Anglican spinach – a primary challenge for the Church’s mission
There was a subtitle fail in the Zoom service from Guildford Cathedral on Advent Sunday. It caused a bit of amusement on Twitter, but it presents an opportunity to explore…
Sexuality
Why has female-perpetrated child sexual abuse increased by 84%?
"Between 2015 and 2019, the numbers of reported cases of female-perpetrated child sexual abuse to police in England and Wales rose from 1,249 to 2,297 - an increase of 84%", BBC News tells us. They were quoting statistics reported on…
Diversity is deeper than BAME and LGBT: it is social, political, intellectual and philosophical
Lord Hall, the outgoing Director General of the BBC, has demanded that the Corporation improve the diversity of its staff to better reflect those who pay its TV licence. "You…
Transgender aged seven; puberty blockers aged 11; detrans aged 18
There is an evil here which needs to be addressed. O, some will hurl 'transphobe', others 'bigot', and still others 'homophobe' or 'hater', but it still needs to be addressed,…
Franklin Graham ban: Rees-Mogg defends freedom of religion
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…
Candlemas: from the Presentation of Christ to ‘Radical Inclusion’
Today we mark a Church Feast which is known as either Candlemas or the Feast of the Presentation of Christ at the Temple. I doubt if any of us will…
Catholic and Reformed: continuity and development
Toward the end of his ministry as Archbishop of Canterbury (though it may have been just after the end), Rowan Williams was interviewed about his beliefs, and in particular his…
When did traditional morality become ‘fundamentalist’?
It was a question posed by Professor John Milbank on Twitter a few days ago. Or, rather, it wasn't posed as a question, such as the 'when' inquiry into conceptual…
What bishop would tell a vicar: ‘You’re no longer welcome in the Church of England’?
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…
Give me the child for the first seven years and I will give you the transgender-inculcated person
'Give me the child for the first seven years and I will give you the man' is a Jesuit maxim attributed to Saint Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society…
Faith, sexuality and conversion therapy: how not to do research
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…
Gender Recognition Act: could reform be used to impose same-sex marriage on the Church of England?
"This week we will also complete our consultation on plans to reform the Gender Recognition Act," the Prime Minister confirmed in her video message at the Pink News Awards last…
Church of England Evangelical Council warns against redefining marriage
The Church of England Evangelical Council describes itself as "a network of networks, bringing evangelicals in the Church of England together for the sake of the gospel". It was created…
A quarterback and a porn star walk into a bar…
You might think this would be the set-up line for a bad joke, but, no, it’s for real. Amidst the typical National Football League off-season stories about murder, sexual assault,…
Bishop blocked by Twitter – for telling the truth about sex abuse in the Roman Catholic Church
That notorious purveyor of hate and guile, the Rt Rev'd Dr Gavin Ashenden, has been blocked by Twitter. Actually, the tense is wrong: he was blocked by Twitter, but recanted…
Rainbow Church, LGBT Eucharist and intolerable utterances
This picture has not been photoshopped: it is the altar of Reading Minster draped in the rainbow flag for this year's Gay Pride festival, in order to convey to the…
There will be sex offenders in heaven (and they may be greater in the kingdom than you)
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…
Dean of Ely reports Daily Mail to IPSO for saying Cathedral flew UKIP flag
It beggars belief that anyone could have taken the story seriously. What dean and chapter of any cathedral would even entertain flying the UKIP flag? Oh, they'll host a Labour-supporting…
Death penalty: Pope Francis hasn’t changed the teaching; he just ‘developed doctrine’
One of the more curious aspects of Roman Catholic apologetics is its inability to answer certain specific questions to which it should have ready answers: 1. What is the content…
CofE Safeguarding: General Synod is being managed, manipulated, duped and disrespected
Since the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse moved the focus of its hearings away from the Church of England until returning later in July, campaigners for the reform of…