John, your facts are wrong. There were not “two abstentions”.

Paragraph 567 of the Wilkinson Report sets out the voting figures in the Archbishops’ COuncil’s 21 June 2003 decision to sack the ISB:

11 voted in favour
4 voted against
4 did not vote (abstained)

That is not “two abstenstions”.

Stephen Cottrell lied to the Synod. In his speech in July 2023, he repeatedly said that the vote was unanimous. His notes said that the vote was unanimous. The “unanimous” claim was part of a false narrative being pushed by the Archbishops’ Council (of which he is co-chair). The day before his speech, the Archbishops’ Council’s communications team falsely brief journalists, repeating the lie that the vote was unanimous.

A slip of the tongue is one thing. A repeated mistelling of the truth as part of a co-ordinated campaign of misinformation, is not a slip of the tongue or a minor eror, it is a deliberate lie.

Your final sentence is astonishing: “Surely you must see that the persistent clamour for heads to roll is unhealthy and does nothing for the Kingdom.”

What damages the Kingdom is the continuing re-abuse of victims and survivors of church-related abuse by a Church hierarchy that engages in cover-ups, lies, mismanagement and reputation management. The Archbishops’ Council has driven people out of the Church. They have driven people out of their faith. They have driven people to suicide.

That is what damages the Kingdom. Jesus had something to say about this (see Matthew 18:6 and Matthew 7:23).

The “persistent clamour for heads to roll” might well be “unhealthy”. It would be healthier if those responsible for this safeguarding fiasco opted to go or were given their marching orders by people with clout to do so.

Chemotherapy and radiotherapy may cause poeple to be unhealthy. But in many cases, it is the only way to cure a cancer.

There is a cancer in the Church of England: a cancer that prioritises the needs of church powers and hierarchs, rather than the needs of victims and survivors who have been abused by people connected with the CHurch. Literally millions of pounds have been spent in recent years in “lessons learned reveiws” – but the Church never learns those lessons.

People at the tope, including Stephen Cottrell, William Nye, and other members of the Archbishops’ Council are responsible for this. They have refused to bring about change.

They need to go. And the sooner they go, the sooner the CHurch of England can begin to heal, and begin to pour the balm of healing on those who suffer.

There is balm in Gilead. But the Archbishops’ Council are hoarding it for themselves.

Surely you must see that the persistent clamour for heads to roll is unhealthy and does nothing for the Kingdom.

Best wishes
John