Last week Chanel 4 broadcast a two-part documentary See No Evil about serial abuser John Smyth. It can be viewed online here, and there is this introduction: Serial abuser John Smyth’s wife speaks for first time in Channel 4 documentary. It has attracted much press interest.
Madeleine Davies Church Times ‘I am so ashamed’ says John Smyth’s widow in Channel 4 documentary
Jayne Manfredi Church Times TV review: See No Evil
Tim Wyatt Premier Christianity See No Evil: This Channel 4 documentary paints John Smyth’s family as his first victims
Barbara Ellen The Observer See No Evil – a too painful story of child abuse and the Church
Tola Mbakwe Premier Christian News ‘I never confused my dad with God’: John Smyth’s daughter speaks about faith and survival ahead of new doc
Fiona Lamdin and Bea Swallow BBC News ‘My dad abused 130 boys – learning the truth was horrifying’
The Church of England issued this press release Statement on Smyth documentary.
On a related matter there is this report in the Church Times.
62 CommentsMadeleine Davies Church Times Bishop ‘correct’ not to act against vicar concerning handling of Smyth reports, tribunal rules
The Church of England’s House of Bishops met today, and agreed to spend more time finalising its proposals on the Living in Love and Faith (LLF) process. There is a press release, which is copied below.
House of Bishops continues work finalising Living in Love and Faith decisions
16/12/2025
The House of Bishops has agreed to spend more time finalising its proposals on the Living in Love and Faith (LLF) process, which explores the Church’s approach to identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage.
At a meeting at Lambeth Palace in London today, bishops discussed a series of decisions taken in principle on the direction of LLF at their last meeting in October.
While those decisions were not contested, the bishops identified some areas where further clarification is needed and agreed to continue work on a letter to the Church summarising LLF and setting out an agreed position.
Bishops recognised the deep hurt, particularly to LGBTQI+ people, as a result of those decisions.
The House will meet again in January to finalise the text of the letter – which will take the form of a statement from the House.
The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, who chairs the LLF Programme Board, said: “Although we recognise that having not set out a final decision today may add to the frustration and distress many people are feeling, it is important we take proper care and time on this. That is needed.
“We remain on course to bring proposals to Synod for consideration in February.”
40 CommentsThe Church of England’s General Synod will meet in London from 9 to 13 February 2026. The outline of its business is online here, and is copied below the fold.
14 CommentsSouthwell Minister announced today that their next Dean will be the Revd Canon Dr Stephen Evans, who is currently the Rector of St Marylebone in central London. He will be installed as Dean on 19 April 2026. The Minster is the cathedral of the diocese of Southwell and Nottingham. Its website has more details here.
26 CommentsUpdated 12 December
This matter was first reported by Donna Birrell on Premier Christian News: Exclusive: Abuse survivor and former staff member say Church treatment pushed them to the brink. Her report is worth reading in full but here’s an excerpt.
The case of Survivor N
Survivor N’s case began more than a decade ago when he first reported accusations of abuse against a priest in the Diocese of London.
Premier has seen evidence that when he filed a complaint against the accused priest, Rt Rev Sarah Mullally as Bishop of London, contravened the Clergy Discipline Measure code of practice by sending a confidential email about the allegations directly to the priest concerned, outside of the CDM process. She also wrote to him that the claims were “unsubstantiated”.
Survivor N says he was then subjected to what he describes as a “systematic campaign of harassment and retribution as a CDM complainant”.
He later filed a formal complaint against Bishop Mullally for her handling of the case. In March 2020, in a letter seen by Premier, the then Bishop at Lambeth acknowledged receipt of the complaint. But 16 months later, when his lawyers requested an update, the same Bishop at Lambeth stated that the complaint had only just been received by Lambeth Palace.
A senior psychiatrist told Premier that during those 16 months, Survivor N’s mental health deteriorated sharply.
To this day, despite repeated requests from his solicitors, Survivor N says he has not received a formal response.
Today, the Church of England has issued two statements:
Lambeth Palace statement:
The provincial registrar for Canterbury has written to an individual – known as ‘N’ – to clarify and outline next steps in relation to a complaint the individual initially submitted in 2020 against the Bishop of London under the Clergy Discipline Measure.
Due to administrative errors and an incorrect assumption about the individual’s wishes, the complaint was not taken forward or appropriately followed up. The Bishop of London was unaware of the matter, as the process never reached the stage at which she would have been informed of the complaint or its contents.
The provincial registrar has apologised to those involved and urgent arrangements are now being made for the complaint to be considered according to the relevant statutory process.
The Bishop of London, Dame Sarah Mullally, said:
“N has been let down by the processes of the Church of England. While his abuse allegations against a member of clergy were fully dealt with by the Diocese of London, it is clear that a different complaint he subsequently made against me personally in 2020 was not properly dealt with.
“I am seeking assurance that processes have been strengthened to ensure any complaint that comes into Lambeth Palace is responded to in a timely and satisfactory manner.
“The Church’s processes have to change, both for complainants, and for the clergy who are the subject of complaints. Today, I am one of those clergy. As Archbishop of Canterbury, I will do everything in my power to bring about much needed and overdue reform. We must have trust in our systems, or else we cannot expect others to put their trust in us.”
Update 12 December
Donna Birrell has a further report: Church forced to revisit Mullally case as survivor raises concerns over contradicting evidence in its response which again I recommend reading in full. Another excerpt:
67 CommentsLambeth Palace told Premier that the reason N’s complaint hadn’t been followed up was because additional documents hadn’t been provided after July 2021 and the provincial registrar had believed N had decided not to proceed with the matter.
However, Premier has seen evidence that two bundles of documents dated 22nd August 2021 were sent to Lambeth Palace as well as to the ‘Designated Officer at the Church of England Legal Office’. A copy of the bundle was also sent to the President of Tribunals on the same date. They were all marked as having been delivered.
Lambeth Palace has told Premier that this hard copy documentation had previously been received from N in electronic form the previous month. However N disputes this and said several bundles were sent in August 2021 including several witness statements which had not previously been sent via email. Lambeth Palace told Premier that the Office of the President of Tribunals has no record of receiving anything from the complainant in August or September 2021.
The first time N learned that the CDM against Sarah Mullally hadn’t progressed and was no longer outstanding, was when he was told by Premier Christian News earlier this month.
The Prime Minister’s Office has announced that the next Suffragan Bishop of Grimsby in the diocese of Lincoln will be the Ven Jean Burgess, currently Archdeacon of Bournemouth in the Diocese of Winchester. The Lincoln diocesan website has this story.
7 CommentsAppointment of the Suffragan Bishop of Grimsby: 10 December 2025
The King has approved the nomination of the Venerable Jean Ann Burgess, MA, to the Suffragan See of Grimsby, in the Diocese of Lincoln.
From: Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street
Published 10 December 2025Background
The King has approved the nomination of the Venerable Jean Ann Burgess, MA, Archdeacon of Bournemouth, in the Diocese of Winchester, to the Suffragan See of Grimsby, in the Diocese of Lincoln, in succession to the Right Reverend Dr David Court following his retirement.
Jean was trained for ministry via the East Midlands Ministry Training Course, accredited by Nottingham University.
She served her title at St George and St Mary’s Church, Gresley, in the Diocese of Derby, and was ordained Priest in 2004. Jean served as Interim Minister at St Alkmund’s and St Werburgh’s from 2008 and was appointed Priest-in-Charge in 2013 and incumbent in 2018. Jean served as Archdeacon of Bolton and Archdeacon of Salford, both in the Diocese of Manchester, from 2018.
In 2023, Jean took up her current role as Archdeacon of Bournemouth, in the Diocese of Winchester.
Following the October announcement from the House of Bishops regarding the effective halting of the LLF process and a change of direction from the discussion towards and votes taken for fuller LGBTQ+ inclusion, Inclusive Church wrote an Open Letter and invited those who wished to be included as a signatory to it, to do so. People were asked to provide their name and home postcode, with the option to also add their title, the name of their church and an estimate of the size of their regular church congregation. The letter was available for one month, with no external media coverage, publicity through diocesan channels or paid promotion.
The full text of the letter is copied below the fold.
Inclusive Church has now issued a press release reporting on the nearly 7000 signatures received, which you can read here. (now in PDF format)
And there is a further much more detailed analysis available here.
96 CommentsThe Prime Minister’s Office has announced the appointment of Canon Christopher Palmer as the next Dean of Winchester. The press release is copied below. There is more information on the cathedral website. Canon Palmer will be installed on 15 March 2026.
Appointment of Dean of Winchester: 8 December 2025
The King has approved the nomination of The Reverend Canon Christopher Palmer, Canon Residentiary and Treasurer of Exeter Cathedral, as Dean of Winchester.
From: Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street
Published 8 December 2025
The King has approved the nomination of The Reverend Canon Christopher Palmer, Canon Residentiary and Treasurer of Exeter Cathedral, as Dean of Winchester, in succession to The Very Reverend Catherine Ogle following her retirement.
Background
Christopher was educated at University of Oxford and trained for ministry at St Stephen’s House, Oxford. He served his title at All Saints, Emscote, in the Diocese of Coventry, and was ordained Priest in 1999. He served as Team Vicar of All Saints, East Sheen, in the Diocese of Southwark and, from 2005, was also the Area Dean of Richmond and Barnes. In 2010, Christopher was appointed Team Rector of Merton Priory.
From 2018 Christopher served as Canon Chancellor of Exeter Cathedral and he took up his current role as Canon Treasurer in 2022.
15 CommentsThe Rt Revd Malcolm Macnaughton, the Bishop of Repton, has announced his retirement. His last day in post will be 30 April 2026. Details are on the Derby diocesan website.
1 CommentThe Revd Canon Dr Philip Hobday has been appointed as the next Dean of Wakefield; he is currently the sub-dean. Details are on the Leeds diocesan website and on the cathedral website. He will be installed on Saturday 07 March 2026.
45 CommentsThe Bishop of Southwark, the Rt Revd Christopher Chessun, has announced that he will retire on his 70th birthday in August 2026. Details are on the diocesan website, and the bishop has written this letter to his diocese.
1 CommentThe Bishop of Oxford, the Rt Revd Dr Steven Croft, has announced he will retire next July. Details are on the diocesan website.
18 CommentsChurch of England measures passed by the General Synod have to be passed by both Houses of Parliament before they can receive Royal Assent. Before this they are reviewed by the Ecclesiastical Committee of Parliament. The Church Times has reported that two draft measures have not been well received by the committee.
Ecclesiastical Committee concerned about power dynamics in National Church Governance Measure
Concerns about the “huge power” enjoyed by the body set to replace the Archbishops’ Council were voiced in Parliament last week, during a meeting of the Ecclesiastical Committee.
Convened to consider the National Church Governance Measure, which is set to overhaul the National Church Institutions (NCIs), the Committee heard lengthy criticism by Danny Kruger, the MP for East Wiltshire who defected from the Conservatives to Reform last month. His concerns were focused on Church of England National Services (CENS), a new charity replacing the Archbishops’ Council, that will be responsible for distributing funds allocated by the Church Commissioners…
There is an uncorrected transcript of the Committee’s public meeting at which it took evidence from Church representatives here.
Clergy conduct batted back to General Synod
The Ecclesiastical Committee of Parliament is expected to send the draft Clergy Conduct Measure (CCM) back to the General Synod for further consideration rather than approve its passage into law.
On Wednesday, the Church Times understood that the Measure had been rejected as “not expedient”, on the basis, primarily, of concerns about the default expectation in the CCM that tribunal hearings would be held in private.
The publication of a report confirming the parliamentary decision and setting out the reasons behind it is expected to be published next week…
The report has not yet been published; when it is it will be published here.
23 CommentsThe Charity Commission has issued this press release:
Church of England charity must rapidly accelerate safeguarding reforms
The Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England must rapidly accelerate the delivery of safeguarding improvements and close gaps in its approach to handling complaints, the charity regulator has warned.
The Charity Commission has set an expectation that the Archbishops’ Council should implement independent safeguarding structures as endorsed by the Church’s General Synod in February 2025 within 18 months from now – a year sooner than current plans indicate – and in the meantime, put robust interim measures in place to keep people safe.
The expectation is part of a Regulatory Action Plan issued to the Archbishops’ Council, a registered charity whose objects are to co-ordinate, promote, aid and further the work and mission of the Church of England. It follows the Commission engaging with the charity over whether its trustees are taking sufficient steps to address the safeguarding concerns and implement recommended changes raised in a number of safeguarding reviews…
….In summary, the Commission has found that:
- there is insufficient urgency and pace in implementing responses to past safeguarding reviews, and the current approach to doing so is fragmented and overly complex. For example, the Council’s current timescale of 2028 to pass the necessary legislation to implement independent safeguarding is too slow, representing a four year gap since the publication of the Jay Review
- currently the Church does not treat allegations of abuse from an adult not assessed to be “vulnerable” as a safeguarding allegation. The Commission’s guidance is clear that trustees must take reasonable steps to protect from harm all people who come into contact with their charity
To which the Church of England has responded:
Archbishops’ Council response to Charity Commission case review
24 CommentsUpdated Wednesday morning
At ViaMedia.News Thomas Sharp has written
Update
Third paper by Thomas Sharp
74 CommentsUpdated twice on Saturday
At Together for the Church of England Charlie Baczyk-Bell has written
B2 or not B2: that isn’t the question
At Psephizo Andrew Goddard has written
Why has the LLF process reached the end of the line?
The latter article is a summary: the full version (21 pages) is available here.
Updates
At Shared Conversations, Helen King has written
‘We need the theology’: what has now been released, and does it answer the real questions?
At ViaMedia.News, Peter Collier has written
Where Does the House of Bishops Currently Stand on the Use of Prayers of Love and Faith? Some Reflections
The next meeting of the Church of England’s General Synod is in February 2026. A number of miscellaneous papers, listed below, have already been issued. They include reports from the Faith and Order Commission and legal advice relating to the Living in Love and Faith process.
The Church of England has issued a press release (copied below) to mark the first anniversary of the publication of the Makin Review.
Progress update following publication of Makin Review
04/11/2025
Statement from lead safeguarding bishops Joanne Grenfell and Robert Springett, who chaired the Makin Task and Finish Group
“This week, we mark the first anniversary of the publication of the Makin Review and acknowledge again the deep harm caused by the abuse committed by John Smyth and the failures in the Church’s response.
“We are profoundly sorry for the ways in which the Church failed to protect children and vulnerable adults and for the lasting impact of those failures. Over the past year, we have continued to listen to survivors, offer them support and respond to the recommendations and observations in the independent learning lessons review. These came immediately to the National Safeguarding Steering Group and have continued to be scrutinised and acted on over the year, with implementation now well underway. Survivors are a key part of this work.
“Our commitment is clear: to create a Church that is safe for all, where safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility, and where survivors’ voices inform our decisions. We know this process will require humility, accountability, and sustained action.
“We want to thank all, particularly those with lived experience, who continue to hold us to account and shape the improvements that are needed. We are committed to transparency, continued progress, and lasting change.”
The National Safeguarding Steering Group has published a paper that will be presented to General Synod in February, setting out progress on the Makin Review recommendations and next steps.
The paper details final approval of the majority of the recommendations from the Makin Review. Of the recommendations, 24 are accepted fully and three in part. The Steering Group will continue to scrutinise the implementation of all the recommendations to support rapid and continuous improvement of safeguarding practice across the whole Church.
This paper updates the work that has gone on during the past year to implement recommendations from the Makin Review.
A new Code of Practice is in place which places anyone working or volunteering in a church under a legal duty to report any safeguarding concern they are made aware of. The Code specifies the process and timescales for reporting. Failure to comply with the Code can result in disciplinary action.
The National Safeguarding Team has sought to bring disciplinary proceedings against 11 members of the clergy who were criticised in the review, eight of which are currently in progress. The Anglican Church of Southern Africa has undertaken and published its own report into the abuse that took place there.
The development of an independent scrutiny body is underway, which will provide external oversight of safeguarding practices within the Church and hold Church bodies to account with powers to require compliance. Alongside this, the strategic and operational independence of the National Safeguarding Team is being reviewed.
A programme of independent safeguarding audits of cathedrals and dioceses is already underway. So far 15 cathedrals and dioceses have been audited and had their reports published, with clear recommendations for action. The Church now has a set of National Safeguarding Standards which provide a framework that aids the consolidation, analysis and implementation of both the Makin recommendations and those from other reviews, including the Future of Church Safeguarding and from the independent audit programme.
Finding support
If you or anyone you are in contact with is affected by the publication of this report and would like to talk to someone independently, please call the Safe Spaces helpline on 0300 303 1056 or visit safespacesenglandandwales.org.uk.
Alternatively, you may wish to contact the diocesan safeguarding team in your area or the National Safeguarding Team at safeguarding@churchofengland.org.
There are also other support services available.
35 CommentsThe Church of England Evangelical Council published these items:
Together for the Church of England published:
Inclusive Church published this LLF Open letter from Members of the Church of England
The Dean of Southwark preached this sermon (video)
23 CommentsUpdate Wednesday: links to articles by Madeleine Davies and Ian Paul added.
The Church of England has released its attendance statistics for 2024.
There is also an accompanying press release which is copied below.
Press release
Attendance at Church of England churches rises for the fourth year in a row
27/10/2025
Attendance at Church of England churches grew for the fourth year in a row last year, statistics have confirmed.
The overall number of regular worshippers across the Church of England’s congregations rose to 1.009 million in 2024, a rise of 0.6 per cent, according to the annual Statistics for Mission findings.
It was the second year in a row in which the Church of England’s “worshipping community” – the combined number of regular members of local congregations – has stood above a million since the Covid-19 pandemic.
All age average attendance on a Sunday also rose 1.5 per cent to 581,000 in 2024, extending rises over recent years.
And overall attendance across the week edged upwards by 1.6 cent in a year, and stood at just over 702,000 last year, according to the figures.
The increase was driven by a recovery in attendance by adults (over 16), among whom average Sunday attendance was up by 1.8 per cent and weekly attendance rose by 1.8 per cent. (more…)
22 Comments