Updated Monday evening
Several organisational responses in support of the statement from the bishops have already been published:
There are also several responses expressing opposition to the statement
Some of these items were issued before the release of the full LFF response on Friday. I will update them if newer statements appear, and I will update this post with additional items as I discover them.
62 CommentsThe full texts of the proposed Prayers of Love and Faith can be found here.
Paul Roberts has written two blog posts, discussing the concept of blessing, and then analysing these texts, and comparing them with others from the Church of England and the Church in Wales.
When is a liturgical blessing a blessing?
Prayers of Love and Faith – the draft rites
4 Comments…The House of Bishops’ draft of Prayers of Love and Faith that will be laid before the General Synod next month do not contain any prayer or statement in which a priest blesses a same-sex couple. God, however, is petitioned to bless the couple. So, indeed, the bishops have hedged their bets in a way which says “God, we’re not sure you approve of homosexual acts, so if you do, could you bless this couple? But we’re not going be doing it ourselves, just to be on the safe side…”
Updated again Thursday
Church of England press release
Bishops propose prayers of thanksgiving, dedication and for God’s blessing for same-sex couples
The full text of the press release linked above is also in this PDF document: Prayers of Love and Faith 18.1.23.
There is a second press release here.
The Church Times has some additional information, and quotes from bishops, in this report: Bishops opt for blessings for same-sex couples in church, but not marriage.
And there is a further article reporting reactions to the press releases: Campaigners respond with fear and dismay to Bishops’ proposals to bless same-sex unions.
Thursday updates
Two further articles from the Church Times:
Conservative Anglicans add their criticism of the Bishops’ same-sex blessing plan
Bishops’ same-sex plans do not need General Synod’s consent
144 CommentsUpdated Tuesday
The Member of Parliament for Portsmouth North, Penny Mordaunt, has written to Jonathan Frost, Bishop of Portsmouth, about LLF. You can see her letter in full here. Her tweet summarises:
I have written to the Bishop of Portsmouth in advance of February’s General Synod regarding discussions on how the Church will move forward on the issue of same sex relationships. I hope they will back reform.
The Diocese has replied on Twitter:
Dear Penny, thank you for your letter. The views of @JonathanHFrost have been in the public domain since last November. You can find them at portsmouth.anglican.org/LLF Scroll down for more
Updates
Church Times reports further: MPs seek movement from Bishops on same-sex marriage
…The Church Times understands that at least 16 MPs have written to their area or diocesan bishops recommending that the Church change its position on same-sex marriage. This is understood to include the Labour MPs Saron Hodgson, Lilian Greenwood, Nadia Whittome, Alex Norris, Lyn Brown, Kim Leadbetter, Angela Eagle, and Luke Pollard. Neil Coyle, who sits as an independent after his suspension from the Labour Party last year, is also reported to have sent a letter, as has Alicia Kearns, the Conservative MP for Rutland and Melton…
20 Comments
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse published its final report on 20 October 2022.
The Church of England’s initial responses were reported here.
Today, the National Safeguarding Steering Group, the House of Bishops and the Archbishops’ Council have published a joint response to recommendations in relation to the safeguarding work of the Church of England. It’s a six-page PDF, available here. The covering press release is over here.
Following the October report publication, there was also a response from the (then new) National Safeguarding Director, reported here.
An earlier report relating to the Seal of the Confessional, was reported in this further roundup of responses.
7 CommentsBishop John Inge has written an open letter to the Diocese, setting out why he believes that the celebration and honouring of monogamous, faithful same-sex relationships by the Church of England would be consonant with the scriptural witness.
The letter begins:
Dear Friends in Christ,
In our recent letter to the clergy of the Diocese of Worcester, the Bishop of Dudley and I wrote that we think the time has come for the Church of England to celebrate and honour monogamous, faithful same-sex relationships. We added that we believe this to be consonant with the scriptural witness but did not set out our reasoning. We merely commended the Bishop of Oxford’s booklet, Living together in Love and Faith.[i] I feel I should summarise my own thinking on the subject and shall attempt to do so here.
The full text of his letter can be read here.
21 CommentsChristopher Peak was the registrar to the Diocese of Gloucester between January 1985 and November 2012. During this period he also represented the then-bishop of Gloucester, Peter Ball, in his personal capacity, when indecent assault allegations were made against the bishop. The Solicitors Regulation Authority, in response to a complaint from the National Secular Society, found this constituted a conflict of interest with his official duties towards the diocese. Mr Peak has accepted their findings, and has agreed to permanently remove his name from the roll of solicitors maintained by the SRA.
The matter is reported in detail as follows:
Solicitors Regulation Authority Christopher Peak
Law Society Gazette Retired solicitor agrees to quit roll over conflict of interest in defending bishop
National Secular Society Solicitor struck off for conflict of interests in defending bishop
25 CommentsBack in October, Martin Sargeant pleaded guilty to fraud. The Cburch Times reported this: Sargeant pleads guilty in £5-million fraud case. Today, he was sentenced by the court.
Reports:
Press releases:
The Evening Standard includes this information:
…Sargeant, who grew up in Bournemouth, was handed a community order in 1992 for theft by employee and was jailed for 21 months on 1995 for offences including 19 counts of theft.
The court heard the convictions related to his previous employers, including a shoe shop and a bar, which he claimed to have disclosed to the CoE before he was employed – an assertion the church has neither confirmed nor denied…
Further references to these earlier events are included in this article: Life and Learning – Addiction and Recovery.
83 CommentsThe Church Times reports (under the news story about further delay in the review of the John Smyth case):
Charity Commission appeal. A letter has been sent to the Charity Commission asking it to investigate the Church of England’s safeguarding practices. The 51 signatories include lay and ordained church members, survivors, and some elected members of General Synod.
The signatories express concern about safeguarding policies and practice in the Church of England, referring to “a highly dysfunctional church culture” that is “uniformly poor in responses to allegations of abuse”.
The Church lacks any “functional leadership” in safeguarding, the letter says; “current safeguarding processes, bodies, panels, and their personnel are incompetent, ineffective and unfit for purpose.”
A Church of England spokesperson said: “The Church is committed to the highest standards of safeguarding and this is carried out by professionals both nationally and in its 42 dioceses who support parish safeguarding officers who work in every church across the country. The Church is always open to scrutiny of its processes and will listen and respond to concerns when raised.”
See here for the full text of the Open Letter to the Charity Commission.
41 Commentspress release 14 December: Living in Love and Faith (LLF) at the College of Bishops- December 2022
The full text of this is copied below the fold.
Church Times news report: Bishops tight-lipped on Church’s next steps for same-sex relationships
THE College and House of Bishops met for three days this week to draft the outcomes of the Living in Love and Faith (LLF) discernment process, which are to be presented to the General Synod in 2023.
These outcomes, or recommendations, regarding same-sex relationships have not yet been made public, however. Once they are formally agreed in a final LLF meeting of the bishops in January, they will be put to the vote when the Synod next meets in London in February.
A press release issued at the conclusion of the meeting on Wednesday said: “Bishops spent time praying, reflecting, and discussing a spectrum of possible ways forward for the Church regarding same-sex relationship and marriage, and the theological basis for each. They will continue those discussions at a third meeting in mid-January at which it is anticipated that they will agree an ‘offering’ to the Church, giving a clear sense of direction.”
The Synod would then be invited to “indicate its views” on these. This might include a vote on whether the Church should change canon law to permit same-sex blessings or marriages…
Updated again Wednesday
See report of previous meeting here.
There is a further meeting this week, from Monday to Wednesday, of the Church of England College of Bishops, to discuss what actions to take in relation to Living in Love and Faith. See here for the programme of meetings, leading up to the General Synod meeting in February.
“Bishops will gather for two days to draft the outcomes of the discernment process.”
Several articles have appeared in the past few days. (The first two items are behind a paywall.)
Steven Croft was interviewed in the Telegraph on Saturday: The Bishop of Oxford: ‘The Church is seen as unjust because of its treatment of LGBTQ+ people’
Justin Welby was interviewed in The Times on Monday: Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby chooses silence on gay marriage
Marcus Green wrote this on his blog: Patiently
Jayne Ozanne wrote this on Via Media.News: An Open Letter to Bishops – Your Pastoral Charge
Equal has published Vigils for Equal Marriage while the bishops meet
Christian Today Welby staying quiet on LGBT views
Religion News Service Catherine Pepinster Church of England bishops head for showdown on marriage for same-sex couples
ViaMedia.News Charlie Bell Unity and the Myth of Neutrality
Premier Christianity Christopher Landau Welby won’t give his opinion on gay marriage. Perhaps Dietrich Bonhoeffer can help
I will update this article if other items appear.
41 CommentsThe House of Lords debated UK Asylum and Refugee Policy on 9 December. The Archbishop of Canterbury moved
That this House takes note of the principles behind contemporary United Kingdom asylum and refugee policy, and of the response to the challenges of forced migration.
Several other bishops also took part in the debate. The full Hansard record can be found here, or more conveniently perhaps as a PDF file over here.
The Church of England in Parliament website provides links to the speeches of each bishop:
The House of Lords Library had prepared a briefing note for this debate which is worth reading.
The Church Times has published a report of this debate here: UK’s treatment of asylum-seekers is wasteful and cruel, says Welby.
The Archbishop of Canterbury referred in his response to the debate to a document which had been mentioned, from Policy Exchange. Here is a link to that document. (Three essays on the morality of asylum by Nigel Biggar, John Finnis and Richard Ekins. Foreword by Dr Michael Nazir-Ali.)
Updated 25 November
Clergy Discipline Measure – Penalty
The following is a record of a penalty imposed by the Archbishop of Canterbury with the consent of the respondent bishop under the Clergy Discipline Measure 2003:
Name: The Right Reverend Peter Hullah
Penalty: Prohibition for life
Date Imposed: 1st August 2022
Brief Summary: Sexual misconduct involving two different women on two separate occasions.
———
This story has been reported in the Mail, and Times, and Telegraph so far. And now also the Church Times (scroll down).
The two offences occurred (according to the Mail) in 1985 and 1999. Peter Hullah was Bishop of Ramsbury (suffragan in Salisbury) from 1999 to 2005. From 1992, he was headmaster of Chetham’s School in Manchester, where there were multiple complaints of sexual misbehaviour by staff, but not by Hullah.
The new complaint, regarding these offences, was dealt with in the Province of Canterbury, during the summer of this year, but was not made public at that time.
The Telegraph reports
A spokesman for Mr Hullah said he had agreed to the sanction in August instead of contesting the allegations before a Church tribunal.
And:
A Church of England spokesman said: “We can confirm that Peter Hullah has now been prohibited from ministry for life following a complaint under the clergy discipline measure brought by the national safeguarding team.
“We would like to acknowledge the courage and offer an unreserved apology on behalf of the Church to those who came forward to share their experience; support has been offered to all involved.
“The Church expects the highest standards from those in leadership and there can be no excuses when this does not happen.
“We will continue to listen to all those who come forward and to work together to make the Church a safer place for all.”
It. is very disappointing that this decision was not published at the time, as the relevant procedures were amended only this July at the General Synod, to ensure this would happen. However, even before this change, the procedure said
“Where a penalty by consent has been agreed with a bishop brief particulars of the misconduct should be made public by a notice placed on the diocese’s website.”
GS 2281X (dated May) contains the following:
Publishing Penalties
9. All penalties imposed under the CDM are made public. Penalties imposed by a tribunal are published on the Church of England tribunal webpage, administered by the NCIs.
10.The current guidance provides that where the respondent admits misconduct and the bishop imposes a penalty by consent brief details of the case should be placed on the diocesan website. Further, it states that penalties imposed other than by a tribunal – i.e. under sections 30 and 31 CDM 2003 – should be made public.
11.To ensure a consistent approach to the publishing of penalties the proposed amendments to paragraph 312 provide that publishing penalties by consent and penalties imposed under sections 30 and 31 will no longer be the responsibility of the diocese or province. Upon a penalty being agreed the diocesan or provincial registrar will send the relevant details to the President of the Tribunals, who will cause them to be published on the Church of England website. The name of the respondent, the date penalty was agreed or imposed and the statutory ground of misconduct (e.g. “doing an act in contravention of the laws ecclesiastical”, “neglect or inefficiency in the performance of the duties of his office”, “conduct unbecoming or inappropriate to the office and work of a clerk in Holy Orders”) -but not any details of the particular misconduct – will be published.
12.Paragraph 311 is deleted as being no longer being necessary consequential upon the amendments to paragraph 312.
Further update
The Church Times reports this explanation of the delay (emphasis added):
28 CommentsOn Thursday, a notice of the sanction was posted on the website of the Archbishop of Canterbury. In July, the General Synod voted to amend the CDM Code of Practice to require that “brief particulars” of a penalty against a bishop that is agreed by consent are posted “on the Church of England website” (News, 15 July).
Before this, only penalties by consent against a lower-ranked cleric were required to be published, not sanctions agreed between a bishop and an archbishop.
Because the case against Bishop Hullah was settled after the Synod had voted to amend the Code of Practice but before the Clergy Discipline Commission rubber-stamped the changes, it was unclear whether, when, and where, the notice had to be posted.
Last Saturday the Diocese of Oxford diocesan synod discussed (in a Zoom meeting) its response to the Christ Church Independent Governance Review.
Updated Monday 21 November
We reported on the terms of reference for this review last April and on Dominic Grieve’s appointment last June.
There are two papers:
These papers had been prepared well before last week’s announcement from the Charity Commission.
At the time of writing, there has still been no mention of the Charity Commission’s Official Warning on the Christ Church website.
Surviving Church has published this critique of the college by Martin Sewell: The Christ Church Malcontents gambled “The House”, they should bear the loss.
Update
And now also this critique, by the same author, of the Church of England: The Church of England has a case to answer for its role in the institutional bullying at Christ Church
Updated again 15 November
Press release from Charity Commission:
Charity regulator issues Official Warning to Christ Church, Oxford
The Charity Commission has issued an Official Warning to Christ Church, Oxford, after finding that the trustees failed to manage the charity’s resources responsibly
Christ Church has been involved in long and costly disputes involving its former Dean, who left his role earlier this year following a mediation process. In 2020 the Commission had told the parties to the dispute to enter into formal mediation.
The Commission has found that trustees failed to act on its previous advice, given between 2019-2020, to continue to have “close oversight of costs” in the dispute. In December 2021, the Commission asked the trustees to provide information about the costs of the actions connected to the former Dean and how these costs were being managed. The trustees were unable to provide the information in a timely manner. The Commission was later informed that the trustees had not set a fixed budget for the costs associated with the dispute, and instead that the full trustee body agreed expenditure retrospectively. Between August 2018 and late January 2022 the college had spent over £6.6m on legal and public relations fees in various actions related to the former Dean, of which over £5.3m appears to have been approved retrospectively.
The regulator is also critical of the trustees’ failure to ensure the college was accountable for its expenditure on legal and public relations fees during the dispute. The Commission has found that the charity’s published accounts (for years ending 2018-21) categorised costs associated with the charity’s actions involving the former Dean as “other direct costs – teaching, research and residential”. The Commission says that this has the potential to mislead the readers of the accounts. The trustees had been advised by the charity’s auditors to consider reporting on actions related to the dispute specifically, and to seek advice on its reporting.
The regulator has determined that these failures and omissions amount to misconduct and/or mismanagement in the charity’s administration.
The Official Warning sets out the actions that the Commission considers should be taken by the charity to rectify the misconduct and/or mismanagement and to address its concerns, including:
Failure to take steps to remedy the misconduct and/or mismanagement may lead to further regulatory action being taken against the charity’s trustees.
Helen Earner, Director of Regulatory Services at the Charity Commission, said:
These long and protracted disputes risked undermining the reputation of Christ Church and harming wider trust in charities.
It is not for us as regulator to take sides in disputes. Our role is to ensure that charities are governed effectively and that charitable funds are properly accounted for. All trustees must demonstrate sound financial stewardship, regardless of the level of resources available to them.
We consider that the actions of the trustees at Christ Church amount to mismanagement and/or misconduct, after they failed to manage the charity’s resources responsibly or ensure that the charity is accountable in the context of a costly dispute.
The Commission welcomes the fact that an independent governance review is now underway at the charity, led by the Rt Hon Dominic Grieve KC, and we expect the trustees to keep us updated on its progress.
94 CommentsGood governance should be a priority for all trustees, especially those involved in important national institutions such as Christ Church, Oxford”
Updated again 15 and 17 November
See earlier post concerning his statement on same sex marriage.
Church of England Evangelical Council: Bishop of Oxford: A CEEC response to ‘Together in Love and Faith‘
Oxford Diocesan Evangelical Fellowship: Statement on the Bishop of Oxford’s “Together in Love and Faith”
Latimer Trust – Vaughan Roberts Together in Love and Faith?
Psephizo – Ian Paul What is the Bishop of Oxford thinking?
Bishops of Worcester and Dudley Living in Love and Faith – A letter from our bishops
Church Times news reports:
Updates 7, 8, 10, 15, 17 November
Martin Davie Why the bishops have an option
Archbishop Cranmer Same-sex marriage: should the Church of England affirm culture, or confront it?
LGBTQ Faith UK Living in Love and Faith and Fear
Andrew Lightbown Speaking of Together in Love and Faith; a short reflection.
Guardian The Guardian view on LGBT+ Anglicans: finally grounds for hope?
Fulcrum Joshua Penduck A Letter in response to the Bishop of Oxford
Anglican Network in Europe A Safe Harbour for Faithful Anglicans
Premier Christianity Ian Paul The Bishop of Oxford’s surprising case for same-sex marriage is flawed
I will add further items to this list as I discover them.
158 CommentsUpdated Saturday evening – Kindle version available, see below.
Diocese of Oxford press release: Clergy should have the freedom to bless and marry same-sex couples, says +Oxford
Church of England clergy should have the freedom to bless and marry same-sex couples, says Bishop of Oxford.
The Bishop of Oxford has published a 52-page essay, Together in Love and Faith, to be released on Friday 4 November, setting out the ways his own views have changed on same-sex relationships over the last decade.
In the light of ten years of reflection and massive changes in the society we serve, many in the Church, including Bishop Steven, now believe it is time to enable local churches and clergy to offer public services of blessing for same-sex relationships and remove the legal barriers to the solemnisation of same-sex marriage in the Church of England. Clergy should also be given the freedom to order their own relationships according to their conscience and to marry a same-sex partner…
Bishop Steven writes:
“I need to acknowledge the acute pain and distress of LGBTQ+ people in the life of the Church. I am sorry that, corporately, we have been so slow as a Church to reach better decisions and practice on these matters. I am sorry that my own views were slow to change and that my actions, and lack of action, have caused genuine hurt, disagreement and pain.”
Bishop Steven also reflects that many Christians in the Church of England hold and will continue to hold a traditional view of marriage and this should be honoured and respected by those who are seeking freedom to change. This is the majority view across the worldwide Anglican Communion at this time, although some Anglican Provinces have already made the decision to allow the blessing of same-sex relationships. Clergy and parishes will need the freedom not to opt in to any new arrangements. Some clergy and parishes may need the oversight of bishops in the Church of England who hold to the traditional view…
Read the full press release for more detail.
Church Times: Bishop of Oxford calls for an end to ban on same-sex marriage in Church of England
THE Church of England should lift its ban on the marriage of same-sex couples, the Bishop of Oxford, Dr Steven Croft, has said — even if this means setting up an alternative episcopal structure for conservative priests and parishes.
At stake, he says, is the Church of England’s claim to serve the whole of society. Its anti-LGBTQ+ stance “is leading to a radical dislocation between the Church of England and the culture and society we are attempting to serve”…
And also this extract from the booklet: Extend goods of marriage to all
Update – electronic copies now available via Kindle
Follow this link for further details. You will need an Amazon account, but the document is free of charge.
148 CommentsCofE press releases:
Living in Love and Faith at the College of Bishops Full text copied below the fold.
Programme of the College of Bishops, 31 October – 2 November 2022
Church Times report: Bishops debate next steps on sexuality
THE College of Bishops has concluded three days of debate about how the Church might solve its differences over sexuality.
Although no decision has been made about what formal proposals will be presented to the General Synod in February 2023 — these will be finalised at the next College of Bishops meeting, 12-14 December — it is understood that the bishops acknowledge that simply to restate the existing ban on same-sex blessings or marriage in church is not an option.
During the bishops’ discussions at the High Leigh Conference Centre, in Hertfordshire, largely in small groups, it is said to have been clear that many bishops recognise that a change of policy is needed — whether a national shift or some form of pastoral accommodation is not yet clear. Even those who wish to see no change in the C of E’s policy, which also bans clergy from marrying same-sex partners, accept that the case would need to be freshly argued…
Do read the full article.
26 CommentsPublication of the IICSA final report was reported here, along with initial responses from the Church of England.
Other religious bodies:
Church Times news reports:
Earlier in the month, the Church of England announced this: Further work on Seal of Confessional:
The House of Bishops has commissioned further work on the Seal of the Confessional, building on the report and interim statement from the previous working party published in 2018/2019 and originally set up in 2014.
The new working group will take account of relevant findings, if any, that there may be in the final report from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), due to be published on October 20.
The group which will meet over the next 12 months will bring together theologians, Church leaders and safeguarding professionals along with other advisers as part of the wider reference group. The voices and experiences of survivors will be critical to this work and will be included, but not named, in the group…
Forward in Faith also issued a Statement on IICSA’s final report and the Seal of Confession.
15 CommentsChurch of England press release
IICSA statement from National Safeguarding Director
25/10/2022
I have read the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) report and it makes for harrowing reading. The report contains recommendations for 15 major institutions which have clearly failed children; this includes the Church of England and I welcome the initial response from our lead safeguarding bishop, Jonathan Gibbs.
I have been in post now for 38 days and as the new National Director for Safeguarding it is my role and responsibility to drive and support the many programmes of work that are currently underway, to make the Church a safer place where the voices of our most vulnerable are not only heard but valued. The voice and participation of all victims and survivors of abuse are paramount and should be the golden thread in everything we do to improve our safeguarding policies and practices. We are committed to the development and implementation of a survivor engagement framework with victims and survivors.
I am extremely sorry for the hurt and mistrust caused by the Church’s lack of safeguarding, we know that we need to learn from these lessons and ensure that we have stringent preventive measures in place to avoid these terrible experiences happening to others.
In the coming weeks dates will be provided by engage.safeguarding@churchofengland.org to offer survivors and victims an opportunity to meet with me to raise concerns and give their views on the National Safeguarding Team, NST and wider safeguarding improvements in the Church.
I would be particularly interested in hearing from young people about how we may improve the voice of the child in the Church. If you would like to take part or provide your views, please do contact the same address above. (Please note parental consent would need to be provided for those children/young people under the age of 18)
Should you need to discuss any matters with me directly, I would ask you to email. My social media is not monitored daily, and while an important awareness tool, I do not use it for direct engagement, so you may not receive a response. But I would like to ensure that all comments or complaints are recorded and tracked so please do email me on the address above or via the form at the bottom of this page A Safer Church | The Church of England
I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible in the near future, particularly survivors and victims of any type of abuse and relevant groups and/or organisations.