After a keynote presentation by the Rt Revd Jonathan Goodall, Bishop of Ebbsfleet, on the Society bishops' recent statements on Communion, Catholicity and a Catholic Life, the Assembly replaced constitutional references to Forward in Faith's previous Communion Statement.
Read moreHaving said that, we must also ask about the causes of the crisis and what can be done to address them. We have to ask too about the role of international agencies in the crisis, as well as that of regional powers.
Read moreJeremy's opening comment was that the verdict was no surprise to him. This was interesting, since it contradicted the confident comments of his supporters prior to the judgement being announced, and suggests that Jeremy initiated the case not because he would win, but because it would gain publicity. Presumably the same will be true of his planned appeal.
Read moreWriting in the latest Evangelicals Now, Dr Ovey has warned that Christians publicly opposing the tenets of Islam could in the near future risk jail: 'There is a risk, increasingly, that some of us may go to prison if we say what we must say in public about Islam and its blasphemous denial of the deity of the Son' (of God).'
Read moreIt comes after former Bishop of Lewes, Peter Ball, was jailed for 32 months on October 7 for committing acts of "debasement" in the name of religion with regards 18 vulnerable victims.
On Thursday last week, former Bishop of Chichester George Bell, was also outed as an offender after the Church paid compensation to a victim he abused more than 50 years ago.
Read moreThe bishop said God should not be gendered and said while she knowns many will disagree, she believes the Church of England should use both male and female pronouns when referring to God
Treweek, who is one of just six female bishops in the Church of England, said she chooses not say 'he' or 'she', but instead uses 'God', although she admitted she does occasionally forget.
Read moreSuch a change would be undesirable and counterproductive. It would discourage people who have committed criminal offences from making their confession, reducing the likelihood of a priest being in a position to counsel them to report themselves to the Police. The time and energy expended in promoting such a controversial piece of legislation could be deployed more profitably in other ways.
Read moreThe Church of England has issued a formal apology to the victim, who wishes to remain anonymous and has asked even for their gender not to be disclosed, and settled a legal claim for compensation.
The victim first came forward in 1995 but the complaint was effectively ignored by the then Bishop of Chichester, Eric Kemp, who died in 2009.
Read moreHe was, naturally grateful for the CofE bishops taking an interest. "Love-wise, Christian feelings-wise, it is a good move", he said of the letter on today's Sunday Programme on Radio 4. From the perspective of what actually works, however, he intimated it was pretty well the opposite of what Christians in Syria want. "We suffer that our people would leave the country", he said. So, not so keen on encouraging the exodus.
Read moreWell believe it or not large parts of the Church of England are just about there and as you might expect, it's not a great place to be. The parish system has been on its last legs for years. Individual clergy have been taking responsibility for more and more churches meaning their limited time and resources are spread increasingly thinly.
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