Jon Kuhrt Psephizo The Ecclesiastical Doughnut: is the Church of England ungovernable?
Stephen Parsons Surviving Church Culture in the CofE according to Past Cases Review 2
Helen King sharedconversations Extending our search for the truth: reviewing Past Cases Review 2
Brenda Wallace ViaMedia.News A Peek under the Episcopal Carpet – Past Cases Review 2 and its Blind Spots
Colin Coward Unadulterated Love Global South responsible for creating a homophobic and transphobic movement
Culture in the CofE – brain dump man pleaded guilty yesterday (Friday) to £5 million fraud. Disappointing inasmuch as the bishop of London has avoided a court appearance and a lot of information not examined in public. Is there going to be a review in the diocese?
Crikey presumably he’ll be facing a significant term of imprisonment and a confiscation of his assets.
If he has any assets to confiscate, having spent the money on “personal entertainment or frivolous things like gambling” and “travel” according to the report by Kaya Burgess in The Times on 15 October 2022, page 27. (At an earlier hearing in Westminster magistrates’ court the prosecution said that he “flew over 180 times with British Airways”!) And, yes, a significant term of imprisonment awaits Martin Sargeant. The report in The Times quotes the judge at Southwark Crown Court, His Honour Adam Hiddleston, when telling Sargeant that he must return for sentencing on 21 November, that he “must be prepared…… Read more »
Other reporting quoted Mr Sargeant as saying he owned a number of properties in Scotland, which I presume will be confiscated/sold? Unless there is a legal problem with the English courts confiscating property held in Scotland?
That of course casts a considerable degree of doubt over all the claims made by Sargeant in the infamous “brain dump”. It’s conceivable that the allegations that led to the death of Fr Alan Griffin, and cast a blight over some 40 other people, were entirely unfounded or even fraudulent.
Surely an open investigation into how this could happen is called for?
This is £5 milion pounds of the church’s money lost.
Jon Kuhrt is a little too sweeping about the CDM. It has dealt with some cases of theft, fraud and marital infidelity successfully. It is always clunky and often lacks pastoral care for those involved. Where it is hopeless is where there has been a breakdown in relationships, the latest proposals for its reform are an improvement in that regard. I disagree that the structures of the CofE are responsible for its malaise. I think that the current cohort of bishops are underwhelming both theologically and in terms of their leadership skills. The appointments process has produced an homogeneous bunch… Read more »
Indeed Fr Dean. Maybe the appointments process producing an homoegeneous bunch – is the ‘Boddington’ legacy? Latest Statistics will make for interesting reading. I suspect they’ll be sugar coated, like last year, with exagerated online stats eg 30 minutes Zoom on a Sunday in a six church benefice – counted as six acts of worship locally. I always look first at the baptism stats. That is a sign of growth.
Is that adult baptisms?
The statistics I am awaiting with interest are the 2021 census results on religion . Absent Northern Ireland they have not been published over 18 months after the census. I am a little puzzled by the delay.
Baptism- a supply-side sign of growth? Confirmation- a sign of bishop productivity?
Fraud ‘recovery’- where will that go- recompense? ‘After expenses’?
Picturing a troublesome ‘persistent widow; good for educating, rebuking …?
As a matter of interest, has anyone seen a person specification for episcopal positions? They are standard in other fields.
Each diocese at a vacancy produces a ‘Statement of Needs’ if my recollection is correct. This shows what type of bishop is needed – the job description is in The Ordinal!
That’s correct. Writing the Statement of Needs is one tasks of the diocese’s Vacancy in See Committee. As an example here is the one for the current vacancy in Liverpool.
https://www.liverpool.anglican.org/news-and-events/news/statement-of-needs.php
Having seen this since my earlier post, it’s very impressive.
It is a very good briefing document for those potentially interested but I think it is very poor as a ‘statement of needs’.
Interesting because that doesn’t include a person specification, just a few fragments of one such as “Loves God”. A person specification should list all the experience, qualifications and attributes a person requires, split into essential and desirable. Not only does that help to identify the best person it helps to prevent discrimination as the fit should be formally recorded and potentially scored So a bishop might be expected to have significant management experience as an essential. They might be expected to have published theological texts as a desirable experience. The see may want someone who is contemplative and calm in… Read more »
As well as the statement of needs, this page from the C of E website covers a wide range of necessary requirements. Every diocese will be different in some ways. The included example of the process for nomination of the Archbishop of York would obviously not be typical everywhere, but it’s a very helpful and detailed summary of what happened in that case. Also, of course, the procedures differ for diocesan and suffragan bishops. The literature covers both:
https://www.churchofengland.org/resources/diocesan-resources/archbishops-advisers-appointments-and-development/senior-appointments
I hope that CDM as regards fraud & theft is firmly restricted to follow up to criminal convictions (what the services call ‘consequential penalties’), rather than the CofE running its own criminal investigation service (the mind boggles). As for ‘marital infidelity’, unless abuse of power under ‘me too’ category, far from convinced that CDM has a place. I may also say that many laity find the regular Covid complaint about priests being forbidden ‘to go into their own churches to pray’ extremely arrogant. This entirely ignores the fact that the laity (aka the proles) were denied a quiet place for private… Read more »
When a priest is unfaithful in their marriage, and especially if the parish finds out, they are sending a message that one of the ten commandments, and a fair bit of Jesus’ own teaching needn’t apply to them. Clergy ‘sign up’ to work on the basis that they will uphold and model precepts of the religion that they’ve attached themselves to. If they then decide to hold those precepts more lightly, yet still want to belong on the same basis, then they are answerable for that. An affair almost always involves secrecy, deception and a breakdown or destruction of trust… Read more »
‘An affair almost always involves secrecy, deception and a breakdown or destruction of trust (I think the exception could only be where the trust never existed). It raises fair questions of how trustworthy they are in the rest of their ministry, and whether they really should be in a position of trust or influence in their community.” writes M Evans.
Councillors and MPs too?
Extra-marital affairs used to be resigning matters for those in public office – anyone remember Cecil Parkinson’s resignation? But that was a long time ago, when much about public life was very different.
And even prime ministers!
It’s not the Bishop of London that ought to be in court!!!