The Bully Pulpit

A bishop grabs her chance to speak truth to newly-inaugurated power, while the C of E's gay blessings project inches along without seeming any closer to conclusion

Hello! This week we’re dropping into American politics very briefly to assess the furore in the US after a bishop used the traditional post-inauguration prayer service to directly challenge Donald Trump and his policies.

Then we go into the detail on what the just-published synod papers tell us about the Prayers of Love and Faith process. What are the bishops proposing for disgruntled conservatives who refuse to work with their pro-blessings superiors? Have the C of E’s top theological brains managed to crack the code on how to let gay vicars marry contrary to the church’s own doctrine? Read on to find out.

And, lastly, yet another abuse scandal for a prominent Christian leader shows that maybe, just maybe, church bodies are starting to learn how to handle these situations a bit better for everyone involved.

Then we have my latest podcast (Who do children belong to in an era of surrogacy and reproductive technology?) and a juicy list of links to interesting church news stories I’ve st…