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‘Bigot’ slip coincides with further same-sex rows

Teachers could face disciplinary action, including dismissal, if they fail to endorse same-sex marriage, suggests legal advice published by the pressure group Coalition for Marriage. The warning came in the week when the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, briefly labelled opponents of the Government’s same-sex marriage consultation “bigots”, and the Green Party expelled a Brighton […]

Church lawyers to review advice to PCCs on chancel repair liability

Church lawyers are to review their advice to PCCs on Chancel Repair Liability (CRL), after the case in Broadway, Worcestershire, where the Charity Commission ruled that it would be “reasonable” for the parish not to register liability against 30 householders. Under recent legislative changes, PCCs have just over a year to register CRL against affected […]

Archbishop’s child abuse inquiry finds diocese “Dysfunctional”

An investigation set up by the Archbishop of Canterbury following persistent allegations of child abuse by priests has concluded that the Diocese of Chichester is “dysfunctional” and this “continues to impinge upon the adequacy of safeguarding in the diocese.” Dr Rowan Williams established a rare Archbishop’s Commission – the first in over 100 years – […]

Frank Skinner’s Greenbelt debut delayed by fear and “storms of biblical proportions”

Comedian and radio presenter Frank Skinner’s set at the Greenbelt Christian arts festival this weekend was delayed by what one festival-goer described as “storms of biblical proportions.” But the practising Catholic admitted he had turned down numerous requests to appear because he was “frightened” by the Christian nature of the festival, which is now in […]

Chancel-repair liability: PCC given dispensation

A church in Worcestershire has been told by the Charity Commissioners that it would be “reasonable” for it to decide not to register chancel-repair liability (CRL) against 30 households in its parish. The PCC of St Eadburgha’s, Broadway began the process of registering liability during an interregnum, after advice from the legal advisory commission of the […]

PCCs given liability warning over Chancel Repair “assets”

Parochial church councils that fund chancel repairs without securing funds from a lay rector could be guilty of a breach of trust, with “serious consequences” for PCC members, Neville Rowles, a conveyancing solicitor with the Manchester-based law firm Boote Edgar Esterkin, has suggested. He warns: “Members of the PCCs concerned could be open to a […]