Good Morning from the Church of England Communications Office

Issued at 09.25 by hd

George Bell, bishop, ecumenist, peacemaker, 1958
Tomorrow: Francis of Assisi, friar, deacon, 1226

1. Church Growth Research website launched to help explore the drivers of church growth within the Church of England

All are invited to visit and interact with a new website built to support the work of the Church Growth Research Programme - the national 18-month academic research project exploring the factors related to spiritual and in particular numerical church growth of the Church of England. The research is being funded through funding set aside by the Church Commissioners and Archbishops' Council for research and development. This project is being undertaken in partnership with the Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Essex; Cranmer Hall, St John's College, Durham and the Oxford Centre for Ecclesiology and Practical Theology, Ripon College, Cuddesdon. For further information, click here.

2.  Today's press coverage

Express p13, Evening Standard p15 and p17
Various comments on the process to select the next Archbishop of Canterbury: from Ann Widdecombe (Express, not online), Lord Harries (Evening Standard p15) and Londoner's Diary (Evening Standard p17, two short pieces, including a quotation from the Archbishop).
http://www.standard.co.uk/comment/comment/richard-harries-roll-dice-if-you-have-to-but-name-an-archbishop-8193789.html
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/londoners-diary/we-await-the-great-polly-and-flo-show-8194096.html

Evening Standard p1
Item reporting that "the Archbishop of Canterbury has praised the Standard's 'outstanding' campaign to help jobless young Londoners" in his lecture for Theos.
For the lecture go to: http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/articles.php/2636/

i p19, Evening Standard p25, Guardian p18, Independent p32, Telegraph p17, Times p33
Many articles about the Pope's former butler and his trial for "stealing and leaking the pontiff's private letters".
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/oct/02/pope-benedict-butler-vatican-police-inhumane?newsfeed=true

Telegraph p1, Daily Mail p25 (p11 in some editions), Guardian p12, Express p26, Times p6
Reports that "David Cameron's new Minister for Women called yesterday for a change in the abortion laws to reduce the deadline for terminations" from "24 weeks to 20".
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-politics/9581895/Maria-Miller-I-would-vote-to-lower-abortion-limit-from-24-to-20-weeks.html

Telegraph p7
Report that "John Dieghan, parliamentary officer of the Bishops' Conference of Scotland", has "claimed that schoolchildren as young as 12 are being called 'Nazis' because of their Christian beliefs and values".

Guardian website
Data on "who is sponsoring England's Academy schools", and an interactive map.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2012/sep/26/academies-sponsors-list-map