Category Archives: Anglicanism

Sacking of Christian school worker over posts about LGBTQ+ lessons unlawful, court rules

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Kristie Higgs was dismissed after sharing posts on plans to teach equalities programme at her son’s C of E school

A Christian school worker who was sacked after she shared Facebook posts raising concerns about lessons in LGBTQ+ relationships for primary schoolchildren has won her battle in the court of appeal.

Kristie Higgs was dismissed from her role as a pastoral administrator and work experience manager at Farmor’s, a secondary school in Fairford, Gloucestershire, in 2019 after an anonymous complaint from a parent at the school.

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Church of England refuses call for gluten-free wafers and non-alcoholic wine

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Synod was asked to bring in alternatives for Eucharist, but says believers can still take part without consuming both

It’s the ancient ritual that unites millions of Christians in faith – but the Church of England is facing accusations that holy communion excludes non-drinkers or worshippers with dietary intolerances.

C of E guidance determines the type of bread and wine that can be consecrated as part of the Eucharist ritual, which symbolises Jesus Christ’s sacrifice, death and resurrection and commemorates the Last Supper.

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Church of England scandals stoke fears of mutiny as synod talks loom

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Demoralised clergy speak of church in freefall and crisis of trust in run-up to governing body meeting

Mutiny may be in the air when the Church of England’s normally staid ruling body, the General Synod, meets for a five-day session next week.

The gathering of the 500-member church parliament follows a series of tumultuous events that have resulted in the unprecedented resignation of the archbishop of Canterbury, repeated calls for the archbishop of York to stand down, and the sudden departure of the bishop of Liverpool. Behind all are cases of abuse, alleged abuse and the church’s failure to deal with abuse.

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Bishop of Liverpool quits amid sexual misconduct allegations

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John Perumbalath was under pressure from Church of England leadership over sexual assault and harassment claims

A senior Anglican bishop has quit his role amid sexual misconduct claims, plunging the Church of England into fresh crisis.

John Perumbalath, the bishop of Liverpool, bowed to pressure after his senior leadership team called on him to step aside after allegations of sexual assault and harassment surfaced.

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C of E must ‘kneel in penitence’ after difficult year, says archbishop of York

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Stephen Cottrell delivers Christmas sermon in place of Justin Welby, who will step down as de facto head of church

The archbishop of York has highlighted the need for actions more than words in his Christmas sermon, as the Church of England faces criticism over failures in its handling of recent abuse scandals.

Stephen Cottrell, who will become the temporary leader of the Church in England in early January in place of the outgoing archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said the church must “kneel in penitence and adoration” this Christmas and “be changed”.

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C of E may need to rethink archbishop of Canterbury role, senior cleric says

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Exclusive: Stephen Cottrell, archbishop of York, says church is in period of reflection after ‘unprecedented crisis’ over abuse cover-up

The Church of England may need to rethink the role of archbishop of Canterbury after its “unprecedented crisis” over an abuse cover-up, Justin Welby’s second-in-command has said.

In an interview with the Guardian, Stephen Cottrell, the archbishop of York, said he would welcome a woman taking over from Welby. But he warned that the responsibilities of the job may need to be shared more widely in future.

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Welsh Lib Dems leader under pressure after criticism over C of E abuse case

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Ed Davey says Jane Dodds should reflect on her position after failing to take action over allegations of abuse by late bishop of Chester

Ed Davey has said the leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats should reflect on her position because of her failure to take action over an abuse case when she was a manager in the Church of England.

Jane Dodds, who was briefly the MP for Brecon and Radnorshire and is now the only Lib Dem member of the Senedd, was criticised in a C of E report about abuse carried out by the late bishop of Chester, Hubert Victor Whitsey.

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Church of England ‘directly responsible’ for John Smyth abuse in Zimbabwe, victim says

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Rocky Leanders, then 15, was beaten with wooden paddle by Smyth at camp where boys were made to swim naked

When John Smyth gave a presentation at their school about his Christian holiday camps in 1993, Rocky Leanders and his school friends were “blown away”.

“This is Zimbabwe in the early 90s; the technology wasn’t great. These guys set up a projector with colour videos of speed boats … abseiling, golf, tennis, paddle boarding, swimming pools, diving boards,” recalled Leanders, who was 15 at the time. “We insisted we needed to go.”

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Candidate for C of E panel to choose Welby successor knew about John Smyth’s abuse

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Report says General Synod member Rev Andrew Cornes was told of Smyth’s abuse in 1982 but failed to act

A retired clergyman who could be part of the selection process for the next archbishop of Canterbury knew about the sadistic abuse of boys and young men in the early 1980s but failed to take action, according to the report that triggered Justin Welby’s resignation.

One of John Smyth’s victims discussed his abuse with the Rev Andrew Cornes in September 1982, but “there is no evidence to suggest that [Cornes] took action to respond to this”, the report said.

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Mystery surrounds John Smyth after leaving UK and Zimbabwe for South Africa

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Smyth enjoyed ‘opulent lifestyle’ in Cape Town after he was barred from Zimbabwe, where he abused boys at summer camps

The evangelical Christian barrister John Smyth abused as many as 130 boys and young men in the UK, Zimbabwe and possibly other African countries but an independent review has said there remains little concrete information on his time in South Africa.

The review into the Anglican church’s handling of Smyth’s abuses said he might have been brought to justice had Justin Welby, who on Tuesday announced he would step down as archbishop of Canterbury, formally reported him to the police when he found out in 2013.

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Justin Welby: why archbishop chosen for his managerial skills had to go

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Failure to tackle Church of England’s safeguarding issues and own knowledge of abuse reflect religions’ denial

In earlier times it used to be more straightforward: archbishops of Canterbury such as Thomas Becket and William Laud used to get it in the neck from the king; or, in the case of Simon Sudbury, who was killed in the 14th-century Peasants’ Revolt, at the hands of the mob.

Now, it is more likely to be a politician. Justin Welby has resigned after having lost the confidence of the Church of England over his failure to tackle the institution’s chaotic handling of safeguarding, and his own personal culpability in failing to spot his own vulnerability, arising from his links to and knowledge of the rapacious abuser John Smyth.

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Justin Welby to quit as archbishop of Canterbury over handling of abuse scandal

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Leader of Church of England had faced pressure since damning report on cover-up of John Smyth’s abuse

The archbishop of Canterbury is to step down amid intense pressure over his handling of one of the church’s worst abuse scandals.

Justin Welby’s decision, announced on Tuesday, comes after mounting demands from victims and members of the clergy for him to quit.

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Starmer refuses to back Justin Welby after clamor for archbishop to resign

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Prime minister says victims of serial abuser John Smyth ‘failed very, very badly’

Keir Starmer has refused to back the archbishop of Canterbury, who has faced growing demands to resign over his handling of an abuse scandal.

Pressure on Justin Welby has been intensifying since the publication last week of a damning report on the church’s cover-up of John Smyth’s abuse in the UK in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and later in Zimbabwe and South Africa. About 130 boys are believed to have been victims.

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Bishop calls for Justin Welby to resign over failure to pursue serial abuser

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Helen-Ann Hartley says archbishop’s position is untenable as members of Church of England’s ruling body launch petition

A Church of England bishop has added her voice to growing calls for the archbishop of Canterbury to resign over his failure to pursue a sadistic abuser of children when allegations were brought to his attention.

Helen-Ann Hartley, the bishop of Newcastle, said Justin Welby’s position was untenable and he should quit. A line needed to be drawn, she added.

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Group that emerged from Tory party hosts forum for Britain’s far right

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Traditional Britain Group’s London conference includes speaker from Germany’s AfD party and far-right activists

A group that emerged out of a faction of the Conservative party has become a forum for Britain’s splintered far right.

A private conference hosted earlier this month by the Traditional Britain Group (TBG) was attended by figures from the Homeland party, an extreme nationalist group, as well as rivals from other groups such as Patriotic Alternative.

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Archbishop of Canterbury reveals ancestral links to slavery

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Justin Welby says ancestor owned enslaved people in Jamaica and was paid compensation upon abolition

Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury, has revealed that his ancestor owned enslaved people on a plantation in Jamaica and was compensated by the British government when slavery was abolished.

Welby disclosed his ancestral links in a personal statement that reiterated his commitment to addressing the enduring and damaging legacies of transatlantic slavery.

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Faith leaders unite to reject prejudice on eve of 7 October anniversary

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Muslim and Jewish figures join archbishop in first act of high-level solidarity

Muslim and Jewish leaders today unite around an unprecedented joint statement calling the assaults on Israel on 7 October last year “brutal Hamas terrorist attacks” that led to a “devastating war in Gaza and beyond” which together have caused “horrific” human suffering.

Joined by the archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby in the first high-level act of inter-faith solidarity in the year-long conflict, they say in a letter to the Observer: “Our faiths and our humanity teach us that we should mourn for all the innocent people who have lost their lives.

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Anglican group launches £7m project in Barbados to atone for slavery atrocities

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Funds will help communities living on the Codrington estate, which was home to two sugar plantations

An Anglican church group is to launch a £7m reconciliation project in Barbados to atone for the atrocities of transatlantic slavery and compensate descendants of enslaved people.

United Society Partners in the Gospel (USPG), a UK-based missionary organisation created in 1701 to convert people in the colonies to Christianity, will work with local and regional partners in the Caribbean to allocate money to education and entrepreneurial grants and historical research. It will also support land ownership among descendants of enslaved people.

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Archbishop of Canterbury warns Christians against membership of far-right groups

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Exclusive: Justin Welby condemns violent disorder of recent days as ‘unchristian’

The archbishop of Canterbury has warned Christians they should not be part of any far-right groups, criticising the use of Christian imagery in this summer’s riots as “an offence to our faith”.

Writing in the Guardian, Justin Welby condemned the violent unrest, which he described as “racist”, “anti-Muslim, anti-refugee and anti-asylum seeker”. His intervention follows a week of disorder that began after a mass stabbing of children at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport last month.

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Slave trader Colston left bequest to Church of England, archive shows

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As archbishop of Canterbury visits Jamaica, research reveals trader left money to church’s missionary arm

The archbishop of Canterbury has spoken of the work to address the Church of England’s historic links to chattel slavery on a trip to Jamaica, as archive research reveals that the slave trader Edward Colston left a bequest in the 18th century to the church’s missionary arm.

Justin Welby is on a three-day visit to the West Indies to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the diocese of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. He said a £100m fund set up by the church would be used to benefit communities “which still bear the scars” from slavery.

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