In light of the Church of England's own teaching that it is strongly opposed to abortion, that "the foetus is a human life with the potential to develop relationships, think, pray, choose and love", and that the Church "would like to see a drastic reduction in the number of abortions carried out and stricter interpretation of abortion law" (press statement of the Mission and Public Affairs Council for General Synod, 30 August 2011), we write, as members of the Church of England (and a small n

It also marks the first time that the Church of England has made an authoritative statement on the subject of anti-Semitism.

The new "tool for teaching" on Christian-Jewish relations acknowledges that Christian theology played a part in the "stereotyping and persecution fo Jewish people which ultimately led to the Holocaust".

Later, at the conference, Welby said he was taking anti-depressants daily and "on the whole [was] managing very well". He said he had found it "quite easy" to talk about his mental health challenges, but was concerned that many people would worry "because you don't know how your boss will respond".

He added: "Depression is interpreted by many employers as someone who ... is incapable of getting out of bed in the morning and isn't able to do their job properly."

Such an "indecorous mode of social representation, was simply too ideologically destabilising for the bishops to tolerate," writes literary historian William Jones.

Half a millennium later, the Church of England's mitred mafia is asking us to hold our tongue and mind our language. Destabilised by the bucking bronco of Brexit, all 118 bishops have stuck together like coal tar and penned a finger-wagging epistle at politicians for using language "not worthy of our country."