Nobody claps for Jesus
This is the 12th contribution to His Grace’s emergency team ministry during the coronavirus pestilence. It comes from Mike Stallard, who has been in education all his life, and is…
Government
Black Bishops Matter: Sentamu’s peerage has been paused for a reason
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 all outgoing archbishops to be elevated on retirement, but the…
The Legislature has become the Executive, and there is no mechanism to call them to account
Now that the Yellowhammer document has been placed in the public domain, one understands why there might reasonably have been a reluctance to do so by any responsible government at…
Boris Johnson becomes the first baptised Catholic to made Prime Minister
Today is the Feast Day of St Boris (really). And today Boris Johnson kisses hands with the Queen (not the hand of the Queen) to become the 55th person to…
The Conservative Party does not govern – or even exist – by divine right
The Conservative Party is often referred to as "the natural party of government". Certainly, they dominated much of the 20th century – being in power for half of it, while…
Church of England’s Brexit prayers – what exactly do they mean?
A few months ago the Archbishop of York issued a Brexit prayer, or, rather, 'A Prayer for Parliament in Time of Brexit Trouble'. It was a fairly benign effort which…
The divine right of Dominic Grieve and the ‘sacred duty’ to prevent Brexit
"My right honourable friend the Prime Minister talks about her sacred duty over Brexit," declared former Attorney General Dominic Grieve in the Valentine's Day debate on the UK's withdrawal from…
Legal Aid is in crisis: can the Church of England help ensure justice?
The Brexit drama is sucking the oxygen of publicity away from many other newsworthy stories, and one of the more regrettable casualties is the parlous state of our Legal Aid…
The Westminster sex scandal is a media-hyped sideshow: Parliament is not crammed with Cyril Smiths
One woman says an MP touched her knee; another says she was raped. One male MP has been suspended for unspecified "serious allegations"; another is under fire for groping someone's…
Bishop “ashamed” that the UK voted to leave the EU
Bishop David Gillett was the Bishop of Bolton for nine years, and before that he was Principal of Trinity Theological College in Bristol for 11 years. He is now an…
Church of England priest calls for the overthrow of Theresa May
Fr Christopher Woods is the parish priest of St Anne's Hoxton. He is a Labour Party supporter, which is laudable, and also a member of Momentum, which isn't so, but…
Government is a necessary evil, and Christians must vote for the lesser one
"Society in every state is a blessing," wrote Thomas Paine in his 1776 pamphlet Common Sense, "but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its…
Sorry, left-wing clergy, but God supports strong and stable government
A gaggle of left-wing clergy is a tad upset that the Archbishops of Canterbury and York have used their General Election 'Pastoral Letter' to exhort Christians to consider the need…
For unto us a child is born
Christmas has become an annual sabbath; almost the only time of the year now when families come together, friends are remembered, and the ghosts of Christmases past are recalled, some…
Brexit, the Bible and democracy: the judgment of God is the voice of the people
As the dust settles... Perhaps that's a premature denouement. As the winds of Brexit crack their cheeks throughout Europe, and the refiner's fire purges the political parties – if…
Independence Day UK: resurgence of democracy; restoration of sovereignty
It is the fissure of the state. The people have met the people: they looked and evaluated, and the greater soul has chosen to be more free, noble, ingenious…
Frederick Forsyth on the EU's "government by deception"
Author and former MI6 spy Frederick Forsyth appeared on the BBC's Any Questions panel a few weeks ago, but his comments were buried beneath Boaty McBoatface, tax returns and…
Cameron splashes £9million of taxpayers' cash on EU propaganda
When is EU propaganda not EU propaganda? When it's commissioned by the UK Government and paid for by British taxpayers? When it's helpful facts rather than belligerent opinions? Or…
Sovereignty is inviolable: it belongs to the people, not to Parliament
Sovereignty ultimately belongs to God, but in a liberal democracy it is the people – or ought to be the people – who, as members of civil society, work…
Vatican says UK is "better in than out" of the EU
"The Vatican wants Britain to stay in the European Union, the Pope's foreign secretary has declared." So writes the Telegraph, noting that Archbishop Paul Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with…