The Reverend Bernard Randall, who was targeted by church leaders for his Biblical views on sexuality, will appear Nov. 12 at England’s Royal Courts of Justice to ask the court to review Archbishop Justin Welby’s decision to block a disciplinary case against the bishop of Derby.

Bishop Libby Lane labeled Randall a “safeguarding risk” to children after Randall preached a sermon in 2019 at Trent College. In the sermon, Randall assured students that they had the right to question the teachings of the LGBTQ group Educate and Celebrate, which had been brought in to implement a LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum at the school.

Despite the fact that Randall’s sermon was in keeping with the Church of England’s (CofE) official teaching, Randall was fired from his position at the college, and because of his labeling as a safeguarding risk, he has not been employed in a ministry position since then. When Randall sought a disciplinary hearing against Lane, Welby blocked the complaint from being investigated.

The Christian Legal Centre, which is representing Randall, says that the safeguarding team under Lane’s guidance applied the label to Randall “without evidence and without following official guidance.”

Randall has been vindicated by a number of entities, including the government’s terrorist watchdog, Prevent; the Local Authority Designated Officer; the Teaching Regulation Authority; and the Disclosure and Barring Service.

“Only the CofE is now dragging its feet over giving him his [ministry] license and life back,” the Christian Legal Centre said in a press release.

In advance of this week’s hearing, Randall said:

“In my case, safeguarding has been weaponized as a political tool against a theological position which is wholly consistent with the Church’s doctrine.

“I have been vindicated by a number of secular bodies, but the CofE, who on paper share my beliefs and should be supporting me, are refusing to give me my life back.

“In this case, I was assumed to be a safeguarding risk because of the content of my sermons. This amounted to stereotyping on the grounds of belief, which is unlawful.

“The failure to hold anyone to account for such deeply flawed processes is a scandal. It looks like a whitewash, as if the Archbishop’s knee-jerk reaction was to protect a senior colleague, rather than to seek justice or reconciliation, even to the extent of ignoring a safeguarding complaint.”

The Christian Legal Centre said that because all remedies available to Randall in the Church of England’s own courts are exhausted, Randall “has faced no alternative but to apply for a judicial review.”

To date, more than 40,000 people have signed a CitizenGo petition supporting Randall. The petition reads:

“Dear Justin Welby,

I stand with Bernard Randall, who was wrongly branded a safeguarding risk and hounded out of Church of England ministry because of his Christian beliefs.

“Please:

“Admit your mistake and apologize comprehensively to Bernard.

“Give Bernard a new license to minister.

“Hold a full investigation into how Bernard was treated.”

Photo: Christian Concern