Pastoral care

Whisky Priests Galore

April 5, 2020
Martin Sewell
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I have a sense that many clerics today find themselves no less confused and variously out of sorts than their widely dispersed flocks. Some report being frazzled with too much work; others are hurriedly honing their skills as online pastors;…

CofE insurers Ecclesiastical attempt to impede pastoral care

July 26, 2019
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It has been known for some time that Ecclesiastical Insurance (EIG), the favoured insurance company of the Church of England, has a tendency toward callousness, obstruction and indifference in their…

Child sexual abuse: the Blackburn Pastoral Letter is game-changer for the Church of England

June 21, 2019
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When St Paul began writing his letters I doubt he expected them to become as copied, shared, dissected and analysed as they are today. He wrote to help and support…

vicar john parker bishop stephen cottrell

What bishop would tell a vicar: ‘You’re no longer welcome in the Church of England’?

June 6, 2019
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It made the pages of the Daily Mail, so it's serious: 'Vicar resigns after being 'silenced' over a Church of England school's plan to keep an eight-year-old pupil's sex change…

Emotional abuse in the Church: Bishops need psychological help

March 8, 2019
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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…

Church in Wonderland: the Clergy Discipline Measure shoves victims down a rabbit hole

December 4, 2018
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On 22nd November 2017 the Rt Rev'd Peter Burrows, Bishop of Doncaster, was having lunch in a cafe when his chaplain began a discussion about the case of Fr Matt…

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National Secular Society equates Anglicans with Islamists baying for blood

November 12, 2018
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While the Church of England was preparing to lead the nation in a corporate commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day 1918, the National Secular Society issued a tweet.…

Iwerne David Conner Dean Windsor John Smyth

Iwerne: what did David Conner (now Dean of Windsor) and others know about John Smyth’s regime of abuse?

November 6, 2018
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Many years ago, I worked as a duty solicitor, undertaking day and night visits to the local police stations. There were not many on the rota and it was a…

rev susan brown moderator church scotland safeguarding suicide

Church of Scotland Moderator blames excessive safeguarding for the rise in suicide and self-harm among young people

September 12, 2018
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This is a very brave intervention by the Moderator of the Church of Scotland. In an era where the safeguarding of children and young people has never been more pervasive,…

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…

Jonathan Aitken with Thatcher Bishop of London

The Rev’d Jonathan Aitken – being ordained is like ‘a new life’

July 1, 2018
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Former Tory Cabinet minister, convicted perjurer and bankrupt the Rt Hon Jonathan Aitken MP is now the Rev'd Jonathan Aitken, deacon at St Matthews, Westminster, and chaplain to the Prison…

Diocese of Bath and Wells to sell its 12th-century Grade I listed Old Deanery – in favour of ‘modern’, ‘welcoming’ and ‘spacious’ purpose-built offices

June 26, 2018
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The Old Deanery in Wells sits on the north side of Cathedral Green. It dates back to the 12th century, and comes with its own gatehouse and venerable boundary walls.…

CofE: ‘Come and confess your sins, but we might have to report you to the police’

May 30, 2018
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It their guidelines for Safeguarding Children and Young Adults from Harm, the Diocese of Canterbury has apparently abolished the Seal of the Confessional. No longer may the penitent sinner confess…

What if Alfie Evans had been named Ahmed Edris, and the flight were to Mecca, not Rome?

April 26, 2018
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An awful lot has been written about the tragic case of Alfie Evans; so much, in fact, that there is absolutely no desire at all to add to the mountain…

Anglican clergy to undergo psychological profiling to weed out prophets

March 20, 2018
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Graham Tilby, National Safeguarding Adviser for the Church of England, gave evidence yesterday to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA). When asked about how the Church of England…

If the Pope can honour a pro-abortion activist, why not bless Durex?

January 15, 2018
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It is being widely reported that Pope Francis has bestowed the title of Commander in the Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great upon pro-abortion activist Lilianne Ploumen, sometime…

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…

Hurricane Harvey and the $50m mega-church pastor who wouldn’t shelter flood victims

August 30, 2017
166 Comments

Texan mega-church pastor Joel Osteen is reputedly worth $50million. That's his personal wealth. He leads a church of some 16,000 (ie a 'mega-church') which gathers in the Lakewood Church, Houston,…

Theresa May did not instruct the CofE to allow gay marriage

July 20, 2017
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'Prime Minister: The Church should "reflect" on allowing gay couples to marry', declares the Telegraph; 'Theresa May Suggests Churches Should Consider Conducting Same-Sex Marriages', says Huffpost UK; 'May: Church should…

Safeguarding in the Church of England: when is a victim of child-abuse not a victim?

July 5, 2017
128 Comments

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…