Whisky Priests Galore
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…
Philip North
Pope Francis damns Brexit
Pope Francis has written another encyclical, Fratelli Tutti. It isn't a great theological tome; indeed, it could easily be a series of religio-political blogposts on current events. Much of the media coverage is focusing of his criticism of populist leaders…
Child sexual abuse: the Blackburn Pastoral Letter is game-changer for the Church of England
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…
Diocese of Leeds is not in ‘financial crisis’: Bishop Nick Baines is balancing the budget
Apparently the Diocese of Leeds is in a state of "serious financial crisis". Bishop Nick Baines is pacing the cloisters with furrowed brow, anguished about having to sell off one…
CofE General Synod couldn’t find time to discuss evangelism… “Oh, what’s the bloody point?”
Kenneth Williams of ‘Carry On’ fame was not, alas and alack, a member of the Church of England’s General Synod. And yet his are the words for which I find…
When did Transgenderism supplant Anglican orthodoxy as a qualification for Holy Orders?
If you believe that women may not be priests; that Holy Orders are a male preserve; that a woman may not represent Christ at the altar; that 'woman priest' is…
Bishop Gavin Ashenden – if only the Church of England had so consecrated
It sounds good, doesn't it? Bishop Gavin Ashenden. Say it slower. Bish-op Gav-in Ash-en-den. The Rev'd Dr Gavin Ashenden has been consecrated bishop – The Rt Rev'd Dr Gavin Ashenden.…
Mawer, Percy, and the See of Sheffield: what if Conservative politicians had supported Philip North?
Sir Philip Mawer's report on the circumstances surrounding the nomination of Bishop Philip North to the See of Sheffield makes interesting reading, in particular what it means for the 'mutual…
Bishop Philip North is good news for the poor – what a shame he’s sidelined
It is #GoodNewsFriday – space and time to tell of God's love, miracles, joy, hope and peace – and Bishop Philip North provides today's subject matter. Here are a few…
It’s not that Christians can’t lead political parties; it’s that Evangelical Christians can’t lead the Liberal Democrats
"To be a political leader...and to live as a committed Christian, to hold faithfully to the Bible's teaching, has felt impossible for me," said Tim Farron as he resigned as…
Bishop slams “right wing headbangers” for Brexit and election “disasters”
You cannot know with what life-sapping weariness it must be reported that the Bishop of London (acting), the Rt Rev'd Pete Broadbent, blames "right wing headbangers" for the "disasters" of…
Bishop(-elect) of Sheffield: “Don’t vote Tory, or the poor will pay”
When Tom Freeman pointed out in a tweet that the tedious Tory mantra 'strong and stable leadership' fits the tune of 'All Things Bright and Beautiful', the urge to add…
Sheffield gets its second best bishop – Pete Wilcox, Dean of Liverpool
Downing Street has announced the name of the second best Bishop of Sheffield. The Queen has had her mind changed on the matter. The Crown Nominations Commission had the name…
Gender justice and LGBT equality: Martyn Percy demands female cardinals and gay imams
In another 5,000-word essay, the Very Rev'd Professor Martyn Percy, Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, demands "a thorough and wholesale review" of discrimination in the Church of England. And by…
Women bishops: the desperate and disingenuous distinction in the Five Guiding Principles
Of all the responses to the post on the 'review' instigated by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York into the operation of the Five Guiding Principles in the nomination of…
Bishop of Sheffield: Martyn Percy asked for bread; Sentamu and Welby give a stone
No doubt there has been a lot of frantic to-ing and fro-ing between the palaces of Bishopthorpe and Lambeth since Philip North felt unable to take up the nomination as…
As Gavin Ashenden leaves the Church of England, the Ordinariate circles like a vulture
"I thought you'd already gone through the exit door a long time ago. Unless you actually want to stay and fight?" tweeted the Rt Rev'd Pete Broadbent, Bishop of Willesden,…
As Brexit Bill receives Royal Assent, a lone bishop urges retention of free movement
By now Her Majesty will have set her seal upon the Brexit Bill: La Reyne le veult. At last we have The European Union (Notice of Withdrawal) Act, for which…
Discrimination and discernment: an exercise in relativist supremacy
This is a guest post by the Rev’d Dr Gavin Ashenden, former Chaplain to the Queen. ___________________________ In the great amphitheatre of Twitter a gladiatorial combat recently took place between…
Philip North crisis: ‘Good Disagreement’ has become ‘bad bullying’
This is a guest post by the Rev’d Dr Gavin Ashenden, former Chaplain to the Queen. ___________________________ When the house that has been painstakingly constructed on the sand falls flat,…