Next Dean of Salisbury appointed
THE next Dean of Salisbury is to be Canon Nicholas Papadopulos, Treasurer of Canterbury Cathedral, and Director of Initial Ministerial Education for Canterbury diocese, Downing Street announced last week. He is to succeed the Very Revd June Osborne, Bishop of Llandaff since last July. Canon Papadopulos, who is 51, served as senior chaplain and press officer to the Bishop of Salisbury from 2002 to 2007. He said of his appointment: “Salisbury Cathedral shaped my early ministry. . . Returning as Dean is an awesome privilege.” He was Vicar of St Peter’s, Eaton Square, in London, before his move to Canterbury.
Dr Sentamu and four other bishops ‘investigated’
THE Archbishop of York, Dr Sentamu, and four other Church of England bishops are under police investigation over allegations that they failed to respond to a report of clerical sex abuse made by the Revd Matthew Ineson five years ago, The Times has reported this week. Mr Ineson, who says that he was assaulted and raped by the late Revd Trevor Devamanikkam in the 1980s (News, 16 March), resigned from his incumbency in 2013 after disclosing his ordeal to several senior church figures. The Times reported that South Yorkshire police were working with the Crown Prosecution Service on the “early stages” of an investigation. A spokeswoman for the C of E’s National Safeguarding Team told the newspaper: “We have not been contacted by the police but would obviously fully co-operate if asked.” Mr Ineson’s lawyer, David Greenwood, said: “It is reassuring to see the police carrying out this investigation.”
Bishop of Chelmsford defends Stansted protest
THE Bishop of Chelmsford, the Rt Revd Stephen Cottrell, has praised a protest at Stansted Airport last year against a charted night flight taking deportees to Nigeria. In an open “call to prayer” last week, Bishop Cottrell wrote that the protesters, who lay on the runway, stood “in a long tradition of civil disobedience which has close ties to Christianity through figures such as Martin Luther King Jr. . . They have drawn attention to an injustice which damages us all.” Fifteen people are standing trial on charges of obstructing or disrupting a person engaged in lawful activity and organising or taking part in a demonstration likely to interfere with or obstruct Stansted Airport, and other charges under the Aviation and Maritime Security Act. A demonstration in support of the defendants was held outside Chelmsford Crown Court this week.
Archbishop of Wales condemns ‘Punish a Muslim’ campaign
THE Archbishop of Wales, the Rt Revd John Davies, has deplored the campaign “Punish a Muslim” — which led to the circulation of the hashtag #punishaMuslim on social media — as a disgraceful incitement to hatred and discrimination. “I deplore the actions of those responsible for the letter campaign encouraging people to ‘Punish a Muslim’. It is disgraceful and an incitement to both racial and religious intolerance, the like of which have no legitimate place in our society.” A spokesperson for the Muslim Council of Wales said: “Whilst there is no evidence that this letter has been posted to Welsh addresses, it has been electronically spread and we would like to give assurances to the Muslim community to go on with their daily life on the day and also encourage the wider community to be united against hate and bigotry.”
Sherborne man admits indecent assult
ROY GRIFFITHS, 82, of South Street, Sherborne, who was charged as part of an investigation into historic child abuse in Lincoln diocese (News, 5 May 2017), has pleaded guilty to six charges of indecent assault which relate to offences between January 1963 and July 1970 and involved six different boys. He had previously denied the charges (News, 16 March 2017). Judge Simon Hirst ordered that Griffiths be placed on the sex-offenders register, and, before adjourning for the preparation of a report, told him that a custodial sentence was almost inevitable.
Bishop of Richmond to be Bishop of Kirkstall
THE see of Kirkstall will replace that of Richmond in the diocese of Leeds, and its Area Bishop, the Rt Revd Paul Slater, is to be known as the Bishop of Kirkstall, since the change has received the Royal Seal. The see of Richmond, last used in 1921, was revived in 2015 on the creation of the new diocese of Leeds. The choice of Kirkstall reflects an ancient monastic foundation at Kirkstall Abbey in the city. “The job remains the same, but the name Kirkstall makes much more sense,” Bishop Slater said.
HEREFORD CATHEDRALMemorial to Hereford fire victims: a new plaque commemorates eight children who died after fire broke out when they were performing to support the war effort at the Garrick Theatre, Hereford, in 1916. It will be dedicated in Hereford Cathedral next Friday (13 April)