In recent years I have seen the appalling treatment of a victim and the way in which she was ground down first by her diocese and then by the National Safeguarding Team and also by the operation of the Clergy Discipline Measure. I have spoken to many other victims and survivors. Sometimes in person, sometimes […]
Author: GavinDrake
When is a report not a report?
A motion to force a General Synod debate on a report of the Archbishops' Council's decision to abolish the Independent Safeguarding Board was ruled "out of order" - but a second motion, linked to the Annual Report of teh Archbishops' Council and expressing the same points as the first, has now been accepted.
General Synod to debate Independent Safeguarding Board closure
A motion has been tabled for this weekend's Generfal Synod meeting in York, calling on the Archbishops’ Council, working with its Audit Committee, to commission an independent inquiry led by a senior lawyer (judge or King’s Counsel) into the safeguarding bodies, functions, policies and practice in and of the Church of England, to report within a maximum period of 12 months, and for a subsequent debate by the Synod to enable it to make decisions about future safeguarding in the Church of England.
Make the most of International Womens Day
SOME campaigns are for causes whose aims and objectives are so obvious, you wonder why anybody actually has to campaign for them. Other campaigns may be for such a large proportion of society that you’d think sheer weight of numbers would enough to deliver those campaign aims. Take International Women’s Day, which falls this year […]
Is colonialism good?
Colonialism is not a good thing. But it happened. As a result of that history, the Archbishop of Canterbury has a figure-head role as a focus for unity within the wider Anglican Communion.
Southwell and Nottingham General Synod member calls for safeguarding changes
A member of the Church of England’s General Synod who campaigns against gender-based violence is calling for changes to the way the Church of England tackles safeguarding. Gavin Drake has tabled two Private Members Motions (PMMs) which may be selected for debate by the Synod if they attract the signatures of 100 other General Synod […]
Press Release: General Synod member calls for Archiepiscopal Visitation to investigate safeguarding in Southwell and Nottingham
– Call comes after High Court Judge asks the Archbishop of York to spell out “without delay” safeguarding lessons that the bishop of Southwell and Nottingham needs to learn. A recently elected member of the General Synod’s House of Laity, Gavin Drake, has called on the Archbishop of York, the Most Revd Stephen Cottrell, to […]
I’m getting married in the morning (I think)!
I’m getting married in the morning!(well, in the afternoon, actually, on 19 September) Ding dong! The bells are gonna chime(no way – bell ringers count as part of our 30) Pull out the stopper!(but check first that wine is still permissible in a Covid-secure wedding) Let’s have a whopper!(we can go individually to Burger King […]
Why the Cliff Richard privacy judgment is not a threat to the freedom of the press
The head of news at the BBC, Fran Unsworth, has said that the judgment “creates a significant shift against press freedom.” No. It doesn’t.
From ACNS: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ask Presiding Bishop Michael Curry to preach at wedding
This afternoon I wrote an article for the Anglican Communion News Service. It is so popular that it has crashed the server! So I am republishing it here. The Presiding Bishop of the US-based Episcopal Church, Michael Curry, will preach at next weekend’s wedding of Prince Henry of Wales – more informally referred to as […]