News

The Archbishop of Canterbury has issued a further statement on the Report of the Independent Review by Lord Carlile of Berriew QC into the Church of England’s handling of the accusations against Bishop George Bell.

The Church of England’s Cathedrals Working Group has published a draft report on which it is seeking views via an online survey.

The Epiphany 2018 edition of our newsletter is now available.

A Tribunal has found that the Revd Timothy Davis, Vicar of Christ Church, Abingdon, abused his spiritual power and authority over a teenage boy, in breach of the Church’s safeguarding procedures.

The Charity Commission has published the outcome of its consultation on the content of the charity Annual Return for 2018 in the form of the Charities (Annual Return) Regulations 2017.

The Chairman extends best wishes to the members of the Ecclesiastical Law Society and their families for 2018‎.

The  Department for Communities and Local Government has published ‘Cathedrals and their Communities’, summarising the findings from the tour of all 42 Church of England cathedrals undertaken by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth as Minister for Faith at DCLG.

The Taylor Review, Sustainability of English Churches and Cathedrals, has been published and makes a series of recommendations on funding and practical support for the care and maintenance of the Church’s built heritage. It should be noted that its scope is limited solely to listed buildings of the Church of England.

The Law Commission has announced that, as part of its 13th Work Programme, it is to look at the issue of chancel repair liability.

The Law Commission for England & Wales has announced that it is to include burial and cremation law in its next work programme, under the heading “A modern framework for disposing of the dead”.

The Advent 2017 edition of our newsletter is now available.

The Christian Law Panel of Experts met recently in Geneva. Mark Hill reports on the meeting.

The three UK charity regulators – CCEW, CCNI and OSCR – have issued new guidance urging auditors and independent examiners to be more proactive about reporting concerns that may arise during their examination of charity accounts.

Two more London lectures for 2018 have been announced.

Members may be interested to know that the Ecclesiastical History Society’s Summer Conference, in Cambridge, will be on the theme of the Church and the Law.

The Ecclesiastical Law Society is holding its Day Conference at the St Bride Foundation, Fleet Street on 17 March. The Conference will focus on the training of clergy and others in ecclesiastical law.

The biennial Lyndwood Lecture, which is organised alternately by the Ecclesiastical Law Society and the Canon Law Society of Great Britain and Ireland, is to be held on Wednesday 7 November 2018 at 6.30 pm at the Temple Church, Fleet Street, London EC4, when Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch Kt DD FBA will give a lecture entitled, Richard Hooker (1554-1600): Invention and Reinvention.

The event will be preceded by Choral Evensong at 5.30 pm and followed by a drinks reception.