DAILY NEWS

GB news – 20th June

UK must help Rio20 reach agreement on sustainability; Archbishop of Canterbury: Goodbye to all that…; Barnado’s chief ‘incensed’ by idea straight marriage is best environment to raise children; MPs to give strong show of support to same-sex marriage; Aircraft engineers win Church-sponsored award   

UK must help Rio20 reach agreement on sustainability  
The development agency warned that overconsumption in wealthy nations is destroying the environment
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/uk.must.help.rio20.reach.agreement.on.sustainability/30089.htm

Archbishop of Canterbury: Goodbye to all that…  
London Evening Standard – As the Archbishop of Canterbury bids farewell to his time in office, he tells Richard Godwin he will miss London and as for his successor, they will need ‘the hide of a rhino’, he says

Even before the latest outrage over gay marriage, Dr Rowan Williams, 61, could contemplate stepping down as Archbishop of Canterbury with something like relief. His 10 patient years in the role have often seemed like a trial. When he announced, in March, that he would be returning to academia, with “the sense that there are some conflicts that won’t go away, however long you struggle with them”, he warned that his successor would need “the hide of a rhino”.

For the conservatives in the Church, Williams has always seemed dangerously liberal; for the liberals, he has often proved dismayingly conservative. For many outside the Church, his institution is an irrelevance anyway, with the gay marriage row underlining precisely why Church and state should be uncoupled. All this, in a 24-hour media age, where most of us are bored by non-downloadable forms of spirituality.

And yet, through all this “dim-witted prejudice”, as he has termed it, Williams has held his Church together. He has found common ground for homophobic Africans and touchy-feely Americans. He has brought solemnity to national occasions such as the royal wedding. He has debated willingly with evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins and his atheist disciples, while sharply criticising Tony Blair’s wars and David Cameron’s austerity programme, with good grace and a subversive spirit.
http://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/archbishop-of-canterbury-goodbye-to-all-that-7858018.html

Barnado’s chief ‘incensed’ by idea straight marriage is best environment to raise children  
The chief executive of children’s charity Barnado’s has said she is ‘incensed’ by arguments that marriage should be reserved for straight couples as they ‘automatically’ provide the best environment for bringing up a child.

Anne Marie Carrie, writing for the Huffington Post on Father’s Day, said the qualities required of a good parent were to be found in gay, bisexual transgender and straight people, whether they are in relationships or not.

She wrote: “I have become increasingly incensed by those who hold the opinion that a marriage between a man and woman automatically makes for the optimal situation in which to bring up children and parent.
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/anne-marie-carrie/fathers-day-its-the-parenting-that-counts_b_1600432.html?utm_hp_ref=uk

We do… MPs to give strong show of support to same-sex marriage  
Independent – Poll reveals huge backing in Commons despite 550,000-strong petition from opposition group

The House of Commons is set to vote in favour of legalising gay marriage by a big majority, according to a survey of MPs who have disclosed their view on the controversial issue.

It shows opinion running 4-1 in favour of the Government’s proposal to bring in same-sex civil marriage. Despite vocal opposition from many Conservatives, it found the number of Tory MPs who have declared support for the plan (63) outnumber those against it (44).
The rolling survey is being compiled by the Coalition for Equal Marriage, which is lobbying for the change. It is based on public comments by MPs, petitions they have signed in favour and against gay marriage and letters written to constituents who asked them for their view. Tory opponents of same-sex marriage claim their numbers will grow after Downing Street made clear that David Cameron will allow a free vote when it goes before the Commons. But the survey suggests strong support among Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs will ensure the move is approved.
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/we-do-mps-to-give-strong-show-of-support-to-samesex-marriage-7845045.html

Aircraft engineers win Church-sponsored award
A company that makes aircraft engines has won a Church sponsored award for gearing up its community work. GE Aviation Wales, based at Nantgarw, near Caerphilly, won the Corporate Social Responsibility category of the Inspire Wales Awards. The category was sponsored by the Church in Wales and the award was presented by the Archbishop of Wales, Dr Barry Morgan. GE Aviation was praised for helping homeless young people and vulnerable women. More than 50 volunteers across its workforce use their skills and expertise to help the Llamau charity and its Learning 4 Life scheme. They help through work experience, fundraising, workshops and projects.
http://www.aco.org/acns/digest/index.cfm/2012/6/18/Aircraft-engineers-win-Churchsponsored-award