The daughter of the late Desmond Tutu has reportedly been prohibited from leading her godfather's funeral by the Church of England because she is married to a woman.

Mpho Tutu van Furth kissing her late father the Archbishop Desmond Tutu - Reuters© Reuters

Mpho Tutu van Furth, who is a practicing Anglican priest in the US, had been asked to officiate the funeral of the late Martin Kenyon on Thursday in Shropshire.

In a statement carried by the BBC, the Diocese of Hereford said: "Advice was given in line with the House of Bishops current guidance on same-sex marriage."

Ms Tutu van Furth reportedly told the broadcaster the decision "seemed really churlish and hurtful", and the diocese described it as "a difficult situation".

The Church of England does not allow same-sex marriage in its clergy, but The Episcopal Church in the US - of which Ms Tutu van Furth is a part - does.

She had her licence to officiate as a priest rescinded in South Africa when she revealed her sexuality and married Marceline van Furth, a Dutch academic, in 2015.

When the Kenyon family discovered Ms Tutu van Furth had been barred, they moved the service from St Michael and All Angels in Wentnor, just south of Shrewsbury near the England-Wales border. 

The funeral was moved to a marquee in a neighbouring vicarage so that the goddaughter could officiate. 

Ms Tutu van Furth told the BBC: "It's incredibly sad. It feels like a bureaucratic response with maybe a lack of compassion.

"It seemed really churlish and hurtful. But as sad as that was, there was the joy of having a celebration of a person who could throw open the door to people who are sometimes excluded."

Desmond Tutu, who died in December 2021, won the Nobel Peace Prize in the 1980s for his work tackling apartheid in South Africa. 

He also championed gay rights and campaigned for same-sex marriage. 

In 2013, he said: "I would refuse to go to a homophobic heaven. No, I would say sorry, I mean I would much rather go to the other place.

"I would not worship a God who is homophobic and that is how deeply I feel about this... I am as passionate about this campaign as I ever was about apartheid. For me, it is at the same level."

Apicture of a Jesus in a migrant boat is set to replace a stained glass window dedicated to Edward Colston, the slave trader, in an historic Anglican church.

Artist and junior doctor Ealish Swift is the winner of the stained glass window competition at St Mary Redcliffe, Bristol - St Mary Redcliffe Church/SWNS© St Mary Redcliffe Church/SWNS

St Mary Redcliffe church in Bristol made the decision to remove four stained glass panels dedicated to Colston two years ago after the toppling of his statue.

The window was temporarily replaced with plain panels, and the church invited the public to submit new designs in a competition.

The panels formerly made up the bottom section of the North Transept window, commonly known as The Good Samaritan, depicting the story that Colston had taken as his motto.

The four new panels are designed to “depict a crucial aspect of our shared Bristolian history as neighbours, and reference a relevant aspect of the character of Christ”, according to Ealish Swift, the artist.

Among them is one that “portrays the current refugee crisis, and Jesus as a child refugee fleeing to Egypt”, Ms Swift, a Bristol-based junior doctor, said in her artist’s statement.

“Jesus is depicted as multiple ethnicities to counter the Anglo-centric narrative of ‘white Jesus’, and running water flows between the panels to centre the designs in the seaport city of Bristol,” she added.

Ms Swift said her design draws upon the “the deep and complex history of Bristol, from atrocities of the past to modern day concerns, to remind us of the journeys of our neighbours and how we have come to be together at this moment, looking forward towards a shared future”.

She was unable to be at the unveiling of her design as she was performing surgery, but was delighted to find out she was the winner, but told the South West News Service: “I am deeply honoured that my design has been chosen for this wonderful space that means so much to me.”

The competition explored a contemporary understanding of what it means to be a good Samaritan - St Mary Redcliffe Church/SWNS© Provided by The Telegraph

Although prompted by the toppling of the Colston statue, the replacement of the Colston window was part of a larger process at St Mary Redcliffe in the ongoing exploration of, and engagement with, contested heritage that will continue over the coming months and years.

The grade I-listed church is deeply rooted in British history, having been described by Queen Elizabeth I upon her visit in 1574 as “the fairest, goodliest and most famous parish church in England.”

A spokesman from the church said the competition was launched as “part of an ongoing process of reflection and action to ensure that today’s church building echoes St Mary Redcliffe’s stated values and is welcoming to all”.

Dan Tyndall, the parish priest, told South West News Service: “The winning design is powerful and imaginative, managing to resonate with contemporary issues and yet will also stand the test of time.

“Ealish’s concept was very popular with visitors to the church and will sit well within the current Victorian window”.

One of the panels celebrates the Bristol Bus Boycott in 1963 - St Mary Redcliffe Church/SWNS© Provided by The Telegraph

Another of the new panels celebrates the Bristol Bus Boycott, which Ms Swift said “paved the way for the Race Relations Act of 1965, with Jesus as a fellow protester and radical.”

The Bristol Bus Boycott of 1963 arose from the refusal of the Bristol Omnibus Company to employ black or Asian bus crews in the city. 

AHawaii man and repeat offender is accused of kidnapping a girl at knifepoint and keeping her captive in a school bus before she escaped, according to court documents.L

On Sept. 16, Duncan Mahi, 52, allegedly approached the 15-year-old victim and her boyfriend, also 15, on Anaehoomalu Beach; robbed the couple at knifepoint; forced the girl to tie up her boyfriend using zip-ties while threatening to kill her if he got loose; and then kidnapped the girl, according to a police report. 

Mahi led the girl to his vehicle and instructed her to put on a disposable mask and hat.

"While driving on the highway near saddle road [sic], Mahi forced [the victim] to ingest methamphetamine by smoking. Fearing she would be harmed, [the victim] reluctantly smoked the methamphetamine out of a pipe provided to her by Mahi," the police report states.

Mahi is accused of sexually assaulting the girl and forcing her to smoke again in his vehicle. The victim pretended to sleep for the remainder of the ride. When they arrived at Mahi's property, he allegedly led the victim on to a yellow school bus and shackled her inside with about a three-foot range for movement, the police report states.

The victim's boyfriend was eventually able to call 911, and police issued a MAILE AMBER Alert for the missing girl the same day she went missing.

Mahi allegedly robbed the victim and her 15-year-old boyfriend at knifepoint on Anaehoʻomalu Beach before kidnapping the victim. John S Lander/LightRocket© John S Lander/LightRocket

On Sept. 17, the victim convinced Mahi to take her to Cafe Pesto in Hilo Bay to eat. Once they reached the cafe, the victim was able to run away from Mahi.

Good Samaritans witnessed Mahi and the victim fighting outside the cafe and saw the girl trying to run away from the suspect, who allegedly told witnesses that she was his "daughter," the report states.

"That's the girl on the news," one witness who saw the dispute said aloud, according to the police report. 

Mahi then allegedly fled into a vehicle, which a witness photographed and alerted to authorities.

The 52-year-old is charged with two counts of two counts each of kidnapping, first-degree terroristic threatening and first-degree robbery, as well was one count each of meth trafficking and first-degree sexual assault. He is being held on $2 million bail.

Mahi, who has a lengthy criminal history, was previously charged with first-degree terroristic threatening in 2018.