English School Chaplain Reported to Terror List, Called 'Risk' to Children' for Doubting LGBT Ideas

The case of The Reverend Dr. Bernard Randall hit the news last year, when he was sacked from Trent College in Long Eaton, Derbyshire for questioning identity politics at school. However, reports suggest that the Church of England opted not to back him.

According to the Mail on Sunday, Dr. Randall, who defended pupils' rights to "question the introduction of new LGBT policies" in his sermon, was targeted not only by his school, but also by a church investigation.

After Dr. Randall said children were not compelled to "accept an ideology they disagree with," the diocese concluded that he posed a "moderate" risk. The probe claimed that his statements might cause children "anxiety" if they came to him with an issue concerning sexuality or relationships.

A picture shows a crucifix on the road to Etretat, northwestern France, on April 13, 2020, on the 28th day of a lockdown in France aimed at curbing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the novel coronavirus.

A Church safeguarding officer, who interviewed him in 2019, later claimed that Dr. Randall was not able to accept a different viewpoint, calling him a reputational risk.

"Despite his opinion being supported by scripture and elements of canon law, it is his apparent opposition to consider or accept a different approach to relationships which is of concern in a 21st-century Church of England. This is a reputational risk to be managed by any parish and diocese to which Rev’d Randall is connected."

Commenting on the assessment, the priest noted he was devastated by the decision.

"While this has never made me think I’m not going to be a Christian, it has made me question the state of the Church and seriously doubt my place in it. Due to loyalty, I haven’t spoken out until now about the Church’s role. I held back because I thought the diocese might see sense, but it hasn’t," he said.

Dr. Randall is now arguing at the employment tribunal that he was fired for his religious and philosophical beliefs. At the same time, he is taking legal action against the Bishop of Derby - The Right Reverend Libby Lane.

"He would not have been treated in this way if he had been approving of same sex marriage and transgender beliefs," the court filings say.

Reverend Libby Lane

Dr. Randall insists his sermon simply reflects the Church of England stance, noting that smothering safeguarding policies like this were unthinkable even a decade ago.

"We now live in an age where any kind of inconvenience to someone is not to be tolerated and everybody must be happy all the time. Institutions are now so terrified that someone will say something even moderately challenging" he said.

Earlier this year, The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby - the head of the Anglican Communion - addressed the LGBT issues, noting that gay sex is still considered a sin in accordance with a 1998 resolution that rejects "homosexual practice as incompatible with scripture."

The Archbishop noted, however, that he would not seek to punish or exclude churches that conduct or bless same-sex marriages, leaving the issue to their own consciousness.