Mental Health

CDM PTSD: the trauma, stress and disorder of the Clergy Discipline Measure

The Clergy Discipline Measure (2003, amended by the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016) is a Measure passed by the General Synod of the Church of England for the maintenance of ecclesiastical discipline. It has the force and effect of…

If Martyn Percy kills himself, the Church of England will have blood on its hands

March 21, 2021
0 Comments

465 years ago today, Archbishop Thomas Cranmer was burned at the stake for 'heresy'. 15 years ago today, on the 450th anniversary of that fateful day, the Archbishop Cranmer blog…

clergy voted conservative Anglican political affiliation

Just 6% of Anglican clergy voted Conservative in 2019

February 10, 2021
0 Comments

A Savanta ComRes poll was published just over a week ago on the political affiliation of Church leaders, and it hasn't had much coverage. In fact, it doesn't appear to…

Sabbatical problematical: give the Archbishop a break, for God’s sake

November 26, 2020
0 Comments

"Unlike the archbishop, Jesus could not retire to cultivate his personal spirituality because he was perpetually besieged by desperate people", writes Karen Armstrong in the Guardian's 'Comment is Free', objecting…

rule of six last supper covid marshal police

The Rule of Six – we are being robbed of our liberty

September 14, 2020
0 Comments

"In England from Monday we are introducing the Rule of Six", the Prime Minister said. "You must not meet socially in groups of more than six. And, if you do,…

Allchurches Trust Hope Beyond loneliness isolation

Churches tackle the real Covid-19 fallout – loneliness and isolation

July 15, 2020
0 Comments

The news and media are dominated by the economic fallout of the Coronavirus pandemic. Will the recovery it be V-shaped, U-shaped, or L-shaped? Will the recession last two years or…

DIY abortions: why is the concern left to Christian Concern?

July 2, 2020
0 Comments

DIY abortions were introduced by the Government on 30th March 2020, in response to concerns that women might have to endure a 'forced pregnancy' and give birth to unwanted babies…

The harrowing of Martyn Percy (part ii): Church of England colludes in bullying

May 27, 2020
0 Comments

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…

We need to make more space for silence

July 14, 2019
0 Comments

High School student Jack Higgins has a severe form of autism which makes him hypersensitive to noise. His graduation rite of passage was looking to be an impossible occasion, with…

court of protection uk catholic abortion

How can a court force a Catholic woman to abort her child?

June 24, 2019
0 Comments

"How will this be," Mary asked the angel Gabriel, on hearing she was pregnant and not fully understanding. "O, if you don't fully understand what it means, better to have…

No-fault divorce won’t end the ‘blame game’; it will just displace resentment and anger

April 9, 2019
0 Comments

On the day plans were announced to reform the divorce laws in the UK to remove all reference to blame, the Daily Mail published a front page headline: 'How Boat…

Emotional abuse in the Church: Bishops need psychological help

March 8, 2019
0 Comments

There is a Jewish proverb that a good name is worth more than precious stones. In this reflective and penitential season of Lent, members of the Church of England House…

Jayne Ozanne Bishop Liverpool Paul Bayes conversion therapy

Faith, sexuality and conversion therapy: how not to do research

February 23, 2019
0 Comments

This is a guest post by Dr Judith Sture. _______ We can only applaud those who wish to carry out research to help improve the lives of others. But the…

Blake God Blessing Seventh Day four-day week

Four-day week: mandatory indolence or an interfaith ‘sacred weekend’?

October 23, 2018
0 Comments

When Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell mooted imposing a four-day week on the British economy (that is, a four-day working week; Labour has no plans to re-calibrate or 'modernise' the solar…

CofE clergyman tells suicidal sex-abuse victim to “crawl back under a stone”, and that he “probably enjoyed” it

August 20, 2018
0 Comments

Surprising as it may seem, the wave of comment following the death of former Iwerne Chairman and serial abuser John Smyth very nearly wasn't the worse news for the Church…

national safeguarding team church of england nst

The Church of England’s National Safeguarding Team is either untruthful or incompetent (or quite possibly both)

March 9, 2018
0 Comments

In a robust rebuttal to Matt Ineson's account of his appalling treatment by the Church of England, the National Safeguarding Team (NST) issued the following statement (without so much as…

Sentamu ordered ‘no action’ against paedophile priest – leaving him to abuse again and commit suicide

March 6, 2018
0 Comments

The Church of England "covers up and manipulates and colludes with the abuse", so Matthew Ineson told the BBC's Inside Out programme last night (available on iPlayer until 3rd April).…

Accepting more child refugees from Calais prolongs the heartache of those already in care

January 24, 2018
154 Comments

It appears that the perfidious French have ‘got one over on us’ again. Prime Minister Theresa May has agreed with President Macron to pay additional monies to assist the control…

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…

Richard Dawkins: Oxford’s Christian Union is “predatory and nasty”

October 11, 2017
712 Comments

The 'Oxford University bans Christian Union' story has gone half way round the world, and it really shouldn't have. Oxford's Cherwell newspaper originally carried it: 'Christian Union banned from Balliol…