Church of England disinvests from News Corporation; House of Lords Reform Bill; Anglican Communion meets in London for the Olympics; Anglican bishop sets out challenge of collaboration for peace
Church of England disinvests from News Corporation
The Church Commissioners and the Church of England Pensions Board have today announced the sale of their shares in News Corporation on the advice of the Church’s Ethical Investment Advisory Group (EIAG). The total shareholding sold was worth £1.9 million. As a result, none of the three national investing bodies of the Church of England hold shares in the company.
The Church of England first raised concerns with the Board of News Corporation in the aftermath of the phone hacking allegations that surfaced in July 2011. After a year of dialogue between the company and the EIAG, the Church of England was not satisfied that News Corporation had shown, or is likely in the immediate future to show, a commitment to implement necessary corporate governance reform.
Andrew Brown, Secretary of the Church Commissioners, said: “Last year’s phone hacking allegations raised some serious concerns amongst the Church’s investing bodies about our holding in News Corporation. Our decision to disinvest was not one taken lightly and follows a year of continuous dialogue with the company, during which the EIAG put forward a number of recommendations around how corporate governance structures at News Corporation could be improved. However the EIAG does not feel that the company has brought about sufficient change and we have accepted its advice to disinvest.”
In 1994 the Church of England established the EIAG, the independent advisory group which advises the Church of England’s three national investing bodies on its ethical investment policy. The EIAG engages on ethical and corporate governance issues with many of the companies in which the Church of England has its main equity holdings. Between April 2011 and March 2012 the EIAG held meetings with 40 companies prioritised for engagement, one of which was News Corporation.
The Church of England already excludes investment in companies involved in military products and services, pornography, alcoholic drinks, gambling, tobacco, human embryonic cloning and high interest rate lending.
http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acns/news.cfm/2012/8/7/ACNS5168
House of Lords Reform Bill
Responding to the announcement from the Deputy Prime Minister that the Government would not be proceeding with its House of Lords Reform Bill, the Rt Revd Tim Stevens, Bishop of Leicester and Convenor of the Lords Spiritual, has released the following statement:
“The House of Lords still needs a measure of reform, not least to formalise its disciplinary procedures and to resolve the problem of its ever-increasing size – as the Deputy Prime Minister himself acknowledged today. Although the Government’s own Bill will not proceed, I hope that they will not be deterred from tackling these remaining urgent and unresolved issues. The Private Member’s Bill from Lord Steel, currently in the House of Commons, is certainly worthy of support.
“Having served on the Parliamentary Committee looking at the Government’s draft proposals, I know that some of the more complex and important questions about the implications of the reform plans had not been resolved and I understand, therefore, the lack of a consensus. Reforms that would have seen a simple substitution of the existing House for a largely or wholly elected chamber risked both removing what is best about the present Lords – the independence and expertise that its membership brings to bear – and undermining the current conventions between the Houses that prevent damaging gridlock between the Commons and Lords.
“The decision not to proceed with this Bill gives Parliament and the country a welcome opportunity to pause and think again about what it wants a Second Chamber to do, not just who it wants as its members. It also means that Parliament will be able to focus without distraction on the most pressing economic and social challenges that face our country now and in the months ahead.”
Anglican Communion meets in London for the Olympics
Anglicans from around the world have been attending a series of events across churches in London’s district of Stratford (also the location for the Olympic Park) since 27th July to celebrate the 2012 Olympic Games.
The initiative, called ‘Ultimate Gold’, is a joint venture designed to encourage churches to mobilise their members and use their buildings to welcome the many thousands of visitors to Stratford, and to help the local people celebrate the Games.
St John’s Church, main host for the scheme and part of the local Stratford Churches initiative, has teamed up with around 18 other churches and groups across the Diocese of London and arranged a variety of different activities for visitors. These have taken place in the Churchyard and have so far included children’s activities, free refreshments, a Prayer Zone, classical music concerts, worship services and performances from Christian entertainers from around the world – such as a Brazilian arts company and an urban dance crew from Paris.
http://www.aco.org/acns/news.cfm/2012/8/6/ACNS5167
Anglican bishop sets out challenge of collaboration for peace
Cooperation may be a natural thing, but it isn’t easy. It requires a real willingness to work together across different world views.
That was the message of keynote speaker Dr Stephen Cherry, from the Anglican Diocese of Durham, as he helped launch the 2012 Festival of Spirituality and Peace in Edinburgh.
The launch event for the Festival focused on ‘Sharable Futures’, and took place at St John’s Episcopal Church in the heart of the Scottish capital.
The Festival of Spirituality and Peace, in its twelfth year, features 400 events across 21 venues from 3-27 August. It is sponsored by a wide variety of faith and civic groups, the Scottish government, the think-tank Ekklesia and the University of Edinburgh.
The Anglican leader said that a rich cultural mix and a meaningful religious exchange requires more than polite toleration or middle-class liberalism. Rather it involves a much more gutsy, world-changing effort. We need leadership that makes for peace.
http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/16887