Comments on: An open letter to the Most Revd and Right Hon Stephen Cottrell, Archbishop of York

By: For God’s sake, Stephen Cottrell: Go. And go Now! - Church Abuse

For God’s sake, Stephen Cottrell: Go. And go Now! - Church Abuse — Tue, 28 Jan 2025 20:10:04 +0000

[…] epiphany letter, you promised greater accountability and transparency. You have shown neither. And the questions in my open letter to you remains unanswered. So we now know for sure that despite these latest “fine words”, no action will follow and your […]

By: Shhh! Silence from the Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell - Church Abuse

Shhh! Silence from the Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell - Church Abuse — Fri, 17 Jan 2025 14:08:54 +0000

[…] 9 January 2025 | An open letter to the Most Revd and Right Hon Stephen Cottrell, Archbishop of York… […]

By: Scott Lunn

Scott Lunn — Sat, 11 Jan 2025 14:17:06 +0000

Thank you for your questions in your open letter to the Archbishop.
There were five bullet points covering the Archbishop’s safeguarding priorities in his Epiphany letter.
I have written to the Archbishop for clarification on where the on-going debate on The Seal of Confession lies within these five priorities. (This work has been highlighted as a good example of survivor-engagement, though the long-finished report remains unpublished).
I have consistently argued for ‘Privacy, not secrecy’.

By: james

james — Sat, 11 Jan 2025 10:28:27 +0000

“Church is people and relationships and your connection with the Almighty. It’s not a building. It is not an institution.”

“Institutions are man-made and they are always going to be flawed, which is why I always keep a bit of distance from them. Our job in life starts with our neighbour. It is people, kindnesses, acts of love and quiet moments of connection with you and the Almighty.”

Bear Grylls comments in today’s Daily Tele (11.1.25) are possibly relevant.

A consequence of abuse cover ups is plain. ‘Pay up and shut up’ Churchianity is dying. ‘So pleased to have you as a member of the Church family-just pay up and shut up’. Good riddance to ‘pay up and shut up’. The NT describes the power to demolish strongholds. That is what we are seeing at the minute in the C of E.

To stay, but not pay, may be better than leaving the Church. The next few years will see positive change. Dropping the slavery reparations would be a great start.

By: Hugh Sinclair

Hugh Sinclair — Fri, 10 Jan 2025 16:21:14 +0000

I am concerned that the Rt Rev Glyn Webster has been reinstated by Archbishop Cottrell as a vicar at All Saints in York after Bishop Webster resigned in disgrace after being severely teprimanded by an enquiry into his case. Cottrell had assured Matthew Ineson that Webster was leaving the ministry. How two-faced!

By: Hugh Sinclair

Hugh Sinclair — Fri, 10 Jan 2025 15:27:14 +0000

Thank you for hosting this superlative site. In you, we who have been victims of clerical abuse, (in my case, psychological, threatening, menacing, by the vicar where I ran a bookshop), have the most able of advocates.

Bishops have lost all credibility. They have no place in the Lords. History will not forget Welby’s farewell speech to his fellow lordships after resigning. If that had been a scene from “All Gas and Gaiters”, it would have been deemed totally implausible! What an ass! It’s a pity Welby didn’t tell us more about Simon of Sudbury: he remains at Canterbury with a cannon-ball in place of a head. How appropriate.