Archbishop Cranmer

CofE: ‘Come and confess your sins, but we might have to report you to the police’

May 30, 2018
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It their guidelines for Safeguarding Children and Young Adults from Harm, the Diocese of Canterbury has apparently abolished the Seal of the Confessional. No longer may the penitent sinner confess…

Why is the General Synod of the Church of England so poor at holding Bishops to account?

May 1, 2018
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Travel is said to broaden the mind, but occasionally it reminds us to pay more attention to what is closer to home, right under our noses. Many years ago, on…

Did Archbishop Sentamu fob off the Clergy Discipline Commission to protect bishops from allegations of misconduct?

April 23, 2018
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As the police continue questioning the Most Rev'd and Rt Hon Dr John Sentamu over his alleged failure to respond properly to a report of clerical child abuse, here's a…

Lambeth Awards: why is the CofE patting itself on the back over Safeguarding?

April 9, 2018
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The Lambeth Awards were bestowed last week at Lambeth Palace. The Anglican Oscars non-academic honours for exemplary service and inspirational ministry were instituted in 2016 as part of Justin Welby's…

In Holy Week we should hold our Archbishops’ feet to the fire

March 26, 2018
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Many years ago during the course of a philosophical discussion, an old writer friend of mine offered me one of the most simple yet incisive observations on the human condition.…

Where’s the headline: ‘Welby slams Sentamu’s lack of humanity and leadership’?

March 24, 2018
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Giving evidence to the Independent Investigation into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) this week, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby was asked: The other thing that we have seen a lot…

Welby IICSA clericalism deference ashamed

Welby condemns the church’s deferential culture of clericalism and tribalism

March 22, 2018
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"I have seen afresh the insanity of clericalism and of a deferential culture and how we have to struggle against that," the Archbishop of Canterbury said yesterday in his evidence…

Anglican clergy to undergo psychological profiling to weed out prophets

March 20, 2018
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Graham Tilby, National Safeguarding Adviser for the Church of England, gave evidence yesterday to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA). When asked about how the Church of England…

Is Mark Rylands the humblest bishop in the Church of England?

March 19, 2018
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The Rt Rev'd Mark Rylands is presently Bishop of Shrewsbury. He is well-known to readers of this blog for being a thoughtful and intelligent advocate for UK secession from the…

Banning beggars and fining the homeless: why do clergy only condemn Tory-run councils?

March 18, 2018
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Three women have been given a community protection warning (CPW), prohibiting them from begging outside the Hounslow Jamia Masjid & Islamic Centre. Cllr Hanif Khan said: "These individuals were specifically…

national safeguarding team church of england nst

The Church of England’s National Safeguarding Team is either untruthful or incompetent (or quite possibly both)

March 9, 2018
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In a robust rebuttal to Matt Ineson's account of his appalling treatment by the Church of England, the National Safeguarding Team (NST) issued the following statement (without so much as…

Abuse victim: “The cruel and inhuman treatment I have received from the National Safeguarding Team in Church House, and others in the Church of England hierarchy, makes what Peter Ball did to me pale into insignificance”

March 8, 2018
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It has not been a good week for the Church of England. We were warned as much by our Lead Bishop for Safeguarding, Peter Hancock, when he led the safeguarding…

Sentamu ordered ‘no action’ against paedophile priest – leaving him to abuse again and commit suicide

March 6, 2018
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The Church of England "covers up and manipulates and colludes with the abuse", so Matthew Ineson told the BBC's Inside Out programme last night (available on iPlayer until 3rd April).…

child abuse survivor protest lambeth palace

Church of England deducts 30p from child abuse survivor’s counselling expenses – because a dayrider ticket would have been cheaper than two single fares

February 23, 2018
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Chris Hernandez is a child abuse survivor in the Church of England. He has been quoted in a previous post, in which he decried the continuing deficiencies in the way…

‘Sorry’ seems to be the hardest word: apologetics and apologies in the Bishop Bell case

February 16, 2018
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This is a guest post by the Very Rev'd Professor Martyn Percy, Dean of Christ Church, Oxford. _________ An apology is a written or spoken expression of regret and remorse;…

Church of England bullies George Bell’s elderly niece by denying her choice of lawyer

February 12, 2018
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Just as the General Synod of the Church of England was sotto voce congratulating itself on finally looking at its multiple failures towards its victims, a decision was being made…

Did Lambeth Palace know the ‘fresh information’ about Bishop George Bell before Lord Carlile published his report?

February 5, 2018
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It was all going so well for the George Bell Group and the less well-known Bell Society. The Carlile Report had delivered a blow every bit as devastating as they…

Lord Carlile denounces ‘foolish’ Church of England for casting further doubt on the name of Bishop George Bell

February 1, 2018
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The George Bell Group was established in 2015 to defend the integrity of the much maligned (60-year-dead) Church of England Bishop, who had been accused of abusing a child between…

The George Bell saga evidences a CofE legal culture which is not merely incompetent, but predisposed toward deception and injustice

January 25, 2018
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How many times must I forgive my errant brother? St Matthew tells us it is seventy times seven, which, by my reckoning, suggests that Archbishop Justin has at least another…