Sunday Folgen

The issue of converting asylum seekers to Christianity has been in the headlines this week with accusations that some clergy are naive or too eager to help asylum seekers stay in the country. We talk to a Baptist elder with experience of converting and helping asylum seekers.Jaz from Traitors won the respect of TV audiences with the way he played the gameshow, but he revealed it was his Sikh faith that guided him through the show and helped him be a true Faithful. The film Samsara – which has just reached our cinemas – has attracted some great reviews despite the fact that you are encouraged to watch part of it with your eyes closed. It tells the story of the journey of the soul of an elderly woman in Laos to its reincarnation as goat in Zanzibar. Edward speaks to director Lois Patino and Dechen Pemba from the Tibetan Film Festival who went to see it on our behalf.There was another bust up over same sex blessings in the Church of England this week. A Bishop resigned from the process, and 130 people wrote a letter in protest at what they believe are delays to a trial to test out separate services of blessing. Edward talks to Professor Helen King and Dr Ian Paul, both members of General Synod and hears from a couple waiting for their special day in church.A year of celebrations to mark 1500 years since the death of St Brigid are underway in Ireland. Edward talks to Derry Girls actress Siobhan McSweeney and historian Dr Mary Condren about why she's a feminist saint fit for the 21st century.PRESENTER: EDWARD STOURTON PRODUCERS: CATHERINE MURRAY & JAMES LEESLEY EDITOR:TIM PEMBERTON

The Church of England is facing renewed criticism following its decision to close its own Independent Safeguarding Board last year. At the time, church authorities said they closed the board in order to replace it with a more independent and more effective body. But some victims and survivors of abuse say that decision left them feeling abandoned, silenced and re-traumatised. William Crawley hears from one of those survivors, as well as from David Glasgow, a clinical psychologist who has published his own report into the matter, and from Dr Jamie Harrison, chair of the House of Laity on the Archbishops' Council.In Nicaragua, Catholic universities and charities have been closed or seized by the government because bishops and priests have publicly challenged what they view as the regime's abuse of human rights. Francisco Urrutia, General Secretary of the Association of Jesuit Universities in Latin America, tells the programme that President Daniel Ortega's regime is set on silencing the church's voice in public life.The rapper Lil Nas X is the latest musical artist to cause controversy with his new song, "J-CHRIST", accompanied by a music video in which he's strapped to the cross in place of Jesus. He has apologised insisting he didn't mean to mock Christianity. Delvyn Case, Professor of Music at Wheaton College in Massachusetts, explores the history of pop music's sometimes uncomfortable relationship with Jesus.PRESENTER; William Crawley PRODUCERS: Amanda Hancox and Alexa Good EDITOR: Dan Tierney.

Sunday hears from George Antone from Catholic aid agency Caritas, a member of Holy Family Church in Gaza City. He's one of around 400 parishioners taking shelter in the church and tells us about problems finding food and receiving aid to keep going amidst the war.Would an entry fee put you off visiting a cathedral? One in four now charge in England. William hears from listeners as well as the Very Revd Jo Kelly-Moore, Chair of the Association of English Cathedrals, and the Very Revd Dr Tim Stratford, Dean of Chester Cathedral, which is free to enter. Muslim comic Ola Labib talks about keeping her standup secret from her parents when she changed careers from pharmacy, and the things she won't do on stage because of her religion.Hear about the beautiful tradition of Gaelic Psalm singing being preserved and presented in a new exhibition touring the Hebrides this year. Dr Frances Wilkins and Magidh Smith talk about Seinn Spioradail.Does it matter if the future King, and therefore the future Supreme Governor of the Church of England, is not particularly "religious"? A line from the new biography of the King speculating on the religious observance of the Prince of Wales has sent the tabloids into a spin. William asks political theologian Dr Jonathan Chaplin - when a head of state is given a constitutional role in an established church, does it matter if he, or she, has little or no personal faith?Presenter: William Crawley Producers: Catherine Murray and Helen Brown Editor: Tim Pemberton