James Macintyre

• Archbishop Welby and Patriarch Kirill come together over persecuted Christians in Middle East

  The Archbishop of Canterbury and the head of the Russian Orthodox Church have issued a joint declaration expressing pain over the persecution of Christians in the Middle East and Africa and appealing to the international community to do more to help.

• Church warns UK Chancellor over controversial benefits reforms and funeral costs

  The Church of Scotland has called on the UK Chancellor, Philip Hammond, to use tomorrow's Budget to tackle poverty by ending the benefits freeze and halting the rollout of controversial Universal Credit reforms.

• Poll for Christian Aid shows 9 out of 10 think tax avoidance by large companies is morally wrong even if legal

  Almost nine out of 10 (89 per cent) of British adults say tax avoidance by large companies is morally wrong even if itis legal, according to a ComRes poll for Christian Aid.

• Church of England hits back over claims it is 'delaying' George Bell report

  The Church of England has said it is 'business as usual' with the so-far unpublished Carlile report into its handling of abuse claims against the late George Bell, the once internationally respected former Bishop of Chichester.

• 'Amazing grace': Family that lost 9 in Sutherland Springs shooting encourages forgiveness at tearful funeral

  A family that lost members of three generations in the Sutherland Springs First Baptist Church shooting earlier this month asked around 3,000 mourners at a funeral yesterday to reject anger and instead bask in the love showed by the victims.

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  Rowan Williams urges Foreign Office to involve religious leaders in helping secure release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

  Rowan Williams has urged the Foreign Office to involve religious leaders such as the Archbishop of Canterbury and Pope Francis in helping secure the release of the British mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe being detained in Iran 'as a matter of urgency'.

• Woman thrown out of church in Poland for banner declaring 'racism is a sin'

  A woman was thrown out of a Polish Catholic church after unfurling a banner which quoted the former Pope St John Paul II as saying 'racism is a sin'.

• Pope will visit prison during Ireland visit and 'be present with the marginalised'

  Pope Francis will visit a prison in Ireland when he visits the country next August, Dublin's Archbishop has revealed.

• Australia backs same-sex marriage: Divisive vote leaves Christian leaders 'deeply disappointed'

  It was a highly divisive campaign and, in the end, division between religious representatives and wider secular society remains in Australia after the result, even though it was decisive.

• Pressure mounts on Boris Johnson to approach Pope and Archbishop over Zaghari-Ratcliffe

  The support for Tom Tugendhat's suggestion comes as Christian Today has learned that neither Lambeth Palace nor Pope Francis has, at the time of writing, received any approach from the Foreign Office. Christian Today has approached the Foreign Office for comment.

• Prince Charles blamed 'influx of foreign Jews' for Middle East unrest

  Prince Charles has been criticised after it emerged that he blamed 'the influx of foreign Jews' for causing unrest in the Middle East and hoped that the US would 'take on the Jewish lobby'.

• 'We choose life': Hundreds of Sutherland Springs mourners gather for emotional first Sunday service since attack

  Hundreds of worshippers and mourners gathered yesterday in the tiny town of Sutherland Springs for the first Sunday service since a gunman stormed the First Baptist Church and killed 26 people in the worst mass shooting in Texas history.