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Anglican Church to debate over same-sex marriage

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Despite significant Anglican disagreements over the topic in Britain and elsewhere, the Church of England will debate controversial plans enabling priests to administer blessings to same-sex couples on Wednesday.

Hundreds of people who are part of the General Synod, the church’s elected governing body, which meets twice or three times a year, will discuss and vote on the proposals bishops presented last month.

There are no changes to the rules that say Anglican priests can’t marry same-sex couples. The plans would allow churches to provide a “God’s blessing” for civil marriages and partnerships.

In an open letter last month, bishops also apologised directly to LGBTQ people for the “hostile and homophobic response” they have sometimes gotten in parishes. This was the first time bishops had done something like this.

The steps come after almost six years of internal debate, but they have been criticised by both those who support same-sex marriage and those who don’t. This shows that Anglicanism is breaking up all over the world.

Jayne Ozanne, a member of the Synod and an activist for LGBTQ rights, harshly criticised the late apology.

“We’ve had years of apologies from our bishops but no action,” she told AFP before Wednesday’s five-hour debate.

“It’s like an abusive relationship where someone keeps hitting you and then says, ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry’.

“Until the discrimination and the abuse stop, we don’t want to hear more empty words. We need action first.”

But the Church of England’s conservative Evangelical Council has spoken out against the changes.

It says they will cause “further division and broken fellowship” in the church and “a greater tearing of the fabric of the worldwide Anglican Communion.”

Last month, the Church of England said, “We believe that it is the Church of England’s responsibility to serve the nation by proclaiming the gospel, not by compromising with the prevailing culture.”

Since same-sex marriage became legal in England in 2013, the government has pressured the Church of England to change how it deals with it.

Even though dozens of other countries have made same-sex marriages legal, being gay is still illegal in many places worldwide.

That includes countries in sub-Saharan Africa that are very religious and conservative. These countries are part of the Anglican Communion, which consists of 43 Churches in 165 countries.

It has about 85 million members and is the third-largest Christian church after the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church.

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and some of these Anglican churches seem to have grown apart. This is because these churches often want to put more restrictions on the LGBTQ community instead of changing their doctrine.

As he opened the four-day Synod on Monday, Welby said, “We have deep and passionately held differences.”

“But let us not fall into caricaturing those among us who don’t agree with us as being those who are trying to construct their lives away from God. The evidence is far from that.”

Welby said that “too many people have heard the words of rejection that human tongues create,” especially regarding sexuality.

Even though the plans discussed Wednesday afternoon don’t change Church of England law and don’t need formal Synod approval, members will vote on a motion of support and any proposed changes.

If the ideas are turned down, they might be unable to move forward.

The Catholic Church is also very divided on this issue, so the Church of England is not the only sizeable Christian group with big problems.

Many conservative Catholics disagree with Pope Francis’s views on sexual orientation, which are more open-minded. This has caused a lot of controversies.

But the pope also has upset modernists by sticking to Catholic teaching that marriage is between a man and a woman.

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“My dad Wizkid is not the one begging for pussy” — Son

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When it comes to savage responses, the Baloguns specifically those related to Wizkid by blood, are not to be trifled with and being Davido does not save you from such.

In a recent social media exchange, 13-year-old Boluwatife Balogun, the eldest son of renowned Nigerian artiste Wizkid, threw some savage response at his father’s rival, David Adeleke following their online spat.

Facing some online banter from a Davido fan, Boluwatife Balogun came to his father’s defense rather than keep mute.

The ongoing rivalry between Wizkid and Davido escalated in recent days, with both artistes engaging in public spats and trading insults online. Davido, responding to Wizkid’s jibes, took aim at Wizkid’s physical stature, claiming that Wizkid is so short that he wears size 7 shoes and jokingly suggesting he shops at Footlocker Kids.

Some individuals on social media supported Davido’s claims by sharing photos purportedly showing Wizkid wearing shoes matching his son Bolu’s shoe size.

Davido further escalated the feud by disparaging Wizkid’s music, boasting about his own hits, and challenging Wizkid to release new music simultaneously. He also ridiculed Wizkid’s height, suggesting that despite his own short stature, Wizkid is even shorter.

A Davido fan, seizing the opportunity to taunt Wizkid’s family, commented on Boluwatife Balogun’s TikTok page, asking if it was true that both Bolu and his father wear the same shoe size.

Bolu promptly responded to the taunt, defending his father by highlighting Wizkid’s character and integrity, asserting that despite any jokes about shoe sizes, his father doesn’t stoop to begging for attention or engaging in inappropriate behavior.

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Liverpool go Rome ahead of 2024/25 season

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Their current campaign may not be going well despite the huge promises they started it with, but Liverpool are ready to look away and perhaps travel back decades before as they prepare for the post-Jurgen Klopp era.

Ahead of the upcoming 2024/25 season, the Merseyside outfit has released its new home kit for the incoming campaign, with Nike, the club’s official shirt designer taking inspirations from Liverpool’s 1983/84 season that saw the Reds lift their 4th European Cup in Rome.

Go Rome or go Home it appears the plan by Nike for Liverpool heading into the incoming campaign, and the Reds were sure to model the new home kit release.

Liverpool go Rome ahead of 2024/25 season

First team stars such as Virgil van Dijk, Luis Diaz, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah were on to model the new jersey despite transfer speculations going down about their potential exit from the club post Jurgen Klopp.

Other first team figures seen modeling the new home kit are Alexis Mac Alister, Alisson Becker, Dominik Szoboszlai, Cody Gakpo, Ibrahima Konate, Curtis Jones and Joe Gomez (also rumored to be eyeing an exit).

Liverpool go Rome ahead of 2024/25 season

Missing figures from the new home kit release however are those who currently are on the sidelines thanks to fitness issues, such as Diogo Jota, Conor Bradley, Joel Matip, Thiago Alcantara, Adrian san Miguel and their academy graduates; Jarrell Quansah, Stefan Bajcetic and the likes.

Out from the names, Joel Matip, Thiago Alcantara and goalie Adrian san Miguel are figures doubtful of remaining at the club next season.

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Former Lawmaker Exposes Fake News on UAE Visa Ban Saga

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Former federal lawmaker, Shehu Sabi has criticized the individual responsible for spreading false information about the United Arab Emirates (UAE) lifting the visa ban on Nigeria.

This misinformation surfaced two years after the UAE imposed the ban and rejected pending visa applications from Nigerians.

Despite reports circulating on Tuesday about the resumption of visa services for Nigerians, the Nigerian government promptly refuted the claims.

Sani, who represented Kaduna central senatorial district in the 8th Assembly, expressed dismay, stating that the person behind the fake news is not trustworthy and emphasized that this marks the third occurrence of such misinformation.

He also raised concerns about the possibility of the individual being a travel agent.

 

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