A Christian PR agency has been weighing the media, and found it wanting. They have discovered that, on average, the Church attracts 150 pieces of negative media coverage every month (print and online), and these massively outweigh any good news…
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…
'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…
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.…
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 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…
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…
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…
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 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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.…
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…
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…
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…
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…