New Bishop of Stepney announced
THE Dean of Rochester, the Very Revd Adrian Newman, is to be the next Bishop of Stepney, it was announced on Tuesday. An economist before being ordained in 1985, during a sabbatical last year Dean Newman researched the place of the Church in addressing urban poverty. He has also served in the dioceses of Sheffield and Birmingham. The Bishop of London, the Rt Revd Richard Chartres, said that Dean Newman’s “extensive, personal inner-city experience . . . exactly matches the needs of the Stepney area”.
Dr Sentamu welcomes trafficking opt-in
THE Archbishop of York, Dr Sentamu, welcomed the announcement by the Government this week that it would opt into the EU Directive on Human Trafficking, which gives greater protection to victims of child-trafficking and increased powers to prosecute traffickers. He said: “For some time, I have been raising the matter with the Home Secretary . . . Our Government should be ensuring Britain leads the way on tackling slavery, just like it did in the days of William Wilberforce.”
Bishops urge move on bribery law
FOUR Anglican bishops were among seven Christian signatories to a letter to The Sunday Telegraph this week, expressing “concerns with the delay of the implementation of the UK Bribery Act”. The Bishops of Leicester, Exeter, Lichfield, and Sheffield signed the letter, which said: “We cannot preach against corruption [in other countries] if our own house is not in order.”
Pope makes monsignori of ex-Anglicans
THE three former Anglican bishops who were received into the Roman Catholic Ordinariate in January were given the title “Monsignor” by Pope Benedict XVI last week. Mgr Keith Newton, who will lead the Ordinariate in Great Britain, and Mgr John Broadhurst were both appointed Pronotary Apostolic; Mgr Andrew Burnham was named a Prelate of Honour. A Pronotary Apostolic holds the highest ecclesiastical title available to clerics who are not bishops.
Lichfield diocese backs Covenant
THE Lichfield diocesan synod voted in favour of the Anglican Covenant in all three Houses on Saturday. It is the first diocesan synod to do so. Earlier this month, the Wakefield synod voted against. Letters