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Sunday: Same sex church blessings; Religion in Dr Who; Antonio Banderas on playing King Herod

14/06/2020

Same sex church blessings; Religion in Dr Who; Antonio Banderas on playing King Herod

BBC Radio 4 - Sunday, Same sex church blessings; Religion in Dr Who; Antonio Banderas on playing King Herod

William Crawley takes a look at the ethical and religious issues of the week.

William Crawley explores the week's ethical and religious news - including the latest from Israel and Gaza, same sex church blessings and Antonio Banderas on playing King Herod.

As tension builds in the Middle East over the much anticipated truce between Israel and Gaza, we look at the latest in the developing situation. The armed wing of Hamas said on Saturday it was delaying the handover of a second group of hostages as part of a temporary ceasefire deal until Israel “adheres to the terms of the agreement”. 

We'll also hear from Rachel Goldberg, whose 23-year-old son Hersh Polin Goldberg was taken hostage from the Nova music festival on October 7. This week, Rachel was granted an audience with Pope Francis as one of 12 individuals whose family members are being held hostage by Hamas. 

For award-winning actor Antonio Banderas, playing the evil King Herod in the nativity musical “Journey to Bethlehem” gave him an opportunity to explore his faith and find the joy of playing the bad guy, we hear about his experience in the film. 

Jewish groups have criticised Pope Francis over his comments that they saw as accusing both Hamas and Israel of "terrorism". Francis made the comments on Wednesday, we'll look into the comments and the reaction to them.

At 5:15pm on 23 November 1963, the first episode of Doctor Who was broadcast on BBC One. Exactly 60 years on, the show is celebrating its diamond anniversary with three new hour-long specials starting this weekend. We'll look behind the Tardis to explore the hidden spiritual meaning behind some of the stories with Dr Andrew Crome is a cultural historian at Manchester Metropolitan University. 

We return to the continuing row in the Church of England over church blessings for same-sex couples -- and the fears raised by some that the church could be heading for a split, with the Church of England Evangelical Council now seeking to set up its own alternative leadership system for priests opposed to those blessing services. 

The Christian season of Advent begins next Sunday, which means lots of people will be getting their Advent calendar ready to begin the annual countdown to Christmas. The Church of England is marketing its first ever printed Advent Calendar, complete with a fold-out, stand-up crib, we'll look at how it's set to compete in a very crowded market. 

Presenter: William Crawley
Producers: Linda Walker and Amanda Hancox
Editor: Helen Grady
Studio Managers: Colin Sutton and Michael Smith

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Same sex church blessings; Religion in Dr Who; Antonio Banderas on playing King Herod

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