Half-empty or half-full?

Hello! Our first story today is about some interesting new data points in the ongoing conversation about church growth (or indeed, decline) in Britain. The C of E’s numbers are up, but is the gold-standard British Social Attitudes survey telling a different story?

Then we look at the full, bleak details of the crimes of another previously influential evangelical vicar who was engaged in grimly familiar abusive and violent ‘mentoring’ of young men.

Finally, we explore some of the recent actions of Pope Leo and consider to what extent he is continuing the path of his predecessor Francis. Is the first American pontiff a frustrated liberal, a closet conservative, or something else more complicated entirely?

There’s also our latest podcast (What would Christian IVF look like?) and links to a heap of interesting church news stories from across the web, including this week floor-licking monks in the Orkneys, an exiled Iraqi archbishop returns, and how the Reformed brand is getting a little tar…