We routinely reject anonymous submissions or those using a pseudonym…
… so apologies to Jonathan David Harvey or whatever he’s called…
Clergy Conduct Measure 2026
On Wednesday, the Clergy Conduct Measure 2026 received Royal Assent. It will be brought into force by Order.
Prime Ministerial religious affiliation
On Tuesday, in a written question, Lord Birt (CB) asked HMG “what plans they have to legislate to ensure a Prime Minister of any religious faith can discharge all of his or her responsibilities” – to which the short answer is evidently, “none”. Bs Anderson of Stoke on Trent replied:
“While religious faith does not prevent anyone from becoming Prime Minister, the Government recognises that there are some historical restrictions on duties in statute. In such cases the Government would make alternative arrangements, so that it can discharge its responsibilities in full.”
Assisted dying in Jersey
On Thursday, it was announced that Jersey’s Assisted Dying Bill had been given Royal Assent. The Assisted Dying (Jersey) Law 2026 will come into force when it is registered at Jersey’s Royal Court, although it will not come into effect until next year.
Church “Treasure”
It was reported by Kaya Burgess in The Times that “a stash of gold coins, now valued at £30,000”, was found by accident in the 14th-century church of St Wilfrid in the village of Melling in Lancashire. A parishioner, cleaning the church for its last Easter services, found a bag behind the wedding kneeler under the altar, with a note dated 2022 saying: “Hi there, I’d like to donate these nine gold Britannias to Melling church”, and signed “James, servant of the living God”.
A number of other churches and a school in the area have also reported finding gold coins, but the identity of the donor is unknown. The money will not pay in total for the repairs estimated at £750,000, but the injection of cash has also brought hope and the local community has started a heritage fund to try to save the church.
Although not qualifying as a “Church Treasure” or as a “treasure” as defined in the Treasure Act 1996, the procedure outlined in Treasure on Church Land nevertheless applies, and the finds are subject to the faculty jurisdiction.
Dr Bernard Randall
In March 2023, we reported on the Employment Tribunal case, Mr B Randall v Trent College Ltd & Ors [2023] UKET 2600288/2020. The Revd Dr Bernard Randall, an Anglican priest, was employed as Trent College’s Chaplain. In May 2019, he delivered two sermons to the pupils about “competing ideologies” on identity politics and transgenderism, the content of which led to his summary dismissal in August 2019. He was reinstated on appeal but made redundant in November 2020 and subsequently lost his licence. His claim in the Employment Tribunal was unsuccessful.
On Thursday, however, The Times reported that he has been reinstated. After an independent review, the Diocese of London has concluded that it could not be established on the balance of probabilities that Randall’s sermon caused harm. The investigator for the diocese recommended that “the concern or allegation” over Dr Randall “was unsubstantiated and there are no ongoing safeguarding concerns”.
Questions at the July 2026 Group of Sessions of the General Synod
The 239 Questions (and answers) for this weekend’s meeting of the Church of England’s General Synod were issued on 9 July 2026. Of these, the following may be of interest to readers.
Q3: Clergy Discipline Commission
Following the Makin Review, the questions were asked on: (a) how many clergy have been subject to applications for disciplinary proceedings under the CDM; and (b) against how many clergy are disciplinary procedures still outstanding?
Replying on behalf of the Chair of the Clergy Discipline Commission, Canon Dr Jamie Harrison said:
“Following the publication of the Makin Review, the Director of the National Safeguarding Team sought from the President of Tribunals permission under section 9 CDM 2003 to bring proceedings out of time against 10 individuals.
Out of the 10 applications, 7 were granted permission. Following this, 7 complaints under the CDM were brought, with 1 case being subject to a decision to take no further action by the bishop under section 13 CDM 2003, and 2 other cases having a finding of no case to answer following an investigation under section 17 CDM 2003.
The remaining 4 individuals are awaiting trials, which will be later this month”.
Q65: Quantifying emissions
In response to another question, (Q65), the Church Commissioners were asked “What estimates have been made of the net effect on global temperatures if the Church of England achieves its Net Zero target?“, to which Sir Robert Buckland replied as Chair of the Net Zero Programme Board:
“Taking the Church of England’s efforts to decarbonise its buildings in isolation, the contribution to halting increases in global temperatures is impossible to measure. The same can be said for virtually every organisation, every home, every individual, and place around the planet but that is to miss the point. When the collective action, including that of the Church, is aggregated then our actions together will make a difference that can be measured. And not just in temperature terms but to the lives of our brothers and sisters, and the whole of creation, around the world”.
A more quantified analysis is here, in which we observed that the total emissions of the Church of England constitute less than 0.05% of those of the United Kingdom, which themselves are one hundred times smaller in global terms. Furthermore, in 2024, places of worship – churches, church halls and cathedrals – accounted under 32.5% of the Church’s total GHG emissions.
Q72: Current policy on AI for the C of E’s National Church Institutions
In response to a Question on the use of AI within the Church of England (Q72), Mr Carl Hughes to reply on behalf of the Presidents of the Archbishops’ Council:
“There is an NCI-wide AI policy which covers all employees and trustees working on company devices or personal devices used for work purposes. The policy allows the use of Microsoft 365 Copilot in a way which ensures compliant, secure and ethical use of GenAI technology and is under constant review as the technology develops.
As NCI employees the Communications team are covered by this policy. However, while the team regularly reviews how AI can be used to increase productivity, they ensure the graphics, images, videos and text are created by the team of communications professionals with relevant expertise. No prayers or worship materials are created by AI.
Additionally, AI guidance for churches is being worked on as part of Digital Labs training to equip church leaders. This is in response to the growing number of questions from church leaders and volunteers wanting support and guidance as they consider whether to use AI tools to help with their communications”.
Measures approved at Synod
The Draft Ecclesiastical Offices (Terms of Service) (Amendment) Regulations 2026, and Draft Ecclesiastical Property (Exceptions from Requirement for Consent to Dealings) Order 2026 were deemed approved. The associated Explanatory Notes and Policy Note are here, here, and here.
In addition, the Church has issued Synod Roundup: Saturday 11 July 2026.
And finally…
Nothing whatsoever to do with “religion” (though in some extreme cases association football does seem to excite a similar level of uncritical, undying devotion), but since the World Cup is reaching its climax, read on. The ECtHR recently had to consider a case involving football and freedom of speech. In De Carvalho Marques & Ors v Portugal [2026] ECHR 139, the Fourth Section held that a fine levied on Porto FC by the Portuguese Football Federation for comments in its club newsletter accusing a video assistant referee, one BP, of bias was a breach of Article 10 on freedom of speech. The Fourth Section said that the remarks were comments on BP’s professional conduct rather than on his private life and were “common in the context of football competitions”.
Quite so, Mr Trump. [With thanks to Scottish Legal News.]