‘A support scheme set up for Church of England abuse survivors risks re-traumatising victims, a report seen by the BBC has concluded.’
BBC News, 1st June 2023
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘On 22 May, the Home Secretary made a statement on the Government’s response to the final report of the Independent Investigation into Child Sexual Abuse. She told the House of Commons that the Government had accepted the need to act on 19 of IICSA’s 20 recommendations (but see the response to Recommendation 3), though she also told the House that the Government’s response was not the final word. It should also be noted that “accepting the need to act” on a recommendation is not exactly the same as accepting the recommendation in full.’
Law & Religion UK, 23rd May 2023
Source: lawandreligionuk.com
‘The former Archbishop of York has been forced to step down from his Church of England role after a review into how he handled a child sex abuse allegation.’
BBC News, 14th May 2023
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘John Sentamu, the former archbishop of York, failed to act on disclosures that a Church of England vicar raped a 16-year-old boy, a report commissioned by the church has found.’
The Guardian, 11th May 2023
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Trent College is a co-educational, independent day and boarding school. It is an Anglican foundation and a registered charity [36]. Its articles of association provide that the “Objects for which the company is established are: The advancement of education of boys and girls in England, Wales or elsewhere in accordance with the Protestant and Evangelical principles of the Church of England”. The Revd Dr Bernard Randall, an Anglican priest, was employed as the College’s Chaplain. In May 2019, he delivered two sermons to the pupils about “competing ideologies” which led to his summary dismissal on 30 August 2019. On appeal, he was reinstated, subject to compliance with various management instructions. He was subsequently dismissed by reason of redundancy on 10 November 2020.’
Law & Religion UK, 7th March 2023
Source: lawandreligionuk.com
‘The Government has announced forthcoming changes to the Treasure Act 1996, as amended. The Act applies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Under its terms, newly-discovered artefacts defined as “treasure” are the property of the Crown, and a person who finds an object that he or she believes to be treasure must notify the relevant authorities within 14 days. The Act currently applies to objects that are more than 300 years old and are made of precious metal or are part of a collection of valuable objects or artefacts.’
Law & Religion UK, 24th February 2023
Source: lawandreligionuk.com
‘The Government has announced forthcoming changes to the Treasure Act 1996, as amended. The Act applies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Under its terms, newly-discovered artefacts defined as “treasure” are the property of the Crown, and a person who finds an object that he or she believes to be treasure must notify the relevant authorities within 14 days. The Act currently applies to objects that are more than 300 years old and are made of precious metal or are part of a collection of valuable objects or artefacts.’
Law & Religion UK, 24th February 2023
Source: lawandreligionuk.com
‘The Church of England’s General Synod has today voted in favour of a motion to offer blessings to same-sex couples in civil partnerships and marriages after an eight-hour debate over two days.’
Law & Religion UK, 9th February 2023
Source: lawandreligionuk.com
‘At the end of January 2023, the Daily Telegraph carried the headline Pride flag on altar of ‘church of woke’ triggers almighty court battle. In September 2022, it had been announced that the Pride flags which were hung from the altar at weekend services at St Nicholas, Leicester, would be replaced with “something a little more permanent” – “a huge Progress Pride flag made of fabric”. This is reported to have raised objections from in “hundreds of churchgoers within and beyond the diocese of Leicester” “as well as clergy” all of whom were attempting to block its use. Although the article suggests that a judgment from the consistory court was expected “imminently”, the issue has proved to be somewhat more nuanced.’
Law & Religion UK, 8th February 2023
Source: lawandreligionuk.com
‘A Church of England priest who shared “virulently antisemitic” material has been barred from ministry for 12 years.’
BBC News, 30th January 2023
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘In Professor Doreen McCalla v Lichfield Diocesan Board of Finance Inc & Anor [2022] UKET 1303655/2021, the claimant felt a call to ordination in the Church of England and went through its Discernment of Vocations Process between February 2016 and June 2021 but was rejected for training. She claimed discrimination in her treatment by the respondents and by others for whom she alleged the respondents were vicariously liable, both during the discernment process and in respect of its termination. She sued the Diocesan Board of Finance and the Bishop in his corporate capacity, initially claiming discrimination on grounds of sex, age and race [1-4], but by the time the claim came to trial it had been whittled down to a claim that either or both of the respondents had discriminated against her in the discernment process and its termination, in breach of s.55 (2) Equality Act 2010.’
Law & Religion UK, 24th January 2023
Source: lawandreligionuk.com
‘The Church of England has rejected demands to allow clergy to conduct same-sex marriages but is proposing that couples who married in a civil ceremony may have their union blessed in church.’
The Guardian, 18th January 2023
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Church of England bishops have refused to back a change in teaching to allow priests to marry same-sex couples, sources have told BBC News. The Church of England’s bishops met on Tuesday to finalise their recommendations after five years of consultation and debate on the Church’s position on sexuality.
Their proposal will be debated at the Church’s equivalent of a parliament – the General Synod – next month.’
BBC News, 18th January 2023
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘The post Law & religion in the UK courts 2022 highlights some of the most significant UK religion cases in the secular courts over the past year. Decisions of the consistory courts of the Church of England have been reported on a monthly basis and these ~150 cases were summarized in our annual review. In this post, we summarize nine cases which demonstrate different aspects of ecclesiastical law which have been of interest during the year. These include: “contested heritage“; the practical aspects of the Church’s “net zero“ commitment; a variant on the “seats vs pews” debate; a hark back to the Pre-Raphaelites; the Burial Act 1855; and cautionary tales from the courts.’
Law & Religion UK, 4th January 2023
Source: lawandreligionuk.com
‘The recently published Removal of bells from a closed church considers two judgments relating to St James, Church Kirk in the Blackburn Diocese; the earlier case, Re St James Church Kirk [2019] ECC Bla 4, suggested that the designation of “church treasure” was not appropriate in relation to one of the church’s bells [12, 13]. The Worshipful John W Bullimore addressed the issue in the context of a closed church, and below we explore this further and consider the utility of such a designation, other than providing a convenient shorthand for a range of disparate but valuable objects.’
Law & Religion UK, 2nd September 2022
Source: lawandreligionuk.com
‘Following the debate on Dr Simon Eyre’s Private Members’ Motion on Assisted Suicide on 10 July 2022, General Synod voted 289 in favour, 25 against and 33 abstentions; the Church of England issued the Press Release More funding needed for palliative care, General Synod hears, in debate on Assisted Suicide.’
Law & Religion UK, 12th July 2022
Source: lawandreligionuk.com
‘The General Synod of the Church of England has voted in favour of the first steps to legislate for a Clergy Conduct Measure which will replace the Clergy Discipline Measure 2003. The vote follows the publication of the report by the Clergy Conduct Measure Implementation Group, Under Authority Revisited, which sets out proposals for complaints to be allocated into three different tracks, depending on seriousness: “Grievance”, “Allegation of misconduct” and “Allegation of serious misconduct”.’
Law & Religion UK, 13th July 2022
Source: lawandreligionuk.com
‘The Church of England’s procedures for addressing issues of racial injustice and contested heritage are “inadequate” and “not fit for purpose”, according to the head of Jesus College at the University of Cambridge.’
The Guardian, 12th April 2022
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘In a guest post, Trevor Cooper, of the Historic Religious Buildings Alliance, looks at the issues surrounding “contested heritage”.’
Law & Religion UK, 21st January 2022
Source: lawandreligionuk.com
‘The Church of England has apologised for its role in the suicide of a former priest, who spent a year under investigation over unfounded rumours of child abuse.’
The Independent, 26th August 2021
Source: www.independent.co.uk
© Inner Temple Library 2023