Children are not often asked for their opinions on the big issues of life, but church partners in India and the UK have decided that children are the perfect place to start when talking about peace.

Both the Vatican and the UK government have declared themselves pleased with the private audience that UK Chancellor Gordon Brown enjoyed with Pope Benedict XVI in Rome last week.

The Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement (LGCM) has given a broad welcome to Prime Minister Tony Blair's proposal that adoption agencies currently operating under restrictions imposed by Roman Catholic bishops should be given 21 months to find a way of continuing to serve children without discriminating against lesbian and gay couples.

A church charity is urging the Government to grant all disabled children placed away from home unconditional access to an independent advocate.

The National Council of Churches USA (NCCUSA) and 20 faith organizations have joined forces as part of 100 national civil rights, education, and disability advocacy groups calling for major changes in the "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB) law - which enacts the theories of ‘standards-based education reform', based on the belief that high expectations and setting of goals will result in success for all students.

Concerned about the growing plight of children in many parts of Asia, church leaders will gather in Colombo, Sri Lanka from 28-31 August and from 1-4 September in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to evolve a strategy for mobilising churches to take a more active role in overcoming violence against children in both local and national contexts in Asia.

Christian peacemakers in Iraq have reported harrowing scenes including the killing of women and children by US forces following an overnight humanitarian mission to Fallujah.

In an oral statement to the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva, a Christian campaign group has highlighted the habitual killing of street children in Brazil, Honduras and Guatemala.