Emotional abuse in the Church: Bishops need psychological help
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…
Posts written by Martinsewell
This author has written 98 articles
Before peace, reconciliation and healing, there must come reckoning
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…
‘General Synod has no confidence in the Church of England’s capacity to regulate its own safeguarding culture’
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…
A “bloody difficult woman”? Theresa May’s relentless inflexibility is a moral mission
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
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: progress, regression or PR spin?
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?
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
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: what did David Conner (now Dean of Windsor) and others know about John Smyth’s regime of abuse?
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
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…
Kavanaugh confirmation: somebody was lying about the fear of flying – and that lie could change legal history
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…
It is pointless pouring the new wine of safeguarding into the old wineskins of arcane ecclesiology
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…
CofE clergyman tells suicidal sex-abuse victim to “crawl back under a stone”, and that he “probably enjoyed” it
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 dies – just as the CPS gives police go-ahead for his extradition and prosecution
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…
John Smyth tortured Christian boys at Iwerne – where’s the CofE inquiry?
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…
Synod – Reasons to be Cheerful (Pt 2): inclusion is the fruit of evangelism
It is probably because I am of a certain vintage that often, when I am thinking of a title for a blog post, a song lyric pops into my head.…
Synod – Reasons to be Cheerful (Pt 1): the secret to a contented flock
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…
It is time for General Synod to protest: victims of sexual abuse deserve better than ‘adequate’
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…
Supreme Court Judge Anthony Kennedy retires: Donald Trump was elected for such a time as this
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…
CofE Safeguarding: General Synod is being managed, manipulated, duped and disrespected
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…