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 of the United States of America, and there is now…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
For the past few days I have been thinking about the Senate hearing into the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. As I looked forward to it, in…
The Church of England media report on Monday told us that “a senior church figure” had been invited by the police to discuss an alleged failure to report a serious…
Surprising as it may seem, the wave of comment following the death of former Iwerne Chairman and serial abuser John Smyth very nearly wasn't the worse news for the Church…
John Smyth, who was accused of the sadistic beatings of young men under the guise of Christian discipleship, has died at his home in Cape Town. This brings to an…
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) hearings into the crimes and cover-up relating to Peter Ball have rightly shocked many in the Church of England, yet what may…
Sometimes we need to remind ourselves that the glass is half full, and I offer these thoughts on General Synod in the irrepressible spirit of the late Ian Dury, which…
Critics of the Church of England’s responses to historic sexual abuse can be fairly generous. Consider the words of David Pearson, founder of the Child Protection Charity CCPAS, who was…
Yesterday, the real prize of winning the last US General Election was presented to the American people. The resignation of US Supreme Court Judge Anthony Kennedy offers Donald Trump the…
Since the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse moved the focus of its hearings away from the Church of England until returning later in July, campaigners for the reform of…