Happy Brexit Year: control the language, control the argument
"An ennui hangs over British politics and the prime minister is depending on it", wrote Matthew Parris in the Times a few days ago. "Like a thin, wearisome fog it…
Martin Sewell
How far is Bishop George Bell’s reputation restored? When is a cloud not a cloud?
This is a guest post by Synod members Martin Sewell and David Lamming. _______ The Church of England has now published the Briden Report into the further allegations against Bishop George Bell, and as with the report of Lord Carlile,…
Lord Carey challenges Bishops to break their silence on the ‘significant cloud’ hanging over the name of Bishop George Bell
Lord Carey spoke at the 'Rebuilding Bridges Conference' at Church House today, which aims to restore the name and reputation of Bishop George Bell. This is his speech, reproduced in…
Did Lambeth Palace know the ‘fresh information’ about Bishop George Bell before Lord Carlile published his report?
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…
Carlile Report: Bishop George Bell has been traduced, and the blame lies squarely with Church House and Lambeth Palace
“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…
Safeguarding: why is the Church of England’s institutional compassion so constipated?
This is a guest post by Martin Sewell, a retired child protection lawyer. _______ A few weeks ago I wrote about the way in which the Church of England had…
Church U-turn on sex abuse: from the victim ‘must be believed’ to being ‘taken seriously’
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…
“I need a friendly bishop,” said the child abuse survivor, as the prelate passed by on the other side
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…
Child abuse in the Church of England: Justin Welby must either accelerate the change or carry the can
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…
Donald Trump is no neo-Nazi sympathiser: he’s just not a very good politician
This is a guest post by Martin Sewell, a retired solicitor. ______ When the USA elected Donald Trump to be their new President, it was, to a significant degree, because…
Safeguarding in the Church of England: when is a victim of child-abuse not a victim?
This is a guest post by Martin Sewell, a retired Child Protection Lawyer and a member of General Synod. ______ Yesterday I advanced a more sympathetic perspective on why Lord…
Lord Carey’s forced resignation is an injustice: he, too, was a victim of Peter Ball
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,…
Synod 'No Confidence' motion looms in the secret trial of Bishop George Bell (RIP)
The Church of England has (at last) announced an independent review into its handling of its secret Cadaver Synod posthumous trial of the late Bishop George Bell (see here,…
The "absurd fiction" of the need for secrecy in the trial of Bishop George Bell
The living who are falsely accused of child abuse are slowly destroyed – physically, emotionally and spiritually. "I now have difficulty seeing myself being remotely employed, sociable, and relaxed…