The Church of England’s General Synod has met for the first time since the Archbishop of Canterbury resigned and the Bishop of Liverpool retired, events related to safeguarding which have shocked the church.
In this discussion, journalists who reported on the meeting reflect on how Synod dealt with the crisis on its hands, fudging a vote on making safeguarding independent; tightening rules on clergy conduct which allow clerics to be sacked; refusing to back a suite of ideas to reform the way bishops are appointed; and applauding proposals to appoint more working-class people.
Our panel saw signs of a move away from a centralised machine in the church, little sign that the synod made any impact on the CofE’s national standing, and more responsibility for local churches to just carry on.
Hosted by Ruth Peacock, the panel was: Francis Martin from the Church Times, Susie Leafe from Anglican Futures and Andrew Carey from the Church of England newspaper.
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