New Bishop of Connor elected
THE Archdeacon of Belfast, the Ven. George Davison (pictured), has been elected to be next Bishop of Connor in the Church of Ireland, it was announced on Monday. Archdeacon Davison, who is Rector of St Nicholas’s, Carrickfergus, and an Honorary Secretary of the Church’s General Synod, was elected by the Episcopal Electoral College for the diocese. He will be consecrated as a bishop on a date to be determined after his election is confirmed by the House of Bishops. He will succeed the Rt Revd Alan Abernethy, who retired at the end of December. The President of the Electoral College, the Bishop of Tuam, Killala, & Achonry, the Rt Revd Patrick Rooke, said: “I am confident that he will be a popular choice and a wise and caring leader in a diocese he knows well.”
No. 10 adviser quits over alleged race comments
AN ADVISER for No.10, Andrew Sabisky, resigned this week after he was criticised for alleged comments made in non-recent social media posts concerning race, eugenics, and pregnancy. The Labour Party had called for his resignation for reportedly saying that black people had lower average IQs than white people, and that contraception should be compulsory to prevent “creating a permanent underclass”. He was appointed earlier this year after the PM’s chief adviser, Dominic Cummings, urged “misfits and weirdos” to apply for jobs in Downing Street. Mr Sabisky, who worships at St John’s, New Hinksey, and Pusey House, Oxford, and co-hosts the Young Tractarians podcast, posted on Twitter: “I wanted to help [the Government] not be a distraction. Accordingly I’ve decided to resign.” The account has since been deleted and a new one created.
Charity urges church leaders to sign pledge
THE safeguarding charity Thirtyone:eight has launched a new campaign, the Safer Places Pledge, to commit church leaders to supporting a “movement for change” in the way in which churches respond to and “stand with” survivors of abuse in the Church. The pledge contains a commitment to six statements: speak up, put survivors first, conceal nothing, take responsibility, make change happen, and hold each other accountable. The chief executive of Thirtyone:eight, Justin Humphreys, said: “We must not just take responsibility and learn lessons, but make active, tangible, timely steps towards change and encourage others to do the same. . . I would encourage everyone who has been moved by what they have seen, read, and heard in recent months to join me in making this pledge.”
thirtyoneeight.org/news-and-events/pledge/