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Church of England
January 24 2021 By dvirtue UK: 'Abusive' vicar victims fear cover-up, as church officials gain advance access to conduct report

Victims of an "abusive" vicar unmasked by The Telegraph fear a church cover-up, as it emerges officials will have a month to scour the investigation into his conduct before its publication.

In June 2019 The Telegraph revealed that Rev Jonathan Fletcher, one of the Church of England's leading evangelical figures, was banned from preaching after "spiritually abusing" vulnerable adults.

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January 20 2021 By dvirtue Can the Church of England survive Covid?

Over the following weeks, Allerton did 64 walking services around London, helped by the amazing weather. Each service -- with a hymn, a prayer and a 60-second sermon -- took seven minutes. He invited people -- up to 50 at a time -- to join in from a window or doorway. 'So many people commented on social media, saying things like, "I'm not religious but I've got goosebumps. There are tears coming down my face." God's presence was touching people.'

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January 06 2021 By dvirtue Shutdown of churches and ban on weddings during Covid crisis has cost Church of England '£150MILLION' and could trigger a cull of parishes

Among those discussed have been a cut in the number of bishops from more than 100 to as few as ten, and a redrawing of parish boundaries to reduce their number from 12,500 to 9,000.

Highly-placed sources suggest it lost £150million in donations alone during the months when collection plates went unused and fees for special services dried up. Pictured: The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby.

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December 30 2020 By dvirtue Bishop Pat Harris. 1934-2020

From 1963, he spent 17 years in Northern Argentina amongst the Wichi people. One key role he had was to prepare the first Wichi for ordination, of which there have now been many. This led to the ordination of the first Wichi bishops. "

In 1968, Bishop Patrick married Valerie Pilbrow. They had three children, Jonny, David and Rachel.

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December 10 2020 By dvirtue The English Inquisition: Church of England team get power to probe and charge sex abuse clergy

Experts in the body will bring suspects for trial before a new tribunal system, which is likely to be supervised by judges from the secular legal system.

This 'central office' would be the first organisation set up to police clergy in England in nearly 1,000 years.

It mirrors the Vatican organisation -- the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith -- charged by Pope Francis with investigating allegations of child sex abuse against Roman Catholic priests.

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November 25 2020 By dvirtue The dying Church of England cannot afford a sabbatical

But there is no accompaniment in 2020 because the churches have been shut (earlier this year, the Anglicans banned even their own clerics from entering them), and though the Church of England hierarchy spreads the Good News, it tends to do so quietly and thinly. In the past few days alone, the Archbishop has also spoken in defence of Britain's foreign aid budget and urged the world to ban the bomb.

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November 25 2020 By dvirtue The Church of England's guide to hearing God's voice through the bible, according to LLF

In the chapter on 'the bible' (part of a comprehensive section on 'How do we hear God?', the traditional, conservative method of reading various passages is questioned and set against a revisionist interpretation. So for example, after lessons on how to look at the context and take into account "canonical diversity and complexity" (p280), there is a case study: can we articulate a 'biblical' view of marriage?

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November 23 2020 By dvirtue Archbishop of Canterbury to take sabbatical for 'spiritual renewal'

Lambeth Palace said it was "normal practice" for archbishops to take time off from their official duties. Welby's predecessor, Rowan Williams, took a three-month sabbatical in 2007, in which he wrote a book. George Carey, Williams's predecessor, took two months off in 1997.

Welby had been due to take a sabbatical earlier this year but it was postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

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November 10 2020 By dvirtue Church of England could hold historic vote on gay marriage in 2022

The Archbishops also gave an indication of the timeline for "decision-making" on issues such as same sex marriage, saying they hoped to come to conclusions by 2022.

The report also said that while some controversial opinions relate to the ethics and lifestyle of opposite sex relationships and there are questions about gender and pastoral provisions for transgender people, the "most pressing among our differences are questions around same sex relationships".

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November 10 2020 By dvirtue Living in Love and Faith resources published as bishops issue appeal to Church to 'listen and learn together'

It comes as the House of Bishops issues an appeal to the whole Church of England to participate in learning together, using the resources for open, honest and gracious discussion, listening and learning.

A group of bishops, chaired by the Bishop of London, Sarah Mullally, will lead the process of discernment and decision-making about a way forward for the church in relation to human identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage.

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