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People and Power

  • 11 Mar 2013
    Papal conclave: What lurks behind the white smoke?

    The Conclave of the College of Cardinals starts in earnest this week, when the Master of the Papal Liturgical Celebrations, Monsignor Guido Marini, will solemnly announce extra omnes - or the “outside, all” - and the 115 cardinals will find themselves alone in the Sistine chapel alongside their faith, consciences and beliefs. Dr Harry Hagopian, an Armenian Orthodox Christian and Ekklesia associate who advises the Catholic Church in England and Wales on Middle East and interfaith issues, gives his assessment of what is at stake in the choice that is about to be made.

  • 9 Mar 2013
    ESA/WCA: the gap between official claims and lived reality

    The #ESAendgame online campaign to collect comments and stories concerning people’s experience of Employment and Support Allowance and the qualifying Work Capacity Assessment (WCA), initiated by disability researcher and activist Sue Marsh, has produced around 430 submissions so far (http://t.co/x2oRAeu0Rd).

  • 8 Mar 2013
    Women with disabilities take a stand against violence

    Churches have been urged to respond with prayer and action in the face of an alarming growth of violence against women with disabilities.

  • 8 Mar 2013
    International Women's Day 2013: The gender agenda

    Each year around the world, International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated on March 8. Thousands of events occur not just on this day but throughout March to mark the economic, political and social achievements of women.

  • 8 Mar 2013
    The human cost of WCA and ESA: more #ESAendgame feedback

    Yesterday Ekklesia published a large selection of online responses to disability research and activist Sue Marsh's call for people to kickstart the 'ESA End Game' campaign to challenge the iniquities around Employment and Support Allowance (http://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/f31.htm).

  • 6 Mar 2013
    Calls for change deepen as Scottish Catholic Church faces new allegation

    A leading Scottish Catholic academic, commentator and Vatican adviser says the Cardinal O'Brien affair provides an opportunity for the Church to reform itself.

  • 5 Mar 2013
    Towards an ecumenical advocacy on the rights of stateless people

    “Discrimination and statelessness live side by side; it is no coincidence that most stateless people belong to racial, linguistic and religious minorities.” So says the communique issued at the end of the World Council of Churches consultation on stateless people held in Washington DC from from 27 February to 1 March 2013. This is the full document, made available by the WCC.

  • 3 Mar 2013
    Cardinal O'Brien admits sexual misconduct, but questions remain

    Cardinal Keith O'Brien, until his resignation Britain's most senior Catholic leader, has admitted sexual misconduct following several allegations against him.

  • 3 Mar 2013
    Opposing violence against women: the struggle goes on

    Violence against women is one of the most widespread abuses of human rights around the world, says Tanja Haque, CAFOD’s Gender Advisor. Women and girls in every culture and society are affected by violence and the facts are appalling: acts of violence against women and girls cause more deaths than cancer, malaria, traffic accidents and war combined. The struggle against gender-based violence goes on across the world, and the Church can and must play its role in this.

  • 1 Mar 2013
    Eastleigh, UKIP and the immigration blame-game

    On the day of the Eastleigh by-election, figures were released which showed a marked recent decline in net migration, which obviously delighted the Government. Home Secretary Theresa May boasted about how much she had toughened up the rules, but perhaps in an attempt to forestall one potential criticism, stressed the fact that visas for university students had increased by three percent overall.