Category Archives: Anglicanism

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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Revealed: how Church of England’s ties to chattel slavery went to top of hierarchy

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Lambeth Palace documents show purchase of enslaved people in 18th century approved by Anglican archbishop

An archbishop of Canterbury in the 18th century approved payments for the purchase of enslaved people for two sugar plantations in Barbados, documents seen by the Observer have revealed.

Thomas Secker agreed to reimburse a payment for £1,093 for the purchase of enslaved people on the Codrington Plantations, as well as hiring enslaved people from a third party. It was stated the measures were “calculated for the future lasting advantages of the estates”.

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Wedding photographer at centre of row with vicars calls for truce

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Rachel Roberts and more than 900 photographers had signed petition about clergy obstructing their work

A wedding photographer at the centre of a row with vicars that has sparked an intervention by a former archbishop has called for the two camps to put aside their differences and work in peaceful harmony.

Last week more than 900 wedding photographers signed a petition started by photographer Rachel Roberts, who urged vicars to “improve” their working conditions after complaints that some clergymen and women had been making it difficult to take photos inside church premises.

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C of E reviews guidance for clergy supporting asylum seekers

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Move comes as church faces scrutiny from politicians over conversions of asylum seekers to Christianity

A review into guidance for clergy on supporting asylum seekers is under way as “a matter of urgency”, the Church of England’s parliament has heard alongside a claim of “buck-passing” between the government and the church.

The church has recently faced scrutiny from politicians over conversions of asylum seekers to Christianity, with a Conservative MP even suggesting taxpayers are being “scammed” by the archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, on the issue.

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Pastor says Welby would not meet him if he spoke at Palestine rally with Corbyn

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Archbishop said he could not meet Bethlehem Lutheran Munther Isaac if he shared platform with former Labour leader, Isaac says

The archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, cancelled plans to meet the Bethlehem-based Lutheran pastor Munther Isaac, saying he could not meet him if he shared a platform with the former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn at a pro-Palestinian rally, the pastor has said.

Isaac, the pastor of the Christmas Evangelical Lutheran church in Bethlehem, who has been highly critical of Israel in Gaza, saw his Christmas sermon go viral when he said if Jesus Christ was born today it would have been under the rubble.

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Teachers in England could face ban for failing to report evidence of sexual abuse of children

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Home secretary’s mandatory reporting legislation plan already covered by statutory duties, say school leaders

Teachers in England face being banned if they fail to report evidence of children being subjected to sexual abuse under plans for new legislation announced by the home secretary, James Cleverly.

The new law would make it a legal requirement for healthcare professionals, teachers and others who work with children and young people to identify and pass on cases of possible sexual abuse.

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‘Places of the living’: bishop of Norwich calls for churchyards to be rewilded

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Graham Usher urges Church of England to look into this ‘often very ancient land’, as it prepares to vote on increasing biodiversity

Churchyards should be rewilded to increase biodiversity and to make them “places of the living, not just the dead”, a Church of England bishop has said.

Local parishes are responsible for about 7,100 hectares (17,500 acres) of churchyards in England. The C of E also owns about 34,000 hectares of farmland, mostly let to tenant farmers, and 9,300 hectares of forestry.

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C of E refutes claims of ‘conveyor belt’ of asylum seeker fake conversions

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Suella Braverman and a former priest accuse church but Justin Welby says its role has been mischaracterised

The Church of England has refuted a claim that it operated a “conveyor belt for asylum seeker fake conversions”, saying parish records disproved the eye-catching allegation.

Churches have been at the centre of a storm over “fake conversions” in the past week after it emerged that Abdul Ezedi, the Afghan man suspected of a chemical attack on a woman and two children in Clapham, was granted asylum on his third attempt after converting to Christianity. Police said on Friday that Ezedi was believed to be dead.

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‘Profane’ or ‘innocent’? Row over Canterbury Cathedral silent disco

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Critics say dance event sends message that ‘Christians do not take their faith or their holy places seriously’

From south London’s Ministry of Sound to Ibiza’s legendary superclub Pacha, everyone has a favourite venue for dancing the night away. And now a rave in the nave may be about to join that illustrious list.

More than 3,000 people were expected to take to the floor across four sessions of Canterbury Cathedral’s 90s silent disco to dance to the likes of the Spice Girls, Vengaboys and Eminem, in an event that officials hope will serve to attract a new generation of worshippers to the building’s hallowed cloisters.

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Bishop of Chelmsford recalls fleeing Iran in 1980 after brother’s murder

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Rt Rev Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani tells Desert Island Discs how she came to UK at 14 after deadly ambush of elder brother

The Bishop of Chelmsford has told of how her brother was murdered in the aftermath of the Iranian revolution, leading her to flee to Britain as a child.

On Sunday, the Rt Rev Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani will tell BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs about the day her brother Bahram, 24, was killed in an ambush on 6 May 1980, when she was 14.

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