A chaplain for the Church of England (CofE) has won a seven-year legal battle after the church fired him and reported him to the UK’s counter-terrorism program for teaching students about biblical standards for sexuality.
Rev. Dr Bernard Randall has won a legal settlement that overturns CofE’s blacklisting campaign against him. He is now cleared to preach in church and work in education after filing a high-profile lawsuit accusing Trent College in Nottingham of discrimination, harassment, victimization, and unfair dismissal.
In July 2019, Dr. Randall delivered a sermon at a CofE school encouraging students to stand firm on Biblical gender teachings and challenge the LGBT agenda being spread by an external campaign group called Educate and Celebrate who stated a clear goal to “smash heteronormativity.”
Despite being in a Christian environment at the Church of England, Dr. Randall was kicked out of Trent College, reported to Prevent, which is a UK counter-terrorism program, and blacklisted by the Diocese of Derby as a safeguarding risk.
Now, seven years later, the Christian Legal Centre has won a legal settlement on his behalf, allowing Dr. Randall to teach and preach again after the Church’s most senior legal officer and independent investigator for the Diocese of London ruled the accusations against Dr. Randall’s sermon “unsubstantiated” and held there were “no ongoing safeguarding concerns.”
“After full consideration and review of the available information I cannot establish, on the balance of probabilities, that harm was caused by the delivery of the sermons. This allegation is therefore unsubstantiated,” the senor legal officer stated. “My recommendation to the (Safeguarding Case Management Group) in this matter involving Dr. Randall is that the investigation finds the concern or allegation was unsubstantiated and there are no ongoing safeguarding concerns.”
While the case concluded in Dr. Randall’s favor, he is disheartened over the seven years of ministry taken from him and expressed great concern for the Church, schools, and judiciary.
“Seven years have been taken from me for doing my duty as a CofE chaplain in a school with a CofE ethos. I encouraged pupils to think, to debate, and to love their neighbours whatever they believed. No minister, teacher or chaplain should be punished for upholding Christian teaching in a Christian setting,” Dr. Randall told Christian Concern.
“I am relieved that this legal ordeal has finally reached a settlement, but nothing can restore the years that have been taken from me. I was reported to Prevent, treated as a safeguarding risk, and shut out of ministry for preaching a sermon rooted in CofE doctrine,” he continued.
“My case has revealed the extent of the corruption within the Church, our schools and in the judiciary, and should deeply concern us all,” Dr. Randall concluded.
