Union calls for fast response to bullying claims
ALLEGATIONS of bullying raised against the Bishop of Aberdeen & Orkney, the Rt Revd Anne Dyer, must be dealt with “speedily and fairly”, the trade union Unite has said, The Times reports. The Scottish Episcopal Church launched an independent review of the diocese in March after reports that “about ten” priests and church workers had taken complaints of bullying by the Bishop to Unite (News, 12 March). A separate HR investigation, commissioned by trustees of St Andrew’s Cathedral, Aberdeen, was leaked to The Times this week. Siobhan Endean, a national officer of Unite, said: “All workers deserve dignity at work, and allegations of bullying to be dealt with fairly, confidentially and speedily so that appropriate remedies can be put in place. Only when this occurs then we can move forward to a final resolution and closure for all concerned.” The Church has said that the independent review, conducted by a former Moderator of the Church of Scotland, the Very Revd Professor Iain Torrance, has been completed, but is not being made public at this stage.
Pensions Board joins steel-industry investor campaign
THE Church of England Pensions Board is among a group of investors representing more than $55 trillion in assets, demanding action by the steel industry to decarbonise in line with the Paris Agreement (News, 10 December 2015). The Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change’s strategy for the steel sector states that it is technically feasible to reach net zero by 2050, “provided technology currently in demonstration is scaled up successfully and coordinated action in all regions is taken simultaneously by different actors”. Steel emissions account for nine per cent of global emissions, and, to date, only nine steel companies, representing 20 per cent of production, have made a commitment to the 2050 goal. The strategy notes that there is “little evidence of the concerted action needed from consumers of steel and in the steel value chain to reduce overall demand”.
CRE launch for Lord Carey’s second memoir
THE second instalment of the memoirs of the former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey are to be launched at the National Christian Resources Exhibition (CRE) in October. His first volume, Know the Truth, was published by Harper Collins in 2004 (Books, 2 July 2004). The second, The Truth Will Set You Free, published by the Barnabas Fund, tells the story of his retirement to the present. A CRE press release says that Lord Carey “writes honestly about how, in his 80s, the Bishop Peter Ball scandal came back to haunt him when his permission to officiate was suspended not once but twice” (News, 22 June 2017).
Exeter Chapter offers visitors free entry to seek their views
ENTRANCE to Exeter Cathedral will be free of charge to all visitors today and tomorrow. The cathedral hopes that visitors will contribute their views on architectural plans for the building, including a proposed Cloister Gallery linking the main cathedral with the medieval Chapter House and Pearson buildings, and on “how information should be presented to ensure it is as engaging as possible”. Last year, the Chapter was awarded £659,000 by the National Lottery Fund towards its “Investing in our welcome” project, which seeks to “make the Cathedral more inviting so that some of the untold glories of the building and hidden treasures can be highlighted and explored by visitors for the first time”.