Jimmy Savile

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

May 13, 2019
Martin Sewell
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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 of the Church of England, but the Roman Catholic Church…

John Smyth dies – just as the CPS gives police go-ahead for his extradition and prosecution

August 12, 2018
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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…

Mandatory reporting of CofE child abuse is complicated, so let’s proceed incrementally

December 11, 2017
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When judges are considering whether children can be returned to failing parents, they set the bar at a fairly low standard: ‘good enough parenting’ is sufficient. This approach does not…

Lord Carey’s forced resignation is an injustice: he, too, was a victim of Peter Ball

July 4, 2017
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This is a guest post by Martin Sewell, a retired Child Protection Lawyer and a member of General Synod. He considers here the wiles and manipulations of child-abuser Peter Ball,…