Archbishop Cranmer

Lambeth Awards: why is the CofE patting itself on the back over Safeguarding?

April 9, 2018
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The Lambeth Awards were bestowed last week at Lambeth Palace. The Anglican Oscars non-academic honours for exemplary service and inspirational ministry were instituted in 2016 as part of Justin Welby's…

In Holy Week we should hold our Archbishops’ feet to the fire

March 26, 2018
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Many years ago during the course of a philosophical discussion, an old writer friend of mine offered me one of the most simple yet incisive observations on the human condition.…

Where’s the headline: ‘Welby slams Sentamu’s lack of humanity and leadership’?

March 24, 2018
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Giving evidence to the Independent Investigation into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) this week, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby was asked: The other thing that we have seen a lot…

Welby IICSA clericalism deference ashamed

Welby condemns the church’s deferential culture of clericalism and tribalism

March 22, 2018
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"I have seen afresh the insanity of clericalism and of a deferential culture and how we have to struggle against that," the Archbishop of Canterbury said yesterday in his evidence…

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…

Abuse victim: “The cruel and inhuman treatment I have received from the National Safeguarding Team in Church House, and others in the Church of England hierarchy, makes what Peter Ball did to me pale into insignificance”

March 8, 2018
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It has not been a good week for the Church of England. We were warned as much by our Lead Bishop for Safeguarding, Peter Hancock, when he led the safeguarding…

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

March 6, 2018
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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).…

‘Sorry’ seems to be the hardest word: apologetics and apologies in the Bishop Bell case

February 16, 2018
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This is a guest post by the Very Rev'd Professor Martyn Percy, Dean of Christ Church, Oxford. _________ An apology is a written or spoken expression of regret and remorse;…

The year is 2067, and long-dead archbishop Justin Welby is accused of child abuse…

December 20, 2017
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It is absolutely shocking. No one ever guessed. No one even suspected. No one knew the darkest secret, the chill in the air, the poison in the communion chalice of…

Carlile Report: Bishop George Bell has been traduced, and the blame lies squarely with Church House and Lambeth Palace

December 17, 2017
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“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…

Mandatory reporting of CofE child abuse is complicated, so let’s proceed incrementally

December 11, 2017
239 Comments

When judges are considering whether children can be returned to failing parents, they set the bar at a fairly low standard: ‘good enough parenting’ is sufficient. This approach does not…

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…

The General Synod of the Church of England puts same-sex relations over youth evangelism

December 1, 2017
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There is perhaps nothing more challenging in mission than the proclamation of the gospel to those who have never heard it, in a foreign land, in an unfamiliar culture, in…

Safeguarding: why is the Church of England’s institutional compassion so constipated?

November 21, 2017
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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…

How Bishop George Bell became a victim of Church of England ‘spin’ and a narrative of ‘decisive leadership’

November 17, 2017
153 Comments

This is a guest post by The Very Rev’d Professor Martyn Percy, Dean of Christ Church, Oxford. _______ Some may begin to wonder how exactly the Church of England’s National…

Church U-turn on sex abuse: from the victim ‘must be believed’ to being ‘taken seriously’

November 9, 2017
170 Comments

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…

Jayne Ozanne was raped by a priest? Which bishop told her not to report the attack?

November 7, 2017
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Jayne Ozanne (who claimed to have reported this blog to the police last year for 'hate') claims to have been raped by a priest in the 1990s. She says she…

The Westminster sex scandal is a media-hyped sideshow: Parliament is not crammed with Cyril Smiths

November 6, 2017
156 Comments

One woman says an MP touched her knee; another says she was raped. One male MP has been suspended for unspecified "serious allegations"; another is under fire for groping someone's…

“I need a friendly bishop,” said the child abuse survivor, as the prelate passed by on the other side

October 22, 2017
228 Comments

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…