Canon Chris Chivers has been named as the next Principal of
Westcott House, Cambridge. Currently the Vicar of John Keble
Church, Mill Hill, in London, he trained at Westcott House, and has
been a Canon of both St George's Cathedral, Cape Town, and
Blackburn Cathedral. "I look forward to being a strong advocate of
the residential training so vital to my own ministerial formation
and the ongoing health of the Church," he said.
A FORMAL complaint has been lodged with the General Medical
Council against the Royal College of Psychiatrists, and three of
its members, over the college's "misleading" public statements
about homosexuality. The complainants accuse the college of a
U-turn on its position, set out during the passage of the Marriage
(Same Sex Couples) Bill, that sexual orientation was biological and
fixed at birth. Dr Peter May, a former GP and one of the
complainants, said: "There is good evidence that sexual orientation
can change. Yet the largest UK providers of psychotherapy and
counselling . . . have all made ethical policy statements banning
any therapy which seeks to facilitate such a change." In January,
14 UK organisations, including NHS England, signed a Memorandum of
Understanding, which stated that "efforts to try to change or alter
sexual orientation through psychological therapies are unethical
and potentially harmful." The complaint was examined at a
conference held on Tuesday "exploring unwanted same-sex
attractions", organised by Core Issues Trust, Christian Concern,
and Anglican Mainstream. Last week, President Obama called for an
end to psychiatric therapies that sought to change the sexual
orientation of those under 18.
THE Revd Professor Alister McGrath has been appointed Professor
of Divinity at Gresham College, London - a position established
more than 400 years ago. He will deliver a series of free public
lectures on "The Big Questions", exploring the relationship between
religion and science.
A CHURCH OF ENGLAND priest, Canon Charles Richardson, took his
own life in November after being arrested over the possession of
indecent images of children, an inquest found last week. He had
emailed the police "expressing remorse", the Coroner's court in
Folkestone Magistrates' Court was told, the BBC reported. He had
been due to answer bail, knowing that he was likely to be charged.
At the time, he was Vicar of St John's, East Dulwich. He had been
"fully co-operating" with the police.
A CAMPAIGN has been launched to canonise the Roman Catholic
priest, Fr Thomas Byles, who stayed on board the Titanic,
praying with passengers and helping them on to lifeboats rather
than boarding one himself. Fr Graham Smith - who is the current
incumbent of Fr Byles's church, St Helen's, Chipping Ongar - is
leading the calls for canonisation. "He's an extraordinary man who
gave his life for others," he told the BBC."We are hoping and
praying that he will be recognised as one of the saints within our
canon."
https://vimeo.com/36963876
College head:
Correction: The Bishop of Birmingham
is the Rt Revd David Urquhart, not Colin Urquhart (News, 10
April)