Child abuse

Lord Lexden: “My faith in the Church’s institutional integrity has been completely broken”

September 18, 2021
Archbishop Cranmer
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Lord Lexden has resigned as a member of the Ecclesiastical Committee (the Church of England in Parliament), over the Clergy Discipline Measure and "the harm it is capable of inflicting on innocent clergy". He specifically mentioned the suicide of his…

Fr Alan Griffin diocese of london safeguarding suicide

Safeguarding suicide: ‘there is a crisis of trust within the Diocese of London’

August 26, 2021
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Following the comments and demands made by the Coroner in the wake of the suicide of Fr Alan Griffin, the Diocese of London and Lambeth Palace have accepted responsibility for…

Fr Alan Griffin suicide safeguarding CDM

Church of England safeguarding drove Fr Alan Griffin to suicide

July 19, 2021
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A priest is dead. That's okay: all priests die; ashes to ashes, and all that. But this priest killed himself because he was subject to a CDM. That's a Clergy…

Jonathan Fletcher – “the Pope of Conservative Evangelicalism” – was an abusive bully

March 23, 2021
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The long awaited report by safeguarding charity Thirtyone:eight into the abuse perpetrated by the Rev'd Jonathan Fletcher out of his proprietary chapel of Emmanuel Church Wimbledon was published at midnight.…

Michael Gove: “The Church has.. a critical, central and important role in building back better”

February 21, 2021
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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…

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Why has female-perpetrated child sexual abuse increased by 84%?

January 24, 2021
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"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%",…

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Holy Innocents: why are we putting 12-year-olds in solitary confinement for 23½ hours a day?

December 28, 2020
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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…

Black Bishops Matter: Sentamu’s peerage has been paused for a reason

October 19, 2020
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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 Church of England – a safer space for abusers than for the abused

October 7, 2020
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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…

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Transgender aged seven; puberty blockers aged 11; detrans aged 18

August 19, 2020
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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,…

charity commission church of england safeguarding

Calls for Charity Commission to intervene in CofE safeguarding saga

August 12, 2020
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"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…

Christ Church’s PR agency colludes with FT journalist (and alumnus) to defame Dean

June 28, 2020
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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…

Clergy sexual abuse: why can’t the Church cleanse its own temple?

August 18, 2019
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"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…

CofE insurers Ecclesiastical attempt to impede pastoral care

July 26, 2019
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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…

Rev Jonathan Fletcher Emmanuel Church Wimbledon

Rev’d Jonathan Fletcher: CofE and GAFCON co-operate to manage risk to the vulnerable

June 28, 2019
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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…

Child sexual abuse: the Blackburn Pastoral Letter is game-changer for the Church of England

June 21, 2019
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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…

Is a diocesan bishop about to break ranks over historic child abuse in the Church of England?

May 13, 2019
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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…

‘General Synod has no confidence in the Church of England’s capacity to regulate its own safeguarding culture’

February 20, 2019
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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…

How far is Bishop George Bell’s reputation restored? When is a cloud not a cloud?

January 25, 2019
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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…

Church in Wonderland: the Clergy Discipline Measure shoves victims down a rabbit hole

December 4, 2018
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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…