Should it be C of E? Or AC of DC of E? Spitting Image s4e3, TV studio homosexuality debate, ITV 1987
Q) Which organisation has over nine million pounds’ worth of shares in GEC, a quarter of whose products are for the arms trade?
A) The Church of England. Spitting Image s18e5, ITV 1996
The prayer-book riots though were just the fuse. What those who lit it wanted was to blow up the bishops and the whole royal Church establishment in Scotland. Simon Schama, A History of Britain: The British Wars, BBC 2000
I see it as an elderly lady, who mutters away to herself in a corner, ignored most of the time. George Carey
We must recall that the Church is always ‘one generation away from extinction’. George Carey
The conversion of agnostic High Tories to the Anglican church is always rather suspect. It seems too pat and predictable, too clearly a matter of politics rather than faith. Terry Eagleton
That Britain today is a liberal society is largely because of the philosophy and outlook of the Anglican Church, which did so much to shape our core values in the past few centuries. Robert Winston
The Church of England’s shameful secret: the files that reveal its role in slavery. Portillo’s State Secrets IX, BBC 2015
If you were asked to conjure up a quintessential English scene what would it look like? … What would it sound like? Lucy Worsley: Elizabeth I’s Battle for God’s Music, BBC 2017
Choral Evensong: It’s a special evening service of music and prayer at the very heart of the Church of England. ibid.
The heart of worship became a battleground fought over not just by Henry but by his successors … leaving their sister Elizabeth I to decide the religious fate of a bitterly divided country. Elizabeth had to fight to keep church music alive. ibid.
The scandal of child abuse in the Church of England: we investigate how senior clergy in one diocese failed to act. Abusers in church diocese who who were able to evade justice for decades. We ask, did the church put its own interests before the needs of survivors? And in the wake of past scandals can we trust the church to do the right thing today? Panorama: Scandal in the Church of England, BBC 2019
It was called the Past Cases Review and it should have been a chance for the church to discover once and for all the scale of its abuse problem of the past … Right from the start there was a serious flaw: the Church of England decided not to speak to survivors of abuse. ibid.
The Church of England’s broken promises on race and racism. We speak to clergy claiming discrimination. Panorama: Is the Church Racist? Clive Myrie reporting, BBC 2021
Only one in ten accepted for training into the Church of England are from ethnic minority backgrounds. ibid.
Of the clergy who lead them [services], only one in twenty-five is from an ethnic minority background. ibid.
I am the Reverend Jide Macaulay. I’m a minister in the Church of England and I’m a proudly out-gay man. I’m very happy with both sides of who I am. But I’ve arrived at a crossroads. At 53 years old I’ve finally met the man I want to marry. But while it’s my legal right to marry my same-sex partner, the Church of England forbids it. So if I do want to get married, I will have to choose between the love of my church and the love of my life. It’s not just a dilemma for me. Too Gay for God? BBC 2019
Am I too gay for God? ibid.
The Church of England is Britain’s biggest Christian denomination: it considers gay sex to be sinful but not gay identity. ibid.
We’re at Gloucester Police Station 14th December 1992: this is an interview under caution of with Bishop Peter Ball …’ Exposed: The Church’s Darkest Secret, rozzers’ tape, BBC 2020
This is thee story of the individuals who exposed a dark secret in the Church of England. For decades they fought the British establishment to reveal an extraordinary truth. The Church of England is run on a centuries old system of power and patronage. At the top are the Bishops who have great autonomy. In 1977 monk Peter Ball is appointed a Bishop in East Sussex. He establishes a residential project for young people looking for spiritual guidance. At its peak there were 24 young people staying with Peter Ball at his official Church residence. ibid. captions
The young come. They agree that for a year they will live very simply … ibid. Peter’s documentary commentary
Peter Ball was an active socialite … He had cultivated a friendship with Margaret Thatcher. ibid. rozzer
Soon, the sexual advances started … ibid. abuse survivor
In March 1992 Peter Ball is promoted to a more senior role and is enthroned as the new Bishop of Gloucester. ibid. caption
In July 1992 Peter Ball invited Neil Todd to live with him and train to become a monk. ibid.
Despite Mr & Mrs Moss informing senior clergy about Peter Ball’s abusive behaviour, the Church took no action. Bishop Jeremy Walsh told a Church review in 2017 that he could not remember what Mr & Mrs Moss had told him. ibid.
After three months of living with Peter Ball, Neil Todd moved to a religious community in London where he reported the abuse to senior Bishops. The Church failed to take action and did not support Neil. ibid.
Peter’s justification why we had to suffer was to be Christlike – Christ suffered … which is a symbol of torture. ibid.
I agreed to be beaten. And it was done ceremoniously. ibid. abuse victim
He came out and said he had told George Carey everything. ibid. rozzer
In the days following Peter Ball’s arrest six other victims, or their parents, write to Archbishop George Carey. ibid. caption
George Carey told the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse in 2018 he now accepts he should have passed the letters to the Police. George Carey told the Inquiry he ‘couldn’t believe that a Bishop in the church of God could do such evil things.’ ibid. captions
In March 1993 Gloucester Police are advised by the Crown Prosecution Service not to press charges. Peter Ball is not prosecuted, instead he accepts a caution and resigns. ibid.
Within two years Peter Ball was allowed to lead church services again. A year later, he was back in school preaching to young people. ibid.
The enormous church/establishment cover-up is an even bigger story than Bishop Peter Ball. ibid.
Letters sent to the Church alleging further acts of abuse by Peter Ball were not given to the Police. Ball resigns but within two years the Church will allow him to return to active ministry. Exposed: The Church’s Darkest Secret II
Peter Ball and Prince Charles exchange letters. ibid. victim
Prince Charles’ Duchy of Cornwall estate bought a house for Peter Ball and his brother to rent. Prince Charles also gave Ball and his brother ‘small gifts of money’. ibid.
I do think he was up to manipulating and manoeuvring people to suit his issues of power and control and his deviousness. ibid. lady
What has been uncovered is that there was a network of abusers operating in that area of East Sussex. ibid. David Greenwood, solicitor for abuse survivors
Letters from multiple victims of Peter Ball had been kept by the Church for more than fifteen years without being handed to the police. ibid.
Roy Cotton had even before he was ordained as a priest had a criminal conviction for child abuse, and the church knew about this but the church hadn’t shared this with the police. ibid. victim investigator
In 2009 a Risk Assessment of Peter Ball is undertaken in Bath & Wells. It leads to his permission to officiate being restricted and then withdrawn. ibid. caption
These documents: the were discovered in a filing cabinet which was called the Naughty Boys Cabinet. ibid. victim investigator
The Tyler Report really is the smoking gun in all this. ibid. solicitor
He had committed no offences since that caution in 1993: these things should not be brought up. ibid. George Carey
It would later be alleged that Peter Ball had offended again. ibid. caption
Following a damning Church report in 2017, George Carey was asked to resign from an honorary role as an Assistant Bishop. ibid.