Martin Sewell Archbishop Cranmer Candlemas: from the Presentation of Christ to ‘Radical Inclusion’
Andrew Nunn the Dean of Southwark What’s love got to do with it?
Jen Williams Wrestling with Love and Anger as an LGBTQ+ Christian.
Jayne Ozanne gave this lecture Love, Sex and Power to the William Temple Association on Monday.
There is a report of the lecture in The Guardian: C of E sex guidance row: synod member calls out ‘deep’ hypocrisy.
Colin Coward Unadulterated Love How to confront a hypocritical and abusive institution
Stephen Parsons Surviving Church ‘Trials’ in Church and State
Stephen’s article alludes to this article in InsurancePOST: Ecclesiastical faces fresh allegations of unethical treatment as case of ‘suicide watch’ claimant comes to light
Thank you Andrew for your wise words, and the statement issued by the cathedral. I was privileged to be part of the Southwark diocese as Chaplain at Kings College Hospital. At the time of the start of the Aids pandemic, when we were challenged to show our Christian love to these dear folk. We had to step outside straight laced church, and just be what God had called us to be. His ministers of peace, love and reconciliation. The church must do the same again, and is doing so through faithful priests who are not afraid to step out of… Read more »
Read the comment by Froghole (he’s always worth reading) on the Surviving Church piece. It includes this: “My assumption is that, at some point, someone in Dean’s Yard has sat down with an actuary in order to work out what the likely actual and contingent liabilities would be if the Church admitted liability or else provided meaningful support to victims/claimants (which might be construed as admitting liability). They may then have concluded that the ethical and reputational pain to be endured by the Church was outweighed by the financial cost of admitting liability … “
One of the problems we face today is major existential problems being dealt with by functionaries. This week alone, we see the fall out from provincial NHS middle managers facing a rogue surgeon, local authority planning officers clearing up after a multi-fatality fire and small-time church managers confronted by the tsunami of problems from sexual abuse. In each case, the people facing the problem are simply not up to the task, and are in organisations which do not know how to empower people to resolve the issues. So instead, they fall back on the middle managers’ mantra of “I would… Read more »
I think one of the biggest tragedies of this whole debacle is that shepherds (aka bishops) just don’t seem to understand their sheep. It was Pope Francis who told his bishops they needed to be shepherds who were living with the smell of their sheep. I don’t know what they are breathing in most of the time! My own personal episcopal dealings have been that of abandonment by virtually all. There are a few good ones who have pastoral hearts, show that they do, and really do care. Sadly, this seems to be lacking currently. Furthermore, those who are often… Read more »