'Liberalism is in crisis. Or so it seems. In the aftermath of Brexit and Trump’s election, a plethora of books and articles reporting the end of liberalism emerged from both ends of the political spectrum. While the majority of voices from the American left and mainstream right mourned this perceived decline, a new faction within the right saw it as an opening for envisioning a fresh political paradigm beyond the constraints of liberalism. Many of these right-wing thinkers and activists, with whom U.S. Vice-President J. D. Vance publicly identifies, call themselves postliberals.

Confession is perhaps the most misunderstood of all the sacraments. It is a new beginning, a means of renewing one’s hope for eternal glory, and of encountering again the forgiveness of the Father. Concerns about the Church’s care for the vulnerable, safe-guarding, means that the absolution confidentiality of what is said in private confession, the ’seal’ of confession, is both misunderstood and attacked by many today, both within and outside the Church.

Fr Ben's Public Lecture will be the opening event of the conference on 'Confession: The Church's Gift to the World?' which will continue on the following day. Tickets will be required to attend the following day's presentations but Fr Ben's Public Lecture is free to attend.


Abstract:

Confession is perhaps the most misunderstood of all the sacraments. It is a new beginning, a means of renewing one’s hope for eternal glory, and of encountering again the forgiveness of the Father. Concerns about the Church’s care for the vulnerable, safe-guarding, means that the absolution confidentiality of what is said in private confession, the ’seal’ of confession, is both misunderstood and attacked by many today, both within and outside the Church.

The Revd Dr Rosalind Lane was a Prison Chaplain from 1996-2012. She was awarded her Doctorate in 2016 for a thesis entitled 'Imprisoned Grief: A theological, Spiritual and Practical Response'. In her research, she highlights the role of the Prison Chaplain as one who 'shepherds away from home' and argues that Chaplains are uniquely placed to support those who are disenfranchised in their grief whilst in prison. Her epistemological standpoint is one of a practitioner/researcher as a practical theologian, and arises from theological reflection on the experiences of those in her care.

'Guilt as a response to personal wrongdoing is healthy. But false guilt is not. ... Today we are again succumbing to a fresh and more general bout of false guilt about our colonial past, which is misshaping the policies of our governments and cultural institutions and weakening our international standing.' — Lord Biggar, Reparations: The Tyranny of Imaginary Guilt.

Lord Biggar will speak about his latest book, why he chose to write it, what its argument is, how it builds on his previous book, Colonial: A Moral Reckoning, and what impact he hopes it will have.

*2-day Conference: The Past and Future of Anglo-Catholic Socialism*
*Tuesday 10 and Wednesday 11 February 2026*

An impressive number of socialist priests and intellectuals were formed by the Anglo-Catholic tradition in the first half of the twentieth century, including Percy Dearmer, F.D. Maurice, R.H. Tawney, J. N. Figgis, Henry Scott Holland, Frank Weston, Conrad Noel, Albert Mansbridge, Charles Gore, Ken Leech, and John Hughes.

The lecture will seek to address a major omission in the history of the Labour Party: the lack of substantial work on the Roman Catholic contribution to it.

*2-day Conference: The Past and Future of Anglo-Catholic Socialism*
*Tuesday 10 and Wednesday 11 February 2026*

An impressive number of socialist priests and intellectuals were formed by the Anglo-Catholic tradition in the first half of the twentieth century, including Percy Dearmer, F.D. Maurice, R.H. Tawney, J. N. Figgis, Henry Scott Holland, Frank Weston, Conrad Noel, Albert Mansbridge, Charles Gore, Ken Leech, and John Hughes.

The Icelandic sagas have been used as a comparative literature for the narratives in the Old Testament ever since they became accessible in editions and translations towards the end of the nineteenth century. Scholars such as Hermann Gunkel, Gerhard von Rad, George Coats, Meir Sternberg and John Barton have all used the sagas to reflect on stories in the Hebrew Bible, ranging from single episodes like Jacob wrestling with an angel, to the entire span of the ‘saga’ of King David.