Church House

Sarah Mullally Bishop of London the buck stops here

Fr Alan Griffin (RIP): the buck stops with Bishop Sarah Mullally

August 27, 2021
Martin Sewell
0 Comments

Upon taking office as 33rd President of the United States, Harry S. Truman famously placed a sign on his desk to remind himself of the awesome responsibility which the Office of President carries. 'The Buck Stops Here' was a clear…

bullying church of england priest suicide

The immoral, scandalous and disgraceful nature of CofE bullying

July 22, 2021
0 Comments

'Immoral, scandalous or disgraceful' is a phrase from the Statutes of Christ Church, Oxford: it describes behaviour warranting disciplinary action being undertaken within that institution, but it is also an…

institutional bullying christ church cathedral oxford veneration of martyn in chains

Institutional bullying in the Church of England: it’s time to face the liturgical music

July 7, 2021
0 Comments

On 1st July 2021 a research paper by Clive Billenness was published to assist the Diocese in Europe in addressing the problem of institutional bullying within the Church of England.…

Martyn Percy cleared again: CofE safeguarding goes from tragedy to farce

December 9, 2020
0 Comments

It has been reported that the Church of England’s Director of Safeguarding, Melissa Caslake, has tendered her resignation after only 18 months in the post, and will be leaving at…

The Church of England – a safer space for abusers than for the abused

October 7, 2020
0 Comments

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…

martyn percy dean christ church oxford exonorated safeguarding allegations

Church of England clears Martyn Percy of all safeguarding allegations

September 8, 2020
0 Comments

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”

August 17, 2020
0 Comments

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…

Martyn Percy is challenging an entire cultural mindset of establishment privilege

July 22, 2020
0 Comments

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…

The harrowing of Martyn Percy (part ii): Church of England colludes in bullying

May 27, 2020
0 Comments

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…

Franklin Graham ban: Rees-Mogg defends freedom of religion

February 14, 2020
0 Comments

While the General Synod of the Church of England was repenting of its 'white privilege' and committing to 'net zero' carbon omissions by 2030, the Rt Hon Jacob Rees-Mogg MP…

“Shabby and shambolic” – the CofE still conspires against truth and justice in historic sexual abuse

August 2, 2019
0 Comments

Anyone wishing the Church of England well might have hoped that the end of the IICSA hearing last month represented the nadir of its unhappy handling of victims complaints. Despite…

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

May 13, 2019
0 Comments

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
0 Comments

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…

church of england safeguarding guidelines card

Church of England Safeguarding Guidelines: progress, regression or PR spin?

January 7, 2019
0 Comments

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…

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

March 26, 2018
0 Comments

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.…

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
0 Comments

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…

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

February 12, 2018
0 Comments

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
445 Comments

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
219 Comments

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
142 Comments

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…