Royal Army Chaplains
For centuries the Royal Army Chaplains’ Department has ministered to soldiers and their
families in times of war and peace. Chaplains provide spiritual support, pastoral care
and moral guidance to all, irrespective of religion or belief. They are professionally
qualified officers who have been ordained in one of the recognised sending Churches and
have been selected to hold a commission in the Army. They wear the uniforms of the
British Army and accompany their soldiers wherever they go; exercising leadership and
management they are non-combatants and do not bear arms. Regular chaplaincy assignments
to units generally last between two and three years. Over time this enables chaplains to
experience ministry in a wide variety of settings. (See also SAS article)
Palliative care review started as MSPs block assisted suicide
Members of the Scottish Parliament have launched an inquiry into end-of-life care
provision in Scotland, after the issue was highlighted during debates on legalising
assisted suicide. Committee head Duncan McNeil MSP and his deputy Bob Doris MSP launched
the inquiry at a Marie Curie hospice in Glasgow. Duncan McNeil said, ‘When faced with a
terminal condition, it’s clear that the priority must be to put patients’ needs at the
heart of their treatment and care. We want this inquiry to shine a light on access to
palliative care in Scotland and what more can be done to improve care for people at the
end of their lives.’ * PLEASE NOTE - At Westminster, Labour MP Rob Marris is set to
introduce an assisted suicide Bill in the coming weeks. MPs will vote on the issue on 11
September.
British women should face the truth about IS
Khaleel al-Dakhi, a lawyer who helped to rescue 530 women and children from IS-controlled
territory tells of atrocities being committed by IS and warned British women not to join
‘Islamic State’. His work is shown in a Channel 4 Dispatches documentary, broadcast on
Wednesday 15 July at 10pm. ‘They beat the women, they gang-rape them, they make them
have forced marriage with many men. Some women have their infant babies taken away by
force. They take them to a slave market and give women to each other like a gift.’
British women should face up to the truth about IS, Khaleel says, ‘Any British woman
planning to leave the UK to join IS should talk to the escaped women of Sinjar about life
under the terrorists’ rule. If they don’t believe me or you or the government they should
come and talk to our girls, then they will believe.’ See also:
http://www.christianconcern.com/our-concerns/islam/rescue-worker-tells-of-isis-horrors
Synod gives final approval for Safeguarding Legislation
On Saturday the General Synod gave final approval to a package of proposals intended to
take further the process of making the Church a safer place for children and vulnerable
adults - both by making the disciplinary processes under the Clergy Discipline Measure
2003 more effective where safeguarding issues arise and by strengthening the Church's
wider legal framework in relation to safeguarding in various ways. The legislation was
originally introduced in February 2014 following a consultation launched at Synod in July
2013.
