Repentance

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Cottrell and Carey: why is some safeguarding secret, while others are thrown to the media?

It was announced yesterday that the Rt Rev'd Stephen Cottrell, who next week is to be formally installed as the 98th Archbishop of York, had been investigated over a past failure of safeguarding. The incident is a decade old, and…

Lord Carey: Bishops exacerbate the “hysterical, coarsened and divisive nature of our debate”

June 1, 2020
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Former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey has publicly admonished those Bishops who decided to "speak truth to power" by joining the onslaught against Dominic Cummings. Writing in the Sunday Telegraph,…

Holy Saturday: the Harrowing of Hell

April 11, 2020
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Each Easter, those charged with preaching sermons have the opportunity to refresh their understanding of the story. Being human, not all of us do so each and every year. Life,…

Franklin Graham ban: Rees-Mogg defends freedom of religion

February 14, 2020
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While the General Synod of the Church of England was repenting of its 'white privilege' and committing to 'net zero' carbon omissions by 2030, the Rt Hon Jacob Rees-Mogg MP…

Safeguarding: the Church of England’s house is slowly being rebuilt

February 11, 2020
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On 25th November 2015 the newly elected General Synod of the Church of England gathered to worship together with HM The Queen before she inaugurated the first sitting of its…

Welby in Amritsar — damned if he does; damned if he doesn’t

September 15, 2019
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The Archbishop of Canterbury visited the site of the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre in the Punjabi city of Amritsar. He didn't merely visit it, he prostrated himself very publicly before…

“Shabby and shambolic” – the CofE still conspires against truth and justice in historic sexual abuse

August 2, 2019
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Anyone wishing the Church of England well might have hoped that the end of the IICSA hearing last month represented the nadir of its unhappy handling of victims complaints. Despite…

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…

Is a diocesan bishop about to break ranks over historic child abuse in the Church of England?

May 13, 2019
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The past few weeks have seen a huge escalation in the accumulation of evidence and opinion on the tragic story of the Church’s safeguarding failures. I write in the context…

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Israel Folau – a fool for Christ’s sake

May 9, 2019
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Israel Folau plays rugby in Australia. He plays at quite a high level, actually, being paid around $1.6m per season. He is, however, considered to be worth every cent, not…

Notre Dame de Paris – the soul of France consumed by unholy smoke

April 16, 2019
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The air is full of mourning and crying. The hearts of Christians are bereft; another tribulation of Christendom defiles God's acre on the Seine. They sang ancient Elysian hymns as…

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 of England’s Brexit prayers – what exactly do they mean?

March 5, 2019
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A few months ago the Archbishop of York issued a Brexit prayer, or, rather, 'A Prayer for Parliament in Time of Brexit Trouble'. It was a fairly benign effort which…

Project apocalypse: Welby calls the nation to prayer over Brexit

February 27, 2019
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In his 'State of the Nation' address to the General Synod of the Church of England, the Archbishop of Canterbury is calling the nation to prayer because "social divisions feel…

Complicit in evil? Church of England has shares in Amazon and uses zero-hours contracts

September 14, 2018
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Imagine the prophet Amos in 650 BC travelling through the southern kingdom up to Bethel in the Samaritan north to sell his figs. It's a long journey, but that's where…

There will be sex offenders in heaven (and they may be greater in the kingdom than you)

August 23, 2018
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You really don't want to commit a sex crime in the United States. Unlike other crimes, a sex crime creates certain civil liabilities for the offender that can quite literally…

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…

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When did Transgenderism supplant Anglican orthodoxy as a qualification for Holy Orders?

June 4, 2018
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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…

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…

Recognising ‘spiritual abuse’ is a dangerous hostage to fortune

March 12, 2018
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An Abingdon vicar has been banned from ministry for two years after being found guilty of the spiritual abuse of a 15/16-year-old boy. The Bishop's Disciplinary Tribunal for the Diocese…