For more than 125 years, we’ve helped find and treat leprosy early. Now, an end to leprosy is closer than ever. Your support can help end preventable suffering. stfrancisleprosy.org/donate @garydench @WestminsterCath Photo: Tom Bradley

Have a look at this article, written by Fr Graham Smith, about the Essex priest and hero of the Titanic, Fr Thomas Byles. wordonfire.org/articles/the-…

.@ddhitchens. Aren't you also tired of hearing that the defeat of a Private Member's Bill, never put before the electorate in any manifesto (but even so personally backed by the PM) , is some kind of affront to democracy?

One finds that ‘these people’ have triumphed over enormous adversity in life, and highlighted the dangers this bill posed to sick, elderly and disabled people. It’s quite wrong for Mr Malthouse to demonise them in this way. But it was tactic of the proposers from the beginning.

Has anybody had a problem with inflated call-out charges? We had a problem with the heating system at my second church, the fix for which was tightening a loose connection on the panel. £720 for that seems a little excessive. . .

Sadness! Gentleman’s relish will soon be gone forever… telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/04…

Nine Labour MPs are among 79 who have written to Shabana Mahmood and Wes Streeting to protest the decriminalisation of abortion up to the point of birth The cross-party letter argues proceeding without an impact assessment would be “reckless”

Our parish Lenten charity this Lent.

If buffer zones don't ban prayer @stellacreasy can I count on your support at my upcoming trial?

Adam Smith-Connor being asked by authorities what the “nature" of his silent prayers were and told that he was breaching a PSPO by praying:

Buffer zones have also been used to censor offers of consensual conversation. This week, our client Rose Docherty, a 75-year-old Scottish grandmother, will be dragged to court for offering to speak to people in a buffer zone and holding a sign that read: “Coercion is a crime, here to talk, only if you want." Rose has been arrested twice for peaceful offers to speak, even though she didn’t even discuss abortion. Our client Livia Tossici-Bolt, 64, was also criminally convicted for offering to speak with people in a buffer zone, even though she didn’t discuss abortion either. These are further clear cases of buffer zones being used to censor peaceful Christians in the public square. Neither of these clients engaged in behaviour that was harassing, obstructing or intimidating and they were not protesting either. When the peaceful expression of solitary Christians is censored, while mass public Islamic prayer is defended, it’s clear that we live in a two-tier society. Nobody is made safer by criminalising Livia and Rose. The reality is that buffer zones are an intolerable restriction on free speech and anyone who supports them does not genuinely believe in freedom of religion or expression. The law shouldn’t be misused to criminalise prayer or offers of consensual conversation, but it’s clear that buffer zones have been interpreted, enforced and prosecuted in a way that includes those lawful acts. We and many others warned that this would be the case beforehand. Stella Creasy heard those concerns but nevertheless pushed for national legislation to introduce buffer zones around all abortion facilities in England and Wales. Video of Isabel being told her prayer in a buffer zone “is an offence”: x.com/ADF_UK/status/16328204…

"Buffer zones don't ban prayer," Stella Creasy claims. Meanwhile, our client Isabel Vaughan-Spruce will face trial in Birmingham for doing nothing except silently praying in her head in a buffer zone. The national buffer zone legislation used to prosecute her—Section 9 of the Public Order Act 2023—was introduced by Creasy and CPS guidance lists silent prayer as a potential offence. Creasy also voted against a specific amendment to POA 2023 which would have made it clear that silent prayer is not a crime. Isabel previously has been arrested twice for silently praying in a buffer zone imposed by a local PSPO (video of first arrest below). Our client Adam Smith-Connor was criminally convicted for silently praying in a local PSPO buffer zone in Bournemouth. The legislation used to prosecute him named prayer as a banned activity. Both Adam and Isabel were told directly by authorities that prayer was a crime and were interrogated on the nature of their prayers. Neither of these people engaged in behaviour that was harassing, obstructing or intimidating and they were not protesting either. They are peaceful Christians who merely silently prayed in a public space, as is their lawful right in a free country. The undeniable reality is that buffer zones are being used to ban silent prayer in what is the most egregious example of censorship in Britain today. They are used to censor not only speech, but also people’s most intimate thoughts, as the examples of Adam and Isabel show. This is real life thoughtcrime. If anyone supports this and pretends to care about freedom of religion, you simply should not believe them. x.com/DailyCaller/status/160…

Buffer zones create areas in which one’s private and unexpressed thoughts can make one subject to police harassment and arrest. So, yes, they do ban prayer. This was the case with Isabel V-B and Adam Smith-Connor.

I’m not sure this is true but, even if it were, it would be better than the Lords co-signing the death warrant of the sick and elderly.

“buffer zones don’t ban prayer, they just ban prayer”

When you know you can’t defend police harassment of women silently praying in a quiet street, or of the military veteran silently praying for the soul his child… ‘whataboutery’ is all you have left. None of the below has any anything to do with the thoughtcrime arrests.

… apart from the small detail that she was penalised for silently praying in that location. Call it an ‘exclusion’ and suddenly it’s not a restriction. Apparently ‘freedom of religion’ now means you’re free to believe… just don’t dare think those beliefs in the wrong place

The bizarre double-think of some of our politicians is both shocking and terrifying. If you're Ed Davey, Stella Creasy or the PM, one of these should be celebrated, and the other arrested.

And yet Ed Davey supports Christians being arrested for praying *silently* in public places.

Of course, Christians don't enjoy these special privileges, but others do. It only seems to be Christians arrested in the streets for praying. Where were the main party leaders when Adam Smith-Connor(a military veteran)and Isabel Vaughan-Spruce were arrested for praying silently?