The statement below was issued today.
Statement from Lambeth Palace
20/11/2024
Following the announcement last week of his resignation as the Archbishop of Canterbury, Archbishop Justin intends to complete his official duties by the upcoming Feast of Epiphany (6th January). Archbishop Justin intends very little public-facing activity between now and Epiphany, but plans to honour a small number of remaining commitments. At Epiphany, the Archbishop of Canterbury’s official functions will be delegated to the Archbishop of York – more details will be provided on this in due course. The date on which Archbishop Justin formally ceases to hold office will be set in agreement with the Privy Council.
0 CommentsAndrew Brown has published these two articles on his The slow deep hover blog.
He also wrote this for the Church Times: Press: Media mob helps Welby’s foes to get their way
69 CommentsOn Tuesday, Richard Scorer (Principal Lawyer at Slater and Gordon) wrote on behalf of one of his clients, Gilo, to both the archbishops. This was a follow-up to an earlier letter of 23 June 2023, to which no substantive reply has yet been received.
The full text of both letters can be read here:
Presumably, it will now fall exclusively to the Archbishop of York to reply.
The first letter was concerned with a meeting which included both National Safeguarding Team members, and representatives of Ecclesiastical Insurance, that took place in August 2016, and the handling of an earlier (2020) complaint about that event.
The second letter seeks to discover the outcome of a further meeting held in June 2024 by the Archbishops’ Council Audit Committee to examine how that 2020 complaint had been handled. To date no report has been issued (and the original 2023 questions remain unanswered).
In addition, the second letter refers to more recent questions raised by Gilo in relation to the York diocesan Past Cases Review 2. Again, no answers have yet been received.
57 CommentsWe reported last year on the Bishop of Newcastle’s withdrawal of Lord Sentamu’s Permission to Officiate. Links to our previous articles are here. The bishop issued a new statement on Monday of this week, which is copied below.
A Statement from the Rt Revd Dr Helen-Ann Hartley, Bishop of Newcastle
First published on: 11th November 2024
Please find below a statement from the Right Reverend Dr Helen-Ann Hartley, Bishop of Newcastle.
“Following my call for the resignation of the Archbishop of Canterbury I need to share the contents of a letter I received from both the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Archbishop of York a matter of days before the publication of the Makin Report.
“It is my considered view that the letter I received from both Archbishops sent to me in such close proximity to the publication of the Makin review (regardless of its intended publication date) signifies a wider and systemic dysfunction of how the hierarchy of The Church of England has dealt with matters of safeguarding and most particularly the impact of church-related abuse on victims and survivors. Moreover, the archbishops’ use of what I experienced as coercive language when I read their letter indicates a complete lack of awareness of how power dynamics operate in the life of the Church.
“The decision to make this letter and its response public has not been taken lightly. Quite simply it is the right thing to do.”
Click here to read the letter from the archbishops in full.
Please note that the letter received from the archbishops was sent on 31 October and the Bishop of Newcastle replied on 5 November, before the publication of the Makin review. Click here to read Bishop Helen-Ann’s response.
140 CommentsStatements from bishops
News reports
Church Times Archbishop of Canterbury announces resignation
The Guardian Justin Welby says he will step down as archbishop of Canterbury
BBC Live News Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby resigns over Church abuse scandal
The Telegraph Live Archbishop of Canterbury resigns
The Tablet Archishop of Canterbury resigns over abuse scandal
Independent Justin Welby resigns as Archbishop of Canterbury after ‘failures’ over Church of England sex abuser
The Guardian Bishop says more C of E senior clergy may need to resign over abuse scandal
[This is Julie Conalty, the bishop of Birkenhead and deputy lead bishop for safeguarding]
Other comment
Gavin Drake The Archbishop of Canterbury’s resignation won’t make the Church of England a safer place
Stephen Bates The Guardian Justin Welby: why archbishop chosen for his managerial skills had to go
Martyn Percy Prospect Welby is gone–but trust in the Church is broken beyond repair
The Dean of Winchester, the Very Revd Catherine Ogle, has announced that she will retire next year.
5 CommentsThe following statement was released by the Lambeth Palace Press Office at 2pm today.
Statement from the Archbishop of Canterbury
12/11/2024
Having sought the gracious permission of His Majesty The King, I have decided to resign as Archbishop of Canterbury.
The Makin Review has exposed the long-maintained conspiracy of silence about the heinous abuses of John Smyth.
When I was informed in 2013 and told that police had been notified, I believed wrongly that an appropriate resolution would follow.
It is very clear that I must take personal and institutional responsibility for the long and retraumatising period between 2013 and 2024.
It is my duty to honour my Constitutional and church responsibilities, so exact timings will be decided once a review of necessary obligations has been completed, including those in England and in the Anglican Communion.
I hope this decision makes clear how seriously the Church of England understands the need for change and our profound commitment to creating a safer church. As I step down I do so in sorrow with all victims and survivors of abuse.
The last few days have renewed my long felt and profound sense of shame at the historic safeguarding failures of the Church of England. For nearly twelve years I have struggled to introduce improvements. It is for others to judge what has been done.
In the meantime, I will follow through on my commitment to meet victims. I will delegate all my other current responsibilities for safeguarding until the necessary risk assessment process is complete.
I ask everyone to keep my wife Caroline and my children in their prayers. They have been my most important support throughout my ministry, and I am eternally grateful for their sacrifice. Caroline led the spouses’ programme during the Lambeth Conference and has travelled tirelessly in areas of conflict supporting the most vulnerable, the women, and those who care for them locally.
I believe that stepping aside is in the best interests of the Church of England, which I dearly love and which I have been honoured to serve. I pray that this decision points us back towards the love that Jesus Christ has for every one of us.
For above all else, my deepest commitment is to the person of Jesus Christ, my saviour and my God; the bearer of the sins and burdens of the world, and the hope of every person.
Finding support
If you or anyone you are in contact with are affected by the publication of this report and want to talk to someone independently please call the Safe Spaces helpline on 0300 303 1056 or visit safespacesenglandandwales.org.uk.
Alternatively, you may wish to contact the diocesan safeguarding team in your area or the National Safeguarding Team at safeguarding@churchofengland.org.
There are also other support services available.
77 CommentsThis statement is issued at 1615 on Thursday 7 November on behalf of a number of victims and survivors of John Smyth QC. It is a response to the publication by the Church of England of the Makin Review. Bracketed references refer to that review.
This report, previously scheduled for publication on 13 November, has been published this afternoon.
Press Release: Independent review into Church’s handling of Smyth case published (copied in full below the fold)
Independent Learning Lessons Review John Smyth QC (253 pages)
Appendices (245 pages)
Personal Statement by the Archbishop of Canterbury
131 CommentsPress release from 10 Downing Street. See also this announcement on the Coventry diocesan website, and here on the Sheffield site.
91 CommentsThe King has approved the nomination of The Right Reverend Sophie Jelley, Suffragan Bishop of Doncaster to be appointed as Bishop of Coventry.
Appointment of Bishop of Coventry: 4 November 2024
From: Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street
Published 4 November 2024The King has approved the nomination of The Right Reverend Sophie Jelley, Suffragan Bishop of Doncaster to be appointed as Bishop of Coventry, in succession to The Right Reverend Dr Christopher Cocksworth following his appointment as Dean of Windsor.
Background
Sophie was educated at the Universities of Leeds and Oxford and trained for ordination at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford. She served her title at St Peter’s, Shipley, in the former Diocese of Bradford (now in the Diocese of Leeds) and was ordained priest in 1998.
She took up the role of Mission Partner with the Church Mission Society in 2000, serving at Uganda Christian University in Mukono, before returning to the UK in 2003 to take up the role of Resident Minister of St John the Evangelist, Churt with Rushmoor, in the Diocese of Guildford. In 2010, Sophie was appointed Vicar of St Andrew’s, Burgess Hill, in the Diocese of Chichester, and from 2013 was additionally Assistant Diocesan Director of Ordinands. In 2015, Sophie was appointed Canon Missioner of Durham Cathedral and Diocesan Director of Mission, Discipleship and Ministry, in the Diocese of Durham.
In 2020, Sophie took up her current role as Suffragan Bishop of Doncaster, in the Diocese of Sheffield
The Archbishop of Canterbury was recently interviewed for The Rest is Politics podcast. The wide-ranging interview is also available on YouTube. The topics covered are listed below with links to where they start in the YouTube video.
The section “Is LGBT love sinful?” has attracted much comment. The Church Times has covered the interview and there has been a statement from Lambeth Palace.
Links to YouTube video
00:00 Intro
00:20 The Archbishop’s dad
03:50 The Archbishop’s mum
06:43 Alcoholism in his house
09:10 How he found his faith
10:00 How he found being a teenager
11:48 What did he want to do with his life
14:05 How he decided he wanted to be a priest
19:00 Archbishop’s relationship with politics
23:40 His experience of the war on terror
30:30 Israel and Palestine
36:47 How to feel hopeful
39:05 Peace building
41:05 The death of Queen Elizabeth II
45:50 The Coronation of Charles III
48:35 Is LGBT love sinful?
52:50 The Church as a broad coalition
54:50 The Church is growing
55:25 Mental health
59:40 What Christ brought to the world
1:01:35 Trump
1:04:37 Politics and power
1:07:10 Is he going to criticise keir starmer
1:07:41 Debrief
The Church of England’s House of Bishops met earlier this week, and the following press release has been issued.
House of Bishops Autumn Meeting
23/10/2024
The House of Bishops met in person for its Autumn meeting
The House of Bishops met in Hertfordshire from 22nd-23rd October.
The House discussed the recently proposed Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, the importance of investment in palliative care, the potential risks to vulnerable people and possible unintended consequences for those who might feel a burden to others at the end of their lives. The Bishops reflected on the need for compassion for all those involved in the debate and work on the subject.
In a session on finance the House received updates on the Triennium Funding Working Group, Diocesan Finances Review and the work of the Strategic Mission and Ministry Investment Board. The Bishops continued to consider material from the Seal of the Confessional Working Group, noting that further legislative steps by Government on mandatory reporting have yet to be announced.
The House agreed to commission further work on safeguarding risk assessments with proposals to come back to the House within 12 months.
The House continued their discussions on the Living in Love and Faith (LLF) process. In accordance with the General Synod motion GS 2358 passed in July, the Bishops considered what guidance could be given to the working groups developing the detail of proposals on specific areas of work, including the proposed Bishops Statement and Code of Practice. Additional feedback from the discussions will be provided to the working groups.
The House received an update on progress on the preparation of new policy and guidance on Clergy Files, supporting good safeguarding practice, safer recruitment and record keeping. Following the adoption by the House in May of the pilot template for the Episcopal Reference and Clergy Current Status Letter (CCSL) the House agreed to approve the final version presented with minor changes.
The Bishops had an initial discussion of the report ‘Let Justice Roll Down Like Waters’, exploring the well-being of working class clergy, and committed to further work.
The meeting closed in prayer.
More information
16 CommentsThe Church Times reports: Opponents and supporters of prayers for same-sex couples lobby bishops
TWO Church of England pressure groups wrote to the House of Bishops before its meeting this week to express hopes and expectations about the next steps in the Living in Love and Faith (LLF) process.
The groups–Together for the Church of England, which campaigns for wider provision for LGBTQ people in the Church, and the Alliance, which represents opponents of the proposed blessings of same-sex couples–wrote the letters at the invitation of the House of Bishops, before their meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday this week…
The full texts of these letters are linked below.
The Alliance Letter 8 – October 24
Together for the Church of England Letter to House of Bishops (October 2024)
69 CommentsThe Church of England issued the following press release this morning.
Smyth independent review publication plan
22/10/2024
The National Safeguarding Team, NST, has now received the independent review from Keith Makin relating to the John Smyth case. A detailed plan, drawn up in consultation with survivors, is now in place to enable those that choose to do so to read the document in advance in a timely manner and with support on request. The NST has also been asked to factor in the half term period and the fact some of those impacted will not be around during those weeks. Once this process has been completed the report will be published in full on Wednesday November 13. On this day survivors will have the opportunity for a confidential webinar to ask questions. After the survivor webinar there will be a separate press conference.
13 CommentsThe Church Times reports: New working group to look at issues raised by Soul Survivor scandal
AFTER the exposure of “appalling practices and a shocking abuse of power” at Soul Survivor, in reviews by the National Safeguarding Team (NST) and Fiona Scolding KC, a group is being formed to carry out further work, the Bishop of Stepney, Dr Joanne Grenfell, the lead bishop for safeguarding, said this week.
The working group will look at ordination processes, clergy training and supervision, and safeguarding and governance in church-plants, bishop’s mission orders (BMOs), and mission charities that have an Anglican focus to their work…
The article refers to recent correspondence between a group of General Synod members and the Bishop of Stepney.
See letter to the Bishop of Stepney. And her reply.
Some background. At General Synod in July a motion was proposed by Robert Thompson but this was substantially amended by Bishop Joanne. See here and then here for the briefings prepared at that time, and over here for the Order Paper containing the motions. The outcome is recorded in the Business Done report.
Today on X (formerly Twitter) Robert Thompson has written this.
17 CommentsThe Diocese of St Albans has published this 8 minute video on YouTube: Diocesan Synod LLF October 2024.
28 CommentsUpdated
We reported earlier on the non-canonical ordination conducted by Bishop Tim Wambunya in Berlin in April: Dr Tim Wambunya apologises for his role in a Berlin ordination service.
Today, the Diocese of Lichfield has published a letter from Bishop Wambunya and a comment from the Bishop of Lichfield.
The Church of England website has published this notice
Name: The Right Revd TIMOTHY LIVINGSTONE AMBOKO WAMBUNYA
Diocese: Oxford
Date imposed: 9th October 2024
Relevant CDM section: 16(1)
Statutory Ground of Misconduct: 8(1)(a) Doing any act in contravention of the laws ecclesiastical & 8(1)(d) Conduct unbecoming to the office and work of a Clerk in Holy Orders
Penalty: Rebuke and injunction
The comment from the Bishop of Lichfield reads as follows:
“Bishop Tim has willingly and humbly accepted the Archbishop’s rebuke and injunction for his actions in Germany in April of this year. The injunction requires him to receive some additional training which formalises the need I too recognise, and I welcome that and will play whatever part is required in that. Most of all, I am certain that this process allows all of us to move forward, especially Bishop Tim and the communities of the Wolverhampton Episcopal Area. It’s now time to celebrate without inhibition Bishop Tim’s arrival in the diocese next week and to welcome the start of his ministry. He brings many gifts an unmistakeable desire for our communities to encounter the good news of a God who loves them and wants their flourishing.”
There appears to be no comment from the Diocese of Oxford.
Update
Church Times Next Bishop of Wolverhampton rebuked for his part in non-canonical ordination
43 CommentsPress release from the Prime Minister’s Office
Appointment of Second Church Estates Commissioner: 7 October 2024
The King has approved the nomination of Marsha de Cordova, Member of Parliament for Battersea, to be appointed as Second Church Estates Commissioner.
From: Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street
Published 7 October 2024The King has approved the nomination of Marsha de Cordova, Member of Parliament for Battersea, to be appointed as Second Church Estates Commissioner
Marsha de Cordova is the Labour MP for Battersea, and has been an MP since 8 June 2017.
She was educated at London South Bank University studying Law and European Policy Studies. She was born with Nystagmus and is registered blind.
She has worked for numerous charities including Action for Blind People and Thomas Pocklington Trust before founding the charity South East London Vision (SELVis) in 2014. She was elected as a Labour Party councillor for the Larkhall ward on Lambeth Council in 2014.
Marsha has served in the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities and Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions) (Disabled People). She also served on the Work and Pensions Select Committee and the Petitions Committee.
There is also a press release from the Church Commissoners.
The Second Church Estates Commissioner answers oral and written questions from MPs in the House of Commons about Church of England matters, is a member of Parliament’s Ecclesiastical Committee, and guides Church of England legislation through the House of Commons. She will be a member of the Church Commissioners’ Board of Governors and an ex-officio member of the General Synod.
26 CommentsPress release from 10 Downing Street. Further information on the Guildford diocesan website.
3 CommentsThe King has approved the nomination of The Venerable Robert Gerard Cooper, Archdeacon of Sunderland, in the Diocese of Durham, to be appointed as Dean of Guildford.
Appointment of Dean of Guildford: 3 October 2024
From: Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street
Published 3 October 2024The King has approved the nomination of The Venerable Robert Gerard Cooper, Archdeacon of Sunderland, in the Diocese of Durham, to be appointed as Dean of Guildford, in succession to The Very Reverend Dianna Gwilliams, following her retirement.
Background
Bob was educated at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth and trained for ministry at Lincoln Theological College.
Ordained as Priest in 1994, he served his title at St Mary, Whitkirk, in the Diocese of Ripon. From 1998, he served as Vicar St Matthew, Lightcliffe, in the Diocese of Wakefield (now the Diocese of Leeds) and in 2005, he was appointed as Vicar St Giles and St Mary, Pontefract. From 2006, Bob additionally served as Area Dean.
In 2018, Bob took up his current role as Archdeacon of Sunderland, in the Diocese of Durham.
Updated Saturday and again Wednesday
In November 2023 the Trustees of Soul Survivor festivals, Soul Survivor Watford, and Soul61 (collectively known as Soul Survivor) commissioned Fiona Scolding KC to conduct an Independent Review into the culture and practices of Soul Survivor, following the National Safeguarding Team’s investigation into Mike Pilavachi.
Responses
An initial statement from Richard Scorer is copied below the fold.
Updates
Further analysis by Richard Scorer: The Soul Survivor Report – Some Thoughts
God Loves Women: Scolding, Colluding or Both? My critique of the Scolding Review into Soul Survivor and Mike Pilavachi
Church Times: Scolding review of Soul Survivor scandal published
For further updates on Soul Survivor, I recommend weekly checking at The Soul Survivor Situation – A Timeline.
77 Comments