The Church of England – a safer space for abusers than for the abused
The long awaited IICSA report into 70 years of sexual abuse, cover-up and neglect of victims in the Church of England has finally been published. It has been followed by…
Church of England
Black Bishops Matter: Sentamu’s peerage has been paused for a reason
There's been a lot of noise about John Sentamu's peerage – he hasn't got one, and the Telegraph, Sunday Times and Guardian aren't happy about it. It is customary for all outgoing archbishops to be elevated on retirement, but the…
Vicar: ‘If you don’t worship in the CofE (or only come at Christmas), don’t complain about what we do’
The Rev'd Miranda Threlfall-Holmes had a premonition that her tweet would be unpopular, but still she shared her ecclesiology with the world: "People are only allowed to complain about the…
Church of England clears Martyn Percy of all safeguarding allegations
The Dean of Christ Church Oxford, The Very Rev'd Professor Martyn Percy, has been cleared of any wrongdoing in the discharge of his safeguarding responsibilities in respect of his various…
Lead Safeguarding Bishop to critics: “You don’t understand”
Considering the experiences they have been through, and the historically indifferent responses of the Church of England to their suffering, many of those who survived sexual abuse are surprisingly positive…
Calls for Charity Commission to intervene in CofE safeguarding saga
"After many attempts to secure reform of the National Safeguarding Team and the secretive Core Groups of the Church of England, we reluctantly reach the conclusion that there is no…
Martyn Percy is challenging an entire cultural mindset of establishment privilege
Reflecting upon the developing Dean Martyn Percy story, I called to mind the famous observation by Abraham Lincoln upon the institution of slavery which was defended at the time by…
Archbishops go on consecration strike – they will make no more bishops
Something peculiar happened in the Church of England last week. We are, of course, very used to peculiar things happening in the Church of England, but this was so peculiar…
Christ Church vs Martyn Percy: a conspiracy of lawyers, divine PR, and the purgatory of CofE Safeguarding
The story of injustice being inflicted by the Church of England upon Prof Martyn Percy, Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, has been grinding on now for over three months, and…
Cottrell and Carey: why is some safeguarding secret, while others are thrown to the media?
It was announced yesterday that the Rt Rev'd Stephen Cottrell, who next week is to be formally installed as the 98th Archbishop of York, had been investigated over a past…
Martyn Percy: Synod challenges Christ Church abuse of CofE safeguarding process
This letter is currently being circulated to members of General Synod of the Church of England, in advance of their virtual meeting in July. There will be two Q&A sessions,…
Archbishop cheers Labour MP for breaking lockdown law
We are in the midst of a global pandemic, and the law of the land is clear: "no person may participate in a gathering which takes place in a public…
Lord Carey: Bishops exacerbate the “hysterical, coarsened and divisive nature of our debate”
Former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey has publicly admonished those Bishops who decided to "speak truth to power" by joining the onslaught against Dominic Cummings. Writing in the Sunday Telegraph,…
Boris Johnson and the Episcopal Land of Zoom
This is the 18th contribution to His Grace’s emergency team ministry during the coronavirus pestilence. The author is an Incumbent in the Church of England, who wishes to remain anonymous.…
The harrowing of Martyn Percy (part ii): Church of England colludes in bullying
The harrowing of the Very Rev'd Professor Martyn Percy, Dean of Christ Church Oxford, ought to have ceased with his vindication in the judgment of Sir Andrew Smith. Professor Percy…
Bishop: ‘Sack Cummings, or the Church of England will no longer work with Government’
A number of Bishops have rounded on the Prime Minister for not sacking his senior advisor Dominic Cummings, following revelations that he drove from London to Durham during lockdown to…
Rev’d Marcus Walker returns to his pulpit: “Here I stand!”
"We are back!" exclaims the Facebook page of Saint Bartholomew the Great, London's oldest extant church, founded in 1123 as an Augustinian Priory and which, they say, "has been in…
Safeguarding: the Church of England’s house is slowly being rebuilt
On 25th November 2015 the newly elected General Synod of the Church of England gathered to worship together with HM The Queen before she inaugurated the first sitting of its…
The plot to oust Bishops from the House of Lords will fail
A bill to remove Church of England Bishops from the House of Lords is currently making its way through Parliament. The House of Lords (Removal of Bishops) Bill was introduced…
Catholic and Reformed: continuity and development
Toward the end of his ministry as Archbishop of Canterbury (though it may have been just after the end), Rowan Williams was interviewed about his beliefs, and in particular his…