A Trollopian tale

Historic Jersey

It wasn't just Cardinal Newman on Sunday today. 

There were also features on a new Muslim male voice choir and the return of far-right antisemitism in Germany, with the BBC's Damien McGuinness claiming that AfD have been misusing Muslim antisemitic attacks to mislead the public on where the greater threat comes from. 

And...a rather fascinating bit on the history of the Church in the Channel Islands - so fascinating that I'll quote you the start of it:

I'm standing looking out across the sea to St Aubin's Bay. Ahead of me, alongside Elizabeth Castle, is the Hermitage Rock where the Belgian monk Helier is said to have watched over the islands' early Christians. Murdered for his beliefs by marauding pirates, he gave his name to the capital St Helier and set a precedent for holy oversight of these scattered islands off the coast of France. Before the Reformation the Catholic Church here was part of the diocese of Coutanche then, briefly after the dissolution of the monasteries, they were part of Salisbury diocese. But for the last 500 years the Diocese of Winchester has exercised an arms-length ministry here.  

The story continues:

Safeguarding concerns came up over the handling of an abuse complaint in 2008. This led to members of the Anglican Church in the islands feeling uncertain about their relationship with the Winchester diocese. A strained relationship between the then Dean of Jersey and the Bishop of Winchester meant the Dean was suspended for a time. He was later exonerated and reinstated. So, as a result, in 2014 the Church of England in the Channel Islands was temporarily moved to become part of the Diocese of Canterbury, Now, after and Archbishop's Commission, the Channel Islands have been granted a full move to the Diocese of Salisbury.

The Diocese of Salisbury (not yet including the Channel Islands)

The Diocese of Salisbury already includes parishes "as far north as Marlborough and as far south as Poole and Weymouth", but the present Bishop of Salisbury told the BBC reporter Matthew Price (no, not that one! This one had a cheerful voice) that ferry and air services to Southampton and easy rail links to Salisbury mean that travel links are good. And Bishop Halton had some history for us too, noting a historical connection. The Pope 'made a link' with the Bishop of Salisbury back in 1496 and the Bishop of Salisbury in 1818 became the first bishop to go an confirm in the Channel Islands for years and confirmed thousands of people at one go. (Hmm. Not the most interesting facts in the piece perhaps!).

The move remains only a proposal though. It needs the approval of General Synod, the UK Parliament and the Channel Island governments. If approved, the move may occur by the Autumn of next year. Until then a former Bishop of Dover will continue to look after the Islands, despite having retired five months ago. 

So now you know. I'll be testing you later.