Justice

‘Hatred is not needed to stamp out evil’: Martin Luther King (Jr and Snr) remembered 50 years on

April 4, 2018
Martin Sewell
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Today is the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Dr Martin Luther King, one of the greatest figures of 20th-century America. Inevitably there will be much discussion of his legacy and significance, such as was heard last week on the…

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
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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…

‘Sorry’ seems to be the hardest word: apologetics and apologies in the Bishop Bell case

February 16, 2018
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This is a guest post by the Very Rev'd Professor Martyn Percy, Dean of Christ Church, Oxford. _________ An apology is a written or spoken expression of regret and remorse;…

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

February 12, 2018
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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…

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…

Justin Welby has staked his reputation and legacy on the maintenance of a profound injustice to Bishop George Bell

January 23, 2018
145 Comments

There are times when you really, really don't want to write any kind of response to a contentious issue, no matter how burning it may be, not least because by…

How has the Church of England failed to grasp the core finding of the Carlile Report, that a superficially ‘truthful’ complainant might be an unreliable historian of fact?

January 2, 2018
372 Comments

I don't imagine there are many members of the House of Bishops who are aficionados of American sports, but some might relate to the words of ice hockey legend Wayne…

The year is 2067, and long-dead archbishop Justin Welby is accused of child abuse…

December 20, 2017
260 Comments

It is absolutely shocking. No one ever guessed. No one even suspected. No one knew the darkest secret, the chill in the air, the poison in the communion chalice of…

Carlile Report: Bishop George Bell has been traduced, and the blame lies squarely with Church House and Lambeth Palace

December 17, 2017
170 Comments

“The George Bell case represents the perfect storm from which injustice emerges. We had a church fearful and sensitive to allegations that it might be covering up abuse, a plausible…

Iwerne Trust abuse: leading public school gives victims immediate help, while the Church of England leaves them hanging

December 5, 2017
128 Comments

There are many stories of abuse within the Church of England, and for years they have remained hidden, either undisclosed or covered up. It is hard to think of there…

The General Synod of the Church of England puts same-sex relations over youth evangelism

December 1, 2017
300 Comments

There is perhaps nothing more challenging in mission than the proclamation of the gospel to those who have never heard it, in a foreign land, in an unfamiliar culture, in…

Murderous Mugabe has fallen – now prosecute him for crimes against humanity

November 22, 2017
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WARNING: DO NOT SCROLL DOWN IF YOU MAY BE OFFENDED BY OR ARE SENSITIVE TO PICTURES OF EXTREME HUMAN SUFFERING Robert Mugabe has finally gone. A tyrannical rule of 37…

How Bishop George Bell became a victim of Church of England ‘spin’ and a narrative of ‘decisive leadership’

November 17, 2017
153 Comments

This is a guest post by The Very Rev’d Professor Martyn Percy, Dean of Christ Church, Oxford. _______ Some may begin to wonder how exactly the Church of England’s National…

Church U-turn on sex abuse: from the victim ‘must be believed’ to being ‘taken seriously’

November 9, 2017
170 Comments

This is a guest post by Martin Sewell, a retired Child Protection Lawyer. _____ The recent furore about the Parliamentary 'sex scandals' – which I prefer to think of as…

Jayne Ozanne was raped by a priest? Which bishop told her not to report the attack?

November 7, 2017
384 Comments

Jayne Ozanne (who claimed to have reported this blog to the police last year for 'hate') claims to have been raped by a priest in the 1990s. She says she…

“I need a friendly bishop,” said the child abuse survivor, as the prelate passed by on the other side

October 22, 2017
228 Comments

This is a guest post by Martin Sewell, a retired Child Protection Lawyer. _____ Two years ago, Archbishop John Sentamu gave one of those sermons which you know you will…

Bishops damn church insurers Ecclesiastical Insurance Group (EIG) over ‘horse trading’ with child abuse survivors

October 15, 2017
207 Comments

Ecclesiastical Insurance Group (EIG) is the Church of England's insurance company. It was founded in 1887 to insure the Anglican church (...against acts of God?). Mark Hews, CEO, says: "We…

Child abuse in the Church of England: Justin Welby must either accelerate the change or carry the can

October 8, 2017
373 Comments

This is a guest post by Martin Sewell, a retired Child Protection Lawyer who takes a special interest in Safeguarding as a member of General Synod. _____ When I was…

charlottesville white supremacists nazi salute

Charlottesville: white supremacists are fundamentally anti-American and anti-Christian

August 13, 2017
392 Comments

Charlottesville has gone downhill a bit since The Waltons: the town where John Boy negotiated his first bank loan, Jim-Bob learned about his dead twin brother, and grandma and grandpa…