All posts tagged: church sexual abuse

The Church of England’s Christmas looks anything but peaceful

The Church of England’s Christmas looks anything but peaceful

Published by skeptic

LONDON (RNS) — Christmas, a holiday promising peace, is turning out to be a tumultuous period for the Church of England as sexual abuse scandals threaten to derail the archbishop of York, the senior cleric charged with leading the church after the Nov. 11 resignation of Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury. Since then, George Carey, who held Welby’s seat from 1991 to 2002, has also agreed to no longer officiate as a priest after being accused of failing to deal with a priest accused of abuse, in the same case that has also led to demands for the resignation of  Stephen Cottrell, the archbishop of York. The combined scandals have given momentum to those calling for the the church to give up some of its influence in the worldwide Anglican Communion and for its bishops to no longer hold seats in the House of Lords as the so-called Lords Spiritual. These latest crises come as the formal announcement was made by the Privy Council, a body of advisers to the British king, that the …

Should Christian men run America? Hell no, say abuse survivors in new documentary

Should Christian men run America? Hell no, say abuse survivors in new documentary

Published by skeptic

Christa Brown speaks about experiencing abuse, at a rally outside the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex, June 11, 2019, in Birmingham, Ala. (RNS photo/Butch Dill) (RNS) — Christa Brown has heard former President Donald Trump and his supporters boast of returning Christians to power in the United States — and returning the nation to what they say are its Christian roots. She wants none of it. Brown, a sexual abuse survivor and longtime advocate for abuse reform in the Southern Baptist Convention, has seen what happens when Christian men have power over women in the church. The thought of them having the same power over the country makes her quake. “I have seen what it means for the largest evangelical Protestant faith group in the country, and it is bloody awful,” Brown says in a new short film about the connections between abuse and Christian nationalism called “For Our Daughters.”  “That is not the country I want,” Brown says. “For Our Daughters” film poster. (Courtesy image) Brown is …

Far-right pastor Doug Wilson meets with local critics in Idaho

Far-right pastor Doug Wilson meets with local critics in Idaho

Published by Sam

MOSCOW, Idaho (FaVS News) — In a rare public forum, controversial pastor Doug Wilson took center stage Thursday night (April 11) at an auditorium on the University of Idaho campus, to field digital questions from the local community, accompanied by two leaders from his Christ Church ministry. “We are part of this town, and we would like to get along as much as possible,” said Wilson, explaining the purpose of the town hall. Since its founding, Christ Church has frequently clashed with the wider Moscow community. One recent point of contention was the church’s vocal opposition and active resistance to federal and local COVID-19 restrictions aimed at curbing the pandemic’s spread. Wilson urged followers to “resist openly” these measures, referring to it as a “cold civil war.” In September 2020, the church organized two anti-mask protests at Moscow’s City Hall, leading to citations, arrests and a subsequent legal battle where a judge ruled the city wrongfully arrested protesters since religious and protest activities were exempt from mask mandates.  The church was founded in the 1990s, …