(CHRISTIAN POST) – A former Church of England priest claims that many asylum he came across withdrew their interest in baptism upon being asked to participate in church activities to ensure they weren’t just looking to bolster their asylum applications, drawing pushback from the diocese.
Matthew Firth, who served at St. Cuthbert’s in Darlington before leaving the Church of England for the Free Church of England in 2020, gave testimony to the Home Affairs Select Committee on Tuesday. He recounted his experience with asylum seekers at his church between 2018 and 2020.
His testimony comes after judges voiced concern that church leaders are being “duped” by asylum seekers who claim to convert to Christianity to evade deportation amid heightened scrutiny following the Clapham chemical attack. The attacker, Abdul Ezedi, was reportedly granted asylum on the grounds of conversion to Christianity at a Baptist church.
