Category Archives: The Figtree Affair
The Leopard has not changed its spots.
The Leopard has not changed its spots. By Louise Greentree[1] The particular leopard I have in mind is the Anglican Church in Sydney, though this might apply to other churches as well. In The Australian newspaper on 18 March 2015 it is reported that as a result of the inquiries by the Royal Commission
The Anglican Church Criminal Law System: The Anglican Church in Australia now acts as Police, Prosecutor, Judge and Jury against its own congregants.
This is an article I wrote and first published in 2008 on Louise’s Page of the website www.anglicanfuture.com. It remains as relevant now in 2015 in the light of Drew and Pippa’s case as it was in the light of the Figtree affair back then. Nothing has changed, the culture of incompetence and ruthlessness still
About Figtree Anglican Church: This is the House that Rod Built Part 1
About Figtree Anglican Church This is the House that Rod Built Part 1 ‘Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labour in vain’ Psalm 127:1 (TNIV) Introduction This is the first of a short series of articles about Figtree Anglican Church, which is located in Figtree, a suburb of Wollongong, just
‘The First Stone’ Revisited
Louise Greentree, 18th June 2008 In 1995 noted Australian feminist and author Helen Garner published her book ‘The First Stone’. In this she examined the case of two charges of indecent assault that were brought by the Victorian Police against the then Master of Ormond College, Melbourne University. The Police were acting on the complaints
A Cautionary Tale
Louise Greentree, 18th June 2008 Once Upon a Time there was a girl called Harriet. Like the character in a Jane Austin book she wanted to be loved and she wove fantasies in her mind, as girls do, about that day, that wonderful day, when her Prince would come. He, tall and handsome (of course)
A Cautionary Tale: The Coverup Begins
Louise Greentree, 18th June 2008 In her paper ‘A Cautionary Tale’, Louise Greentree wrote about how a 20-year-old young woman called ‘Harriet,’ a sufferer from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, has been abused by her mother, by members of the Parish and its then ordained leadership and by the then Rector’s wife in order to conflate her
Sex, Lies and Videotape
Louise Greentree, 27th July 2008 As we told you in the article A Cautionary Tale – the cover-up begins, at long last the diocese has formulated the actual ‘charges’ against Mr. A. and all the allegations of child sexual abuse have been abandoned as not sustainable. This in itself means that the diocese has had
A Mother’s Story of abuse at the Anglican Parish of Figtree
Louise Greentree, 5th September 2008 For more than 12 months Louise Greentree has been chronicling and analysing the story of the behaviour of the clergy and lay leadership and parishioners of Figtree Anglican Church concerning the allegations made against Dr. Scott Dobbs, and the abuse of the whole of the Dobbs family by clergy and
A Victory for Christianity
The Dobbs Family, MT OUSLEY NSW 2519 7 June 2009 Dear Christian Friends A victory for Christianity Last Wednesday, when we were attending a preliminary hearing by the diocesan Disciplinary Tribunal in connection with a point about Emma Nicholls’ charges, each of the Tribunal members heard how Machelle and I and the whole of our
Leadership, Ministry & An Espresso Coffee Machine
What are the limits on the power and authority of the clergy and lay leadership of a Parish and officers and senior clergy of Sydney Diocese of the Anglican Church of Australia to prosecute pseudo-criminal proceedings against an ordinary parishioner? Part I In her recent article ‘Open Letter to the members of the Disciplinary Tribunal