The IICSA hearing, which used the diocese of Chichester as a case study, has drawn out a string of both recent and historical failures to protect children and vulnerable adults in the Church, including failure to report abuse and respond appropriately to survivors.
A report on the Anglican investigation is expected by the end of the year.
Read moreThe former archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, said elements of the Church had 'strong undercurrents of homosexuality' in his written evidence, according lead counsel Fiona Scolding QC. These were largely 'closeted', he told an independent inquiry into how the Church of England dealt with allegations of abuse.
Read moreIt has heard heard damning evidence of the Church's culture of deference that meant allegations against priests went unreported, how the Church's attitude to homosexuality affected it's response to abuse, how clergy repeatedly burned potentially crucial files in the belief it was important to 'wipe the slate clean' and how child victims were made to feel responsible for their abuse.
Read moreThe call to submit comes for one reason and one reason only--for the Lord's sake.
Read moreSo are there signs of hope? It's not all bad news for the Kingdom: by that year more than 30% of churchgoers will be Pentecostal or independent evangelical. Amid general decline, some CofE churches are holding their own, and there are pockets of growth.
Read more"I am delighted that it was a unanimous decision to appoint Joe. He is an outstanding and Godly priest. He is warm, engaging, caring and fun. He brings energy and wisdom, and a huge amount of experience in parish ministry.
"He has been Vicar of All Saints' in Fulham for 15 years and increased the regular congregation by 25% to more than 500 each Sunday, with a particular ministry with families and young people.
Read more‘Did the Church of England's divisions over homosexuality contribute to child sex abuse cover-up?’ proclaimed the headline to one of its purported news reports last week.
If the editor of Christian Today thought that putting a question mark at the end of the headline would mask the story’s revisionist bias, then, with respect to Mark Woods, he would be mistaken.
The opening of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) into the deficiencies of the Established Church will take the headlines, but other stories have also arisen. The poor handling of Fr Matt Ineson's complaints against five bishops was featured in the BBC Inside Out programme, and the substance of it appeared on the BBC website. It was covered by Christian Today, and, as so often, His Grace offered a strong and incisive contribution.
Read more'Them' being John Sentamu, Archbishop of York; Peter Burrows, Bishop of Doncaster; Steven Croft, Bishop of Sheffield (now Bishop of Oxford); Martyn Snow, Archdeacon of Sheffield (now Bishop of Leicester); Glyn Webster, Bishop of Beverley; and Roy Williamson, Bishop of Bradford (now retired).
Read moreThe letter, also signed by Simon Rufus Isaacs, Marquess of Reading, who is a friend of Prince Charles, former bishop of Woolwich Colin Buchanan, and campaigner Andrea Williams of Christian Concern, says that similar high-profile cases have not resulted in prosecutions for misconduct in public office.
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