon Brown blinks in a confrontation with Ruth Kelly and is allowing her to absent herself from a crucial vote on embryo research this coming week.
Times: Ruth Kelly prevails in her trial of strength with Gordon Brown over whether she must vote on relaxing embryo research.
Daily Mail: Recent breakthroughs in cell therapy treatment could boost sperm count and give up to 1.5 million men in the UK the hope of fatherhood.
Guardian: Fertility doctors come up with a test for estimating a woman’s chance of becoming pregnant after receiving IVF treatment.
Church
Times: The leader of England and Wales's Roman Catholics, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor says that the potential spilt in the Anglican Church is bad for Christianity.
BBC News: When Synod meets in York for its summer session on Friday, the Church of England faces a pincer movement by two deeply divisive issues.
BBC News: The Church of England's ruling Synod is bracing itself for more disagreements ahead of its meeting in York.
Telegraph: The Archbishop of Canterbury criticises conservative Anglicans over seeking to bypass his authority on issues such as homosexuality and female clergy.
Education
Guardian: A new study issued by the Centre for Policy Studies accuses Ministers of undermining faith schools by conducting a ‘witch-hunt’ concerning faith schools’ admissions policies.
Euthanasia
Life Site News: Britain's Pathway to Euthanasia—NHS Protocols for Dehydrating Disabled Patients to Death
Daily Mail: Parents of a terminally ill six year old fight for her life, as NHS doctors say she should be left to die.
BBC News: An elderly man who attempted to carry out a suicide pact with his wife has been placed under a two-year supervision order.
Family
Times: A prominent police officer warns that the social breakdown of the family is giving rise to a gang culture based on violence and drugs.
Christian Institute: Scotland’s First Minister wants to save the country’s Roman Catholic adoption agencies from being closed as a result of homosexual discrimination laws.
Islam
Times: The Lord Chief Justicedeclared last night that there was no place for Shari’ah courts in this country and insisted that all residents were governed by the laws of England and Wales.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article4265549.ece
Times: Analysis: Last night the Lord Chief Justice offerred his own contribution to the debate on Shari’ah and nailed what he saw as some of the misunderstandings about Dr Williams's comments into the bargain.
Guardian: Britain's most senior judge last night said he was willing to see Shari’ah Law operate in the country, so long as it did not conflict with the laws of England and Wales, or lead to the imposition of severe physical punishments.
Daily Mail: A Scottish police force apologises for including the image of a puppy in an advertisement after being told the image was offensive to Muslims.
Guardian: While Quilliam deserves credit, it does not have all the answers on how we should tackle Islamic extremism.
Religious Freedom
Daily Mail: Christian couple who banned swearing in their pub and saw takings nosedive have been sacked and ordered to move out. The couple said the pub struggled because the owners let them down.
Teenage Sexual Purity
BBC News: The House of Lords voted to lower the age of consent in Northern Ireland from 17 to 16 years of age, despite widespread opposition.
Andrea Minichiello Williams
020 7467 5427
Christian Concern for our Nation