Jonathan Clatworthy Château Clâteau New directions for the Church 9: break down the barriers
Michael Sadgrove Woolgathering in North East England Vicky’s Book
catholicity and covenant Time to reclaim the tippet from the neo-Puritans
Richard Nicholl Church Times More marketing is not the answer for the Church
“Social media has some surprising lessons for the C of E”
Mark Ashcroft St Chrysostom’s Church News and Views The agents of genuine renewal
1 CommentAs we reported here, it emerged earlier this month that the Bishop of Oxford had given Lord Carey permission to officiate (PTO) back in February. The Bishop of Oxford issued the following statement today.
Lord Carey PTO : statement from the Rt Revd Dr Steven Croft, Bishop of Oxford
“Along with many others, I am sorry and ashamed to hear again this week of the abuse perpetrated by Peter Ball, and the way in which the Church of England failed to respond to the survivors over such a long period of time and at the most senior level. The whole Church needs to respond to what has been revealed with repentance, improved practice and a continued change of culture.
“We recognise that there will be renewed questions concerning Lord Carey’s Permission to Officiate following the IICSA hearings this week and I am sorry that my response to Lord Carey’s request for PTO in February this year caused additional distress to some survivors of abuse.
“When Lord Carey stepped down from his role as an Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of Oxford following the publication of the Gibb report in 2017 it also meant that he was no longer able to preside over services at his local church. There were no legal grounds for me to deny Lord Carey’s request for PTO in February this year as he was not subject to a disciplinary process, and there has never been any suggestion that he is himself a risk to children, young people or vulnerable adults.
“Lord Carey’s PTO remains in place at this time, providing him with a safe space to exercise his ministry. However, as part of the Church of England’s ongoing response to IICSA, there will now be a process of review and support offered to Lord Carey by the Diocese of Oxford together with the National Safeguarding Team.”
140 CommentsThe transcript for the final day, Friday, is available here.
The documents number 89 and are listed here. Individual links here. More details later.
Media reports
The transcript of Thursday’s hearing is now available. Gregor McGill, Andrew Nunn, Ros Hunt and Bishop Frank Sergeant were interviewed.
There are 50 documents as listed here. Individual links here. More details later.
Media reports
The transcript for Wednesday’s hearing is now published. Witnesses questioned were Andrew Purkis, Wayne Murdock, and Carwyn Hughes. Statements from Lady Alice Renton and Ian Beer were also read out.
There is a list of 35 documents, and the links to all of them are here. More details later.
Media reports:
Miranda Threlfall-Holmes St Margaret of Antioch
Simon Butler ViaMedia.News History & Doctrine – Written by Winners?
2 CommentsThe transcript of Tuesday’s hearing is now available here. The entire day was taken up with questioning Lord Carey.
There are no less than 43 documents published, see Index and full set of links Here are six of them:
Media reports:
The National Secular Society reported it too: “Establishment” helped abusive bishop evade justice, inquiry hears.
IICSA video recordings are available: Morning Afternoon 1 Afternoon 2
0 CommentsQueen appoints new Suffragan Bishop of Warrington
The Queen has appointed the Venerable Beverley Anne Mason as Suffragan Bishop of Warrington.Published 24 July 2018
From: Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing StreetThe Queen has approved the nomination of the Venerable Beverley Anne Mason, MA, Archdeacon of Richmond and Craven, to the Suffragan See of Warrington, in the Diocese of Liverpool, in succession to the Right Reverend Richard Finn Blackburn, MA, who resigned on the 31st May 2018.
There are more details on the Liverpool diocesan website. The new bishop will be consecrated on 18 October 2018.
7 CommentsThe transcript of the first day is now available here.
Three documents have been published:
The lawyer representing the Archbishops’ Council read this opening statement.
Media reports:
IICSA video recordings:
22 Comments
The Diocese of London has announced that the Rt Revd Adrian Newman will be resigning on health grounds as Bishop of Stepney and will withdraw from public duties at the end of October.
Bishop of Stepney to step down
Ad Clerum from the Bishop of Stepney
A message to the Diocese from Bishop Sarah
In November 2017, we published an article headed Update on Episcopal Teaching Document and Pastoral Advisory Group. This listed the then current membership of the various groups. Since that time there have been some changes, and the current rosters are listed here. For convenience those lists (as of July 2018) are copied below the fold. Some corrections are noted. (more…)
5 CommentsDaniel Hill Law & Religion UK The State and Marriage III: Objections to the Cutting of the Connection
Archdruid Eileen The Beaker Folk of Husborne Crawley The Immigration Policy of Heaven
Andy Griffiths Church Times Clergy must refuse to be indispensable
“Building teams to carry out ministry is better for the health of the incumbent and the parish”
Jayne Ozanne ViaMedia.News Incarnational Truth – The Power of Testimony
Stephen Parsons Surviving Church Peter Ball and the Dynamics of Church Power
1 CommentThe Church of England’s House of Bishops Delegation Committee has approved a new Policy on Granting Permission to Officiate.
The Church Times reports: Clerics under investigation for abuse may be barred from ministering under new safeguarding rules.
PERMISSION to officiate (PTO) will be refused or withdrawn from clerics who are under police investigation over allegations of past child or vulnerable adult abuse, new guidance from the National Safeguarding Team of the Church of England states.
It also states that PTO may be withdrawn or refused by the bishop, even if the investigation of the cleric has concluded, and no conviction made.
“Where a cleric has been the subject of a criminal investigation for offences relating to children and vulnerable adults that did not result in a conviction, again the bishop must consult the diocesan safeguarding advisor and the diocesan registrar before deciding whether to grant PTO.”
Appropriate reasons for withdrawing PTO listed in the document include “following an allegation of abuse in a cleric’s past ministry pending the police investigation”.
In addition, PTO must be refused when a cleric has accepted a police caution; an allegation of abuse has been proved in court; or the cleric has been barred from working with children or vulnerable adults…
There is of course a lot more to the document, which is 47 pages long (main part 25 pages, followed by 8 annexes).
17 CommentsCharles Clarke and Linda Woodhead have published a revised version of their 2015 report: A New Settlement Revised: Religion and Belief in Schools.
Our report on the original version of this can be found here.
The Church of England has issued a response.
The Church Times has reported on it: Don’t use faith to decide who gets a school place, says new report.
The National Secular Society had this to say: Former education secretary renews call for reform of religion in schools.
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IICSA has published this timetable for next week’s public hearings, 23 to 27 July (from 10 am daily).
Former archbishop, Lord Carey, is due to appear on Tuesday.
As during the previous hearings, TA will try to provide daily links to the transcripts and to some of the key documents.
The Guardian has this news story: Prince Charles to give evidence on bishop to child abuse inquiry.
The BBC has this: Prince Charles to give evidence at Peter Ball abuse inquiry.
12 CommentsA Place to Belong: Disability and the Church
“Watch stories of people with disabilities in the Church of England – and their perspectives on how churches can make sure everyone can participate in church life.”
Three short films were commissioned for a disability conference at Lambeth Palace hosted by the Archbishop of Canterbury
Tim Wyatt Church Times ‘Dance as if no one’s watching. Tweet as if it will be brought up in court’
“Fraught with danger, or an opportunity to thrash out the truth? Tim Wyatt asks some of the C of E’s most prolific users of Twitter and Facebook what they think about social media”
Richard Beck Experimental Theology Respecting the Infant of Prague
Rosie Harper ViaMedia.News Conventional Thinking At Its Best…
Jonathan Clatworthy Château Clâteau New directions for the Church 8: admit the contradictions
Paul Bayes ViaMedia.News Tapping Into Love – Democratising Evangelism
Martin Sewell Archbishop Cranmer Synod – Reasons to be Cheerful (Pt 1): the secret to a contented flock
Synod – Reasons to be Cheerful (Pt 2): inclusion is the fruit of evangelism
Colin Coward Unadulterated Love Christian LGBTI+ Equality – a strategy for change
2 Comments
A group of abuse survivors and their supporters are seeking £3000 to publish a dynamic collaborative book speaking to the Church of England. Contributors include survivors, academics, theologians, commentators, lawyers, leading church figures.
Funding breakdown: £1000 publishing costs, £1300 publicity, £700 Kindle & fees = £3000 Total
Any profits will go to MACSAS (Minister and Clergy Sexual Abuse Survivors). No contributor is being paid. We are offering the work in the hope of seeing meaningful and critical change in the Church of England’s pastoral, structural, and psychological response to victims and survivors of abuse.
The book will include a wide variety of themes, with some stories and interviews. It will also feature some real letters sent to Lambeth Palace, House of Bishops, and Synod during the past few years…
Follow this link for more details.
29 CommentsThe third phase of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC III) published its first agreed statement, Walking Together on the Way: Learning to be the Church – Local, Regional, Universal, earlier this month. The statement is online: Walking Together on the Way. Also available are two commentaries: one Anglican and one Roman Catholic.
News and comment on the statement include the following.
Anglican Communion News Office Groundbreaking document released on how Anglicans and Roman Catholics can learn from each other
Simon Caldwell and a staff reporter Church Times ARCIC III: Anglicans and Roman Catholics can learn much from each other, says new agreed statement
Church Times editorial Bold undertaking
Paul Lakeland The Tablet Give and take: what the Catholic and Anglican Churches can learn from each other
Durham University Centre for Catholic Studies First Agreed Statement from ARCIC III (The Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission, Phase 3)
Christopher Lamb The Tablet New Arcic text charts a way forward
Simon Caldwell The Boston Pilot ARCIC document hailed as ‘groundbreaking’ by Catholics and Anglicans
Nicholas Jesson International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission Agreed statement on ecclesiology: Walking Together on the Way
Joshua J. McElwee National Catholic Reporter Catholic-Anglican dialogue document suggests both churches can learn from other
9 CommentsRachael Phillips Diocese of Durham Rachael Investigates: Anglo-Catholic Evangelism Part 1 of 2
Part 2 of 2
Colin Coward Unadulterated Love The Bishops and LGBTI Anglicans – GS 2055 and GS Misc 1158 – time for action
Meg Warner ViaMedia.News Episcopally Led and Synodically Managed
Andrew Lightbown Theore0 Speaking of stewardship (and investment)
Rachel Mann In Praise of Synod…
Stephen Parsons Surviving Church Anglican Bishops and the Post-Singleton Church
Linda Ryan The Episcopal Café Spem in Alium
Anne Stevens Women and the Church Pushing and pulling at the sticky door
[This refers to this Royal Society video: Understanding Unconscious Bias]
Christina Rees The Guardian Back to the future: that’s where the Church of England must dare to go
5 CommentsThe detailed Church Times reports on the recent Church of England General Synod are now online here. Unless you subscribe there is a limit on how many of these reports you will be able to read.
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