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UK news in brief

09 September 2016

diocese of Winchester

Winchester move: the Very Revd Catherine Ogle, currently the Dean of Birmingham, with the Bishop of Winchester, the Rt Revd Tim Dakin

New Dean of Winchester announced
THE Dean of Birmingham since 2010, the Very Revd Catherine Ogle, has been appointed the next Dean of Winchester, Downing Street announced last week. She will be the first woman to hold the post. Ms Ogle trained at Westcott House, Cambridge, before her ordination as a deacon in 1988, aged 27. During her time as the Vicar of Huddersfield, she was seconded to BBC Radio Leeds, where she worked as the Religious Affairs Editor. The Bishop of Winchester, the Rt Revd Tim Dakin, said that he was delighted with the appointment.

 

Kendall House evidence deadline extended
THE deadline for evidence on allegations of abuse at the former Church of England-run children’s home, Kendall House, Gravesend, has been extended to allow more former residents to come forward, the dioceses of Canterbury and Rocester have announced. A panel, chaired by Sue Proctor, who led a large-scale investigation into Jimmy Savile’s crimes, concluded in its findings that girls were drugged, straitjacketed, locked in isolation, physically, emotionally, and sometimes sexually abused in the institution (News, 15 July). A statement on both websites read: "At the request of the dioceses, the members of the Review Panel will reconvene during the month of September 2016 to provide the opportunity for those former residents, who were unable to participate in the review, to share their experience with the panel members. It is intended that these experiences will then be written up and added as an appendix to the Kendall House Review report." Dr Proctor said: “The review panel welcome this extension and would like to encourage any former residents from Kendall House who as yet have felt unable to talk to us to get in touch.”

 

Teenagers face jail after car-jacking elderly Vicar
TWO teenagers have been convicted of robbery after the Associate Vicar of Holy Trinity, Hull, the Revd Irene Wilson, was assaulted and her car stolen as she left the church on a Sunday last month. Her laptop and £250 in cash were also taken. Jay Desborough, 17, and a 13-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were arrested and charged with robbery in Hull and Holderness Youth Court (News, 12 August). The pair were found guilty this week. Desborough is due to be sentenced on 20 September, and the other boy on 6 September.

 

Christian Aid praise Finance Bill amendment
CHRISTIAN AID has called an amendment to the Finance Bill carried on Monday a “decisive breakthrough against multinational tax dodgers”. The amendment, tabled by Caroline Lucas MP, will give the Government the power to publish the financial reports of multinationals country-by-country, information that is currently provided to the UK tax authority HMRC privately. The Senior Parliamentary Adviser at Christian Aid, Simon Kirkland, said: “The UK’s public services are suffering because multinationals are dodging tax, and the situation is worse in developing countries, which have a terrible struggle to get companies to pay their fair share.”

 

Cardinal Nichols speaks up for ex-prisoners
THE Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, has suggested a ban on a tick box on initial job application forms that require an applicant who has completed a prison sentence to disclose his or her conviction. Speaking at a conference on prison chaplaincy at St Mary’s University, Twickenham, on Tuesday, Cardinal Nichols said that discussing convictions with employers at a later stage in the recruitment process would give applicants a chance to “put their past in context and show who they really are”. He also said that the Roman Catholic Church was ready to support reform of prisons “from places of despair to places of redemption”.

 

 

Bishop John Ball dies, aged 81
TRIBUTES have been paid to Bishop John Ball, the former general secretary of the Anglican mission agency Crosslinks. He died, aged 81, on Monday. He served as the assistant bishop of the diocese of Central Tanganyika, part of the Anglican Church of Tanzania, and, in his retirement, as an honorary assistant bishop in the diocese of Chelmsford. The current mission director of Crosslinks, Canon Andy Lines, said that he was “still discovering ways, policies, and processes that were put in place” during Bishop Ball’s tenure more than 20 years ago. The Bishop of Central Tanganyika, the Rt Revd Dickson Chilongani, said that “he was truly a man of God” while the Vicar General, Canon George Chomolla, said that the diocese would always remember the “extraordinary ministry” of Bishop Ball and his widow, Anne. He is also survived by their three children, Mary, Philip, and David.

 

Church universities shortlisted in THE awards
CATHEDRAL GROUP church universities have been shortlisted in five categories in this year’s Times Higher Education Awards, writes Margaret Holness. They are Liverpool Hope for Excellence and Innovation in the Arts; York St John for Most Improved Student Experience; Winchester for Widening Participation and Outreach; Roehampton for Outstanding Contribution to Leadership and Sara Wolfson of Canterbury Christ Church for Most Innovative Teacher of the Year. The finalists will be announced at the awards event in London on 24 November. Congratulating the nominees this week, the Bishop of Winchester, the Rt Revd Tim Dakin, said: “These are all areas in which the church universities can make a difference.”

 

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