THE violent disturbances that broke out in many English cities in August 2011 “made unprecedented demands on clergy, their staff, and the networks they were involved in”, is the finding of a new report, published by the Church of England’s Mission and Public Affairs Council. The report Testing the Bridges, which seeks to understand the role […]
Tag: Archive
Marriage ads approved
THE Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has rejected complaints against four advertisements placed by the Campaign for Marriage coalition. The adverts had appeared in Country Life, The Daily Telegraph, and two blogs. The ASA said that 24 complainants had challenged whether the claim “70% of people say keep marriage as it is” in the advertisements could be substan-tiated. […]
Women-bishops supporters might send measure back
THERE are growing signs that a procedural motion will be tabled to delay the women-bishops legislation when it goes to the General Synod for final approval next month. Under Section 94 of the Standing Orders, a motion can be moved from the floor of the Synod to send the draft Measure back to the House […]
Pope’s butler held over leaks to media
THE Vatican is still in shock after the arrest of the Pope’s butler last week on allegations that he had leaked secret documents to the Italian media. Pope Benedict XVI’s personal valet, Paolo Gabriele, was arrested on Wednesday of last week after confidential documents were found in the Vatican flat that he shares with his […]
House of Bishops amends women bishops Measure
A group of six senior Synod officials were expected to announce yesterday (Thursday) that the House of Bishops’ two amendments to the draft measure permitting the ordination of women to the episcopate were not significant enough to warrant a reference back to the dioceses, paving the way for General Synod to consider final approval when […]
Principal on ‘leave of absence’ after more redundancies
Wycliffe Hall, the Evangelical theological college in Oxford, was tight-lipped this week about the sudden departure of its Principal, the Revd Dr Richard Turnbull. Rumours started circulating about his absence on Friday. The college’s council finally issued a statement late on Wednesday afternoon to assert that he had not been dismissed. In its statement, the […]
The Leveson Inquiry – a brief update of the evidence to date (it’s all Tom Watson’s fault)
It’s not the Murdochs’ fault, it’s one lone journalist. It’s not the one lone journalist’s fault, it’s the executives. It’s not the executives’ fault, it’s the lawyers. It’s not the lawyers’ fault, it’s the police. It’s not the police’s fault, it’s the company. It’s not the company’s fault, it’s the private investigators. It’s not the […]
Conservative evangelicals set up rival Anglicans structure
The Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, meeting in London, say they’ll offer alternative spiritual leadership to dissaffected members of the Church of England. They also want an alternative to the Archbishop of Canterbury as chairman of the Anglican primates meeting. Is this a way of keeping the Anglican communion together or splitting it asunder? The Sunday […]
The Church in Wales Governing Body
The Governing Body (GB) of the Church in Wales, similar to the General Synod of the Church of England, met in Llandudno on the 18th and 19th April. I was there for the Church Times and produced a number of reports, including: Church seeks Welsh-speakers to fill language gap THE Governing Body (GB) of the Church […]
Church response to rising youth unemployment
Gavin Drake reports on what practical steps churches can offer to the young unemployed in the week that new figures show a rise in the number of young out of work. The Sunday Programme, BBC Radio 4