Media Centre News List

Church of England comments on Draft Mental Health Bill

26 November 2004

People could be forced to undergo treatment unnecessarily if the Draft Mental Health Bill is enacted in its current form, the Church of England has warned. The Bill gives insufficient weight to considerations of capacity and autonomy in the conditions proposed for compulsion. It should be reconsidered in order to avoid patients being given inappropriate treatment either in hospital or in the community, says a submission by the Church’s Mission and Public Affairs Council to the Joint Committee on the Bill.

Human Genetics Consultation

11 November 2004

The Church of England has warned that human genetics should be developed for the purpose of therapy only, and not for the enhancement of the foetus, in a submission by the Church’s Mission and Public Affairs Council to the consultation Choosing the Future, run by the Human Genetics Commission.

Lent course studies impact of the Beatitudes

11 November 2004

Life Attitudes, published this month, is a five-session Lent course, exploring the Beatitudes and the way they were lived out by Jesus in his earthly life. The course provides practical guidelines for group study with interactive activities, including questions for group discussion and multimedia suggestions. As well as guidelines for group study, the book also provides full background notes for leaders.

Bishop elected to Crown Nominations Commission

10 November 2004

The Bishop of Newcastle, the Rt Rev Martin Wharton, has been elected by the House of Bishops to serve on the Crown Nominations Commission (CNC) to consider the vacancy in the See of York. In the event of the Bishop of Newcastle being unable to serve, an alternate, the Bishop of Southwell, the Rt Rev George Cassidy, has been elected.

Women Bishops in the Church of England?

02 November 2004

Women Bishops in the Church of England?, the report of the House of Bishops’ Working Party on Women in the Episcopate, chaired by the Rt Revd Dr Michael Nazir-Ali, the Bishop of Rochester, is published today, Tuesday, 2 November. The General Synod will discuss the report in February.

Compendium of saintly lives

29 October 2004

Saints on Earth, published this month, is a compendium of people commemorated in the Church of England’s calendar of Holy Days in Common Worship. It celebrates the lives of those who have personally lived out the gospel, often at great personal cost.

National Framework for Religious Education

28 October 2004

Religious Education in all schools will be given a strong boost by the launch today (Thursday, October 28) of the new National Framework. RE has been increasingly recognised in recent years as a vital and popular part of the school curriculum. Representatives of the Church of England, alongside those of other churches and faiths and other professionals, have been actively engaged in the development of the framework.

Initial response to the Lambeth Commission's Windsor Report

18 October 2004

The Lambeth Commission was established by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, in October 2003, to make recommendations to the Primates of the Anglican Communion on how to maintain the highest degree of communion possible following developments in North America. As the Commission published its report - known as the Windsor Report - today, a Church of England spokesman said:

Churches seek partnerships as catalysts for regeneration

18 October 2004

The Church of England is calling for partnership with national, regional and local bodies, as well as government at all levels, to unlock the potential of church buildings as catalysts for regeneration and safeguard their role as centres for a wide and often unacknowledged range of community activities.

The Lambeth Commission and the Windsor Report

15 October 2004

The Lambeth Commission was established by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Revd Rowan Williams, in October 2003, to make recommendations to the Primates of the Anglican Communion on how to maintain the highest degree of communion possible following developments in North America. The Windsor Report, produced by the Lambeth Commission, will be launched in London on Monday, 18 October, at 12.00 midday in St Paul's Cathedral Crypt.