Church worker attacks ‘bullying’ culture


Paul Wilkinson


BULLYING WITHIN churches is a “major problem” which is rarely discussed openly, according to an experienced church worker who has assisted victims. People are being undermined, subjected to constant criticism, deliberately overworked, verbally attacked in public and have had gossip spread about them, according Dr Rosemary Power who is leading a workshop on the sub- ject at this weekend’s National Justice and Peace Network annual conference of the Church’s social action activists. Dr Power, who now lives in Ireland, but


worked in churches in England for 17 years, identifies the bullies as individuals in positions of authority who have been inadequately pre- pared for supervising others. “Many people in leadership have not been prepared for it and there is a very dangerous, heady combin - ation of spiritual authority and power without human accountability,” she said. Dr Power says bullying occurs across all denominations and at all levels, but its victims


are often people involved on the social justice side of church work such as carers or ecu- menical and refugee workers. “It is not just one-off, but persistent aggression, determined to destroy – very small actions which are delib- erately hostile,” she said. “Many of the people who are bullied are doing innovative jobs at a time of great change and a lot are women. All churches are led by men, very few have women leaders in import - ant positions”. When the problem does surface, it is fre- quently dealt with by the victim moving on, often signing a confidentiality agreement to avoid publicity. Victims can suffer mental and physical ill health and have to give up their work. In her workshop, Dr Power intends to focus on how people can confront bullies and defend and support victims and the ways in which the testimony of survivors can help change unjust situations. “We also need a forum where those who have been the targets can meet their attackers to describe what has happened,” she said.


Theology publisher bought by Bloomsbury


THE PUBLISHERof books by Pope Benedict XVI, Hans Küng and the Archbishop of Canterbury has been bought by Bloomsbury in a deal worth just over £20 million, writes Christopher Lamb.


Continuum, which owns the imprint of the


Catholic publishing house Burns & Oates, is an international academic publisher that pro- duces works on theology, history and education. Bloomsbury, publishers of J.K. Rowling’s


Harry Potter books, described the deal as “transformational” and said that the new busi- ness would provide the cornerstone for their academic and professional division. Nigel Newton, Bloomsbury chief executive


■AleadingCatholic bookshop says it cannot afford to sell the altar version of the new Missal because the trade discount offered by its publisher is too small, writes Christopher Lamb. Every parish and Religious house in most of the English-speaking world will have to buy at least one copy of the £230 volume ahead of the introduction of the new translation of the Roman Missal during Advent this year. In England, Scotland, Wales and


Australia, the publisher of the Missal is the Catholic Truth Society (CTS), which this week came under fire from Stephen Moseling, operations coordinator of St


and a Catholic, told The Tablet that the pub- lishing of theology would continue to thrive, as would Burns & Oates. He added that Bloomsbury’s academic publishing arm is projected to have sales of £22m a year. Recent Continuum theology titles include Benedict XVI: a guide for the perplexed by Catholic academic, Professor Tracey Rowland, and The Death of a Child by Peter Stanford, a columnist for The Tablet. Latest figures show that Continuum was


set to make a £600,000 profit this year before tax and had a turnover of £10.7m. Robin Baird-Smith, the publishing director of Continuum in London, is a director of The Tablet.


Pauls Bookshop, next door to Westminster Cathedral, who said the 10 per cent trade discount offered to bookshops by the CTS makes stocking the new Missal financially unviable.


“Bookshops won’t be able to stock the


Missal unless CTS improves the terms. At the moment it is not profitable for us to sell it,” said Mr Moseling, who has appealed to Fergal Martin, the general secretary of the CTS, to change the trade discount. But Mr Martin said that the CTS position


would not change. “We are receiving orders from bookshops which are accepting the 10 per cent discount,” he said, adding that the Missal had been very expensive to make.


16 July 2011 | THE TABLET | 33


Equality watchdog in European religious discrimination cases


BRITAIN’s Equality and Human Rights Commission is seeking leave from the European Court of Human Rights to intervene as an independent expert witness in a quartet of cases involving alleged religious discrim- ination in the workplace, writes Sam Adams. Among the cases is that of Gary McFarlane, a Bristol sex counsellor who said he could not treat homosexual couples, and that of Lillian Ladele, a London registrar who refused to officiate at civil partnerships. In a statement this week, the commission said that if given leave to intervene in the four cases due to go before the European court, it would “argue that the way existing human rights and equality law has been interpreted by judges is insufficient to protect freedom of religion or belief”.


Demolition protest


PARISHIONERS in Berkshire claim they were not properly consulted before a decision was made to demolish their church, writes Sam Adams. St Margaret Clitherow in Bracknell has been closed for a year following repeated thefts of copper from its roof that caused tens of thousands of pounds’ worth of damage. The Diocese of Portsmouth has since decided to demolish the 40-year-old building, which it says is financially “unsustainable” due to the cost of repairs and its vulnerability to future thefts. A Facebook group set up by parishioner Kate Pitt, 44, to campaign against the closure has been joined by more than 170 people.


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