Posts written by Martinsewell

This author has written 88 articles

Sovereignty: why is it good for Kashmir and Hong Kong, but bad for the UK?

August 12, 2019
Martin Sewell
0 Comments

News from Hong Kong and Kashmir has continued to dominate the news, and then the Labour Shadow Chancellor and Deputy Leader John McDonnell sowed a degree of discontent in the ranks by suggesting that his party might be better disposed…

“Shabby and shambolic” – the CofE still conspires against truth and justice in historic sexual abuse

August 2, 2019
0 Comments

Anyone wishing the Church of England well might have hoped that the end of the IICSA hearing last month represented the nadir of its unhappy handling of victims complaints. Despite…

Legal Aid: why is the Government riding roughshod over the rights of the poor?

July 12, 2019
0 Comments

It is a well established part of the life of General Synod that the clergy and laity can submit motions for debate to the Business Committee. Synod time is both…

Rev Jonathan Fletcher Emmanuel Church Wimbledon

Rev’d Jonathan Fletcher: CofE and GAFCON co-operate to manage risk to the vulnerable

June 28, 2019
0 Comments

The weeks leading up to General Synod were never going to be a happy time for the Church of England. Anyone in touch with the survivors of Anglican abuse across…

Child sexual abuse: the Blackburn Pastoral Letter is game-changer for the Church of England

June 21, 2019
0 Comments

When St Paul began writing his letters I doubt he expected them to become as copied, shared, dissected and analysed as they are today. He wrote to help and support…

Is a diocesan bishop about to break ranks over historic child abuse in the Church of England?

May 13, 2019
0 Comments

The past few weeks have seen a huge escalation in the accumulation of evidence and opinion on the tragic story of the Church’s safeguarding failures. I write in the context…

A ‘climate emergency’ demands a Green manifesto more useful that Joanna Southcott’s box

May 1, 2019
0 Comments

Former US President George W Bush revealed in his book Decision Points that he often broke the conversational ice with visiting heads of state by asking the question: 'What keeps…

The weird cult of Greta Thunberg: she’s not the Green Messiah

April 24, 2019
0 Comments

The activities of those following the latest fashion in political activism have been disrupting the nation’s capital, and yesterday its unlikely spokesperson and poster child, Greta Thunberg, went to Westminster…

Holy Week: dealing with deep sin is horrible, messy, prolonged, humiliating and painful

April 15, 2019
0 Comments

As we enter Holy Week, the most sombre time of the Church calendar, I am sure I'm not the only one left reflecting that my Lenten observance has not been…

No-fault divorce won’t end the ‘blame game’; it will just displace resentment and anger

April 9, 2019
0 Comments

On the day plans were announced to reform the divorce laws in the UK to remove all reference to blame, the Daily Mail published a front page headline: 'How Boat…

Before peace, reconciliation and healing, there must come reckoning

March 31, 2019
0 Comments

Donald Trump is not a modest man. He is not polished, well read, stylish, university educated, 'sophisticated', or a paragon of moral virtue. But he is the duly elected President…

Emotional abuse in the Church: Bishops need psychological help

March 8, 2019
0 Comments

There is a Jewish proverb that a good name is worth more than precious stones. In this reflective and penitential season of Lent, members of the Church of England House…

‘General Synod has no confidence in the Church of England’s capacity to regulate its own safeguarding culture’

February 20, 2019
0 Comments

The laicisation of former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick by the Roman Catholic Church was one more step on the long journey towards cleansing that institution of sexual abuse, much of it…

Queen Theresa May bloody difficult woman

A “bloody difficult woman”? Theresa May’s relentless inflexibility is a moral mission

January 23, 2019
0 Comments

Theresa May is undoubtedly a intelligent lady: not only is she an educational and political high-achiever – and only the second woman to succeed to the Office of Prime Minister…

Bercow, Brexit, conspiracy and coup: the inescapable feeling of betrayal

January 13, 2019
0 Comments

The most difficult controversies are those in which both sides have a point. Two well known historic examples come to mind. The English Civil War was contended on multiple controversies,…

church of england safeguarding guidelines card

Church of England Safeguarding Guidelines: progress, regression or PR spin?

January 7, 2019
0 Comments

The Church of England has just brought out a very useful wallet-sized card of Safeguarding guidelines to remind its various bishops, priests and officers of what is a good and…

Legal Aid is in crisis: can the Church of England help ensure justice?

December 18, 2018
0 Comments

The Brexit drama is sucking the oxygen of publicity away from many other newsworthy stories, and one of the more regrettable casualties is the parlous state of our Legal Aid…

Church in Wonderland: the Clergy Discipline Measure shoves victims down a rabbit hole

December 4, 2018
0 Comments

On 22nd November 2017 the Rt Rev'd Peter Burrows, Bishop of Doncaster, was having lunch in a cafe when his chaplain began a discussion about the case of Fr Matt…

Iwerne David Conner Dean Windsor John Smyth

Iwerne: what did David Conner (now Dean of Windsor) and others know about John Smyth’s regime of abuse?

November 6, 2018
0 Comments

Many years ago, I worked as a duty solicitor, undertaking day and night visits to the local police stations. There were not many on the rota and it was a…

Election of Church Commissioners – how best to assess the candidates

October 14, 2018
0 Comments

The US Mid-Terms are not the only important elections about to be determined this autumn. The voting papers have just been sent out to the members of the Church of…