Archbishop ‘whitewashed’ complaint in ‘egregious’ blacklisting case
from Christian Concern:
Summarising the case:
- Expert legal officer (Gregory Jones KC) on clergy discipline cases concluded that the Derby diocese safeguarding team had provided no evidence to justify Rev. Dr Bernard Randall being marked a safeguarding risk to children for his Christian beliefs on human sexuality.
- Evidence was found that the diocese had blacklisted him, under the watch of Bishop of Derby, Rt. Rev Libby Lane, after it departed from safeguarding guidance and had given no reasons for doing so.
- The Archbishop of Canterbury was told twice by the same legal officer that he was ‘plainly wrong’, had ‘misdirected himself’ and had ‘misunderstood the scope of his powers’ after he said there was no disciplinary case for the Bishop of Derby to answer over the process which led to the blacklisting.
- After Justin Welby admitted safeguarding guidance had not been followed, but tried to downplay the seriousness of the case, he was told that the case was ‘egregious’ and ‘the error gross.’
- Justin Welby also ignored a safeguarding complaint that the Bishop of Derby had herself been guilty of abusive behaviour.
- The Bishop of Derby was told the safeguarding process in the diocese which led to Dr Randall’s blacklisting as a risk to children was ‘highly unsatisfactory’ and ‘flawed’ and should be reviewed.
- Evidence suggested Dr Randall had been discriminated against by members of the diocese’s safeguarding team because of his ‘certain theology.’
- An unprecedented tribunal hearing which would have examined whether Dr Randall had been discriminated against by the Bishop of Derby for his orthodox Christian beliefs was blocked at the 11th hour by President of Tribunals, Dame Sarah Asplin.
- Instead, Asplin advised that an independent review of safeguarding processes in Derby diocese in general and Bernard’s case in particular should be carried out.
- Six months since the decision, Dr Randall has still not been given his licence to officiate back and will now pursue a Judicial Review of Asplin’s decision not to proceed with a disciplinary case against the Bishop of Derby.
- Dr Randall has been vindicated by Prevent, the LADO, the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) and the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). Only the CofE is now dragging its feet over giving him his licence and life back.
- In 2019/20 Dr Randall was sacked for a sermon he gave on the CofE’s teaching on marriage in a CofE chapel in a school with a CofE ethos. Dr Randall had given the sermon following discredited and extreme gender identity group, Educate and Celebrate, being invited into the school to, in their words, ‘smash heteronormativity.’ He has been legally prevented from giving a sermon since losing his job at the school.
- Campaigners say even Jesus would have fallen foul of the Derby diocese’s safeguarding process.
You can sign the petition calling on the The Most Revd Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, to apologise to wrongly blacklisted chaplain and give Bernard his life back.
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