There are a number of issues
arising from the Agreement and one must ask why it was deemed necessary and
is it not hypercritical? On one hand the Church of England preaches the virtue
of loving thy neighbour and seeking peace and conciliation yet it has two of
its senior members not only acting as spoilt children by not practising what they preach but causing a 500 year split from Winchester without any
thought of the thousands of ordinary church goers and the general public whose offerings and taxes pay for their keep and salaries.
Just what is the Archbishop of Canterbury
playing at? In his press release he said:
“I am delighted that we have found a way forward which engages the full support
of everyone concerned, and which will enable the ministry and mission of the
Church of England to flourish in the Channel Islands while acknowledging on the
long and complex history of the Islands’ relationship to the Church on the
mainland, and I look forward to doing so from the secure understanding we have
now reached.”
Who are
the everyone concerned, it would be unforgivable if they just happened to be
the five people signing the Agreement.
What consultation has there been with the congregations within the
Diocese, don’t their views count for anything?
To many
readers the Agreement has more to do with appeasement than leadership. It is a
sell out which is akin to Neville Chamberlain’s “Peace in Our Time remark.” Does the Archbishop not
see the harm being caused by the split and also the message going out that
personalities are more important than principles?
There are a number of outstanding
issues which include the completion of the Gladwin and Steel Investigations.
Does the Agreement transfer the oversight of the Visitation to Bishop Trevor? What
about the promise to help HG and for her to give her account of events. What
about the promised transcript following my meeting with Dame Heather. What
about the Safeguarding issues, does Jersey follow the
Canons Law or the Church of England
Safeguarding Policies
One would have hoped that in the
spirit of openness and transparency the Agreement would have been published at
the time the Archbishop of Canterbury circulated his press release. I have
emailed both Bishops requesting a copy but do not expect a reply as they have ignored my previous emails relating to other issues.
We may not know what is in the Agreement
but there is one person who is overjoyed with its contents and that’s the Dean
who can’t wait to work with Bishop Trevor. However the Dean seems to be
oblivious to the fact that the split from Winchester
Also he was party to HG's arrest and deportation from Jersey and left
destitute in England Radio Jersey on Tuesday the Dean asks that we pray for Bishop Trevor but conveniently ignores HG who is the real
victim. Where is love thy neighbour and peace
and conciliation, where is the Christianity?
I am grateful to BBC Radio
Jersey for the link and inform readers
that I shall be appearing on Radio
Jersey after the 8am news on
Sunday morning to discuss the events over the past year I understand that the Bishop of Winchester has been invited to participate, I hope he will accept the invitation.
You can't stop talking about this HG but then again if you keep on talking rubbish about her being deported in her pyjamas then don't expect much interest.
ReplyDeleteHow sad, but then again there's none so blind as those who will not see. How about a comment on the reasons for the 500 year old split?
Deletehypercritical?
ReplyDeleteabove judgement? ironically your neologism could be spot on :)
I think there are many others who might share your view.
DeleteVery good blog. One additional thing - there is yet another commission on Jersey / UK Anglican matters coming along.
ReplyDeleteThanks Tony, yes you are correct and it makes one wonder what was the point of the Gladwin review.
DeleteYes, and I also wonder why the Reports are withheld. Officially, I believe they are unfinished. Also, I understand from a good source that reconciliation with Winchester is very unlikely.
DeleteWhen I saw Dame Heather last October she said she had almost completed her report even though she had not seen HG. It is getting to the stage that one just does not know what to believe with anything relating to Winchester and the Church of England.
DeleteI think you are right about no reconciliation with Winchester as Jersey will be looking to have its own Bishop.
Thanks for the specific reference to the Dean's interview. I have amended my blog link.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to your "appearance" on Sunday morning and do hope Bishop Tim turns up. Should make for great radio.
As you say, we cannot afford to forget, as the Church seems to want, that the crux of all of this is the abominable treatment meted out to HG (who was most definitely deported in her "night attire", call it what you will). This is much more important on the spiritual plane than any constitutional spat between branches of an institution whose purported mission is to cultivate love among its flock and beyond.
.
Thanks Polo,
DeleteI don't think anyone will put any money on the Bishop turning up. It is evident that HG's complaint has been taken as an opportunity for the Dean and Bishop Tim to settle old scores. So religion, safeguarding and HG become irrelevant.
Bob.
ReplyDeleteCredit to Matthew Price for pointing out to the disgraced Dean that he HAS NOT been cleared.
The only people who have exonerated the Dean are his friend Philip Bailhache and Philip Bailhache's friend ITV/CTV.
Philip Bailhache, and Bob Key, have obliterated 500 years of history rather than take responsibility for Bob Key's reported failings over an abuse complaint. This alone shows us that nothing has changed in Jersey despite the horrors committed at Haut de la Garenne and elsewhere.
Furthermore Constable Crowcroft's proposition will be debated in two weeks time concerning an elected speaker for the parliament. Let's hear what Philip Bailhache has to say about the importance of tradition during that debate!
Yes Matthew Price was right to challenge the Dean's claim that he has been cleared. The Bishop has stated that no disciplinary action is being taken. However on being re-instated the Dean apologised for the way he handled HG's complaint the fact that no disciplinary action is being taken probably has much more to do with politics than anything else.
DeleteIt is disappointing that the Bailhache brothers who are both judges should interpret the fact that no disciplinary action against the Dean means he has been exonerated. They should know better and it will be interesting to hear what Senator Bailhache has to say in during the debate on Connetable Crowcroft's proposition as he appears to have done nothing to prevent the split between Jersey and Winchester.
Terrible thing is The Dean and Senator Baillache are acting like Nazis
ReplyDeleteWhat they want,what they say is right,they want changes they make changes
Sod the rest of us and the unfortunate that trampled on the way
Just so they reign !
Out Out Out Out
Acting like Nazis may be a bit strong but both appear to have a great deal of influence.
DeleteWhatever the most accurate description of their behaviour may be, there is nothing Christian I can detect from it. They should read your excellent blog and give thought to how morality might play an important role in the treatment of HG. A church hierarchy so detached from the Christian Spirit and concern for the innocent runs a risk of complete moral irrelevance.
DeleteHow have they earned any legitimate respect for their alleged Christian mission, when politics plays the dominant role? Or, if their mission is more that of a purely social & political club, can they continue to expect happily obliging tax-payer support?
Elle
The Dean did apologize but is now saying he believes he did ‘absolutely nothing wrong’. !
ReplyDeleteThere is opposition within the congregation to the split from Winchester and the current leadership of the Church in Jersey - whether it is in the majority or minority is unknown, as opinions have never been canvassed let alone a democratic vote taken. Dissent is stifled to the extent of engendering fear of speaking out.
The truth of why the split is necessary has never been explained.
Those who would like to know the truth are being told by the clergy to “take it on trust” - those exact words apparently at a recent synod. That same discredited phrase so synonymous with the decades of pro-longed, concealed, criminal child abuse in the Church is deemed appropriate once more.
With absolutely nothing personal against the personalities involved some are asking, ‘Who elected Bruce Willing or Philip Bailhache as my spokesman?’
‘…full support of everyone concerned’ you're having a laugh Welby.
Precisely! For myself, I am not sure if the split is good but if it enables the Church to do what it should and minster to people then I support it.
ReplyDeleteYes but if only. Bishop Trevor is apparently known as Tricky Trevor because he is able to balance on the thinnest of fences and it won’t be long before he is completely in the Dean’s pocket who has stated that he can’t wait to work with him and is asking us to pray for him.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed your very forthright interview on Radio Jersey this morning, any chance of publishing a link to it?
DeleteThank you, I hope to publish the interview tomorrow.
Delete