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Sunday: 2015 look-ahead, Richard III, Church of England leadership plan

04/01/2015

2015 look-ahead, Richard III, Church of England leadership plan

BBC Radio 4 - Sunday, 2015 look-ahead, Richard III, Church of England leadership plan

2015 look-ahead, Richard III, Church of England leadership plan.

2015 look-ahead, Richard III, and the Church of England leadership plan.

In the first 'Sunday' of the year, Edward Stourton chairs a discussion looking ahead to some of the big religious stories for 2015.

The re-interment of King Richard III at Leicester Cathedral in March will be a moment of huge historical significance and international interest. Trevor Barnes reports on the preparations for the event.

Ten years after the devastating South Asian tsunami, Saroj Pathirana speaks to Sri Lanka's Buddhist monks and nuns about how they have used their faith to counsel, heal and help those left behind.

A Vatican report looking into American women's religious communities has praised their work, despite the main group representing US nuns currently being investigated for allegedly undermining church teachings and promoting radical feminism. We speak to the group's president elect.

China says new laws in the far Western province of Xinjiang, including the banning of religious practice in public buildings, are a response to a growing threat from militant Islam. Members of the indigenous ethnic Uighur population, most of whom are Muslim, see it as an attack on religious freedom. China analyst Dr Michael Dillon explores the reasons behind the tensions.

And the Church of England's proposals to send senior clergy on leadership courses have been criticised for being full of executive management speak and barely mentioning God. So is this the kind of 'blue sky thinking' the church needs, or a case of too much 'thinking outside the box'?

Producers:
Dan Tierney
David Cook

Series producer:
Amanda Hancox

Contributors:
Dr Michael Dillon
Rev'd Canon Martyn Percy
Sister Marcia Allen
Ruth Gledhill
Sughra Ahmed
Jessica Elgot.

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

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