27th October 2018
Skopje, North Macedonia
I was brought up in multi-cultural multi-ethnic multi-religious Manchester in the north of England. To me this meant eating different food and celebrating festivals ranging from fireworks at Divali to lighting Chanuckah candles. For my family our beliefs were very important to us but so was respect for other people’s. Article 18 of the Universal […]
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27th October 2017
Skopje, North Macedonia
Во неговите емисии на Би-Би-Си радио „живот со боговите“ британскиот историчар Нил Мекрегор раскажува за религизионите предмети од минатото. Неговата приказна започнува во пештера пред некои 35 до 40 000 години. Во таа пештера, маж или жена од каменото време седи со заб од волнест мамут во своите раце. Нејзиниот живот и животите на луѓето […]
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27th October 2017
Skopje, North Macedonia
Historiani britanik Neil MacGregor në BBC serialin e tij në radio “Të jetosh me perënditë”, rikthehet në artikujt fetarë të së kaluarës. Historia e tij fillon në një shpellë rreth 35 deri në 40 mijë vjet më parë. Në atë shpellë, një burrë/grua i/e epokës së gurit, ulet duke mbajtur çatallin e mamuthit të leshtë. Jeta […]
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20th October 2016
Holy See
I am back in London this week with the Holy See’s Monsignor Antoine Camilleri for the Foreign Office’s conference on how freedom of religion and belief can help counter violent extremism. The discussion has been persuasive. I was particularly struck by the following points. US Ambassador Saperstein argued that you cannot have stability without religious […]
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18th October 2016
Geneva, Switzerland
Violent extremism is of course nothing new, but today we are confronted by the rapid growth of a particular form of it which is linked by its perpetrators to the tenets of one of the world’s great religions, Islam. It is worth just pausing for a moment to consider that violent extremism is not new, […]
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4th December 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
In his homily at our celebration at St Paul’s outside the Walls of the centenary of the restoration of official UK-Holy See diplomatic relations in 1914, The Cardinal Secretary of State, Cardinal Parolin, praised how the United Kingdom and the Holy See “have worked together for justice and peace” over many years. He also set […]
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14th October 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The question of freedom of religion or belief (FoRB in the international jargon) is a challenging and sensitive one. It is a fundamental right, touching the conscience of the individual, underpinning many other rights. As we focus on the issue of equality on Blog Action Day, we must ensure that FoRB remains at the top […]
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27th March 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Earlier this week, the Senior Minister of State and Minister for Faith, Baroness Warsi, held the first meeting of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Advisory Group on freedom of religion and belief. The group usefully supplements the FCO’s regular dialogues with religious leaders by bringing together lay experts from a wide spectrum of faiths […]
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18th December 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The Religious Freedom Project of the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs at Georgetown University organised an important conference in Rome last week on the theme of ‘Christianity and Freedom’. A number of distinguished British academics took part. One of the questions asked was what more are governments doing to stop religious persecution […]
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15th May 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
What is it that leading British Sikhs, Jews, Hindus, Roman Catholics, Copts, Buddhists, Presbyterians and Muslims have in common? Too often, we hear about the differences between faiths. But this week we saw an extraordinary coming together for a great cause. On 14 May, Foreign Office Minister Alastair Burt received in person an open letter […]
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