It seems somewhat counterintuitive, in an age of increasing secularity, and with an incessant stream of triumphant tweets from the National Secular Society, that the world's perception of the Church should be actually improving. And given the appalling recent scandals…
"Between 2015 and 2019, the numbers of reported cases of female-perpetrated child sexual abuse to police in England and Wales rose from 1,249 to 2,297 - an increase of 84%",…
Herod then with fear was filled: "A prince," he said, "in Jewry!" And all the little boys he killed At Bethl'hem in his fury. Childermas – the Feast of the…
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…
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…
There is an evil here which needs to be addressed. O, some will hurl 'transphobe', others 'bigot', and still others 'homophobe' or 'hater', but it still needs to be addressed,…
"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…
There has been progress (of sorts) in the ongoing dispute between Martyn Percy, Dean of Christ Church, and the College’s Governing Body. The Charity Commission has ordered both parties to…
"The gross evil of child sexual abuse by Catholic clergy would have gone unexposed had it not been for three principal agencies, all secular." That's the damning opening sentence of…
It has been known for some time that Ecclesiastical Insurance (EIG), the favoured insurance company of the Church of England, has a tendency toward callousness, obstruction and indifference in their…
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…
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…
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…
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…
This is a guest post by Synod members Martin Sewell and David Lamming. _______ The Church of England has now published the Briden Report into the further allegations against Bishop…
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…
Lord Carey spoke at the 'Rebuilding Bridges Conference' at Church House today, which aims to restore the name and reputation of Bishop George Bell. This is his speech, reproduced in…
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…