Over the last few months, I have wondered whether, and if so how, to address issues that have appeared in the national press about the Church of England. In light of the fact that another story has recently appeared in the public domain courtesy of Channel 4 News, I am persuaded that I cannot avoid it, painful as it is. I am mindful this may be distressing reading for some.
For as long as I can remember, jokes have been made about “naughty vicars running off with the organist” but in truth, there’s nothing funny about this. Rather, it is desperately sad when clergy behave in an ungodly manner, leaving a trail of relational destruction in their wake. Quite rightly, we expect clergy to be examples – models of either celibacy outside marriage or faithfulness within marriage. When anyone with pastoral responsibility transgresses God’s good boundaries, it is not surprising that confidence in the church is eroded.
Sadly, it hasn’t stopped at “naughty;” some behaviour has been downright nasty – diabolical, even (and I use that word in its fullest meaning). The stories that have surfaced about some clergy in the Church of England over recent years are heartbreaking. It is to be deeply lamented when anyone, child or adult, is subjected to emotional manipulation and/or physical/sexual abuse; how much more heinous a crime it is when the abuser is a member of the priesthood. And to add insult to injury, the C of E’s response has been desperately poor. Survivors of abuse, wearied by the institution’s slow and inadequate approach to their pain have shared their stories with the press, some even bravely forgoing anonymity so that perpetrators and facilitators of abuse might be held to account. Fundamentally, this is why the Archbishop of Canterbury resigned his post last year – he was deemed by many to have failed in his duty to prevent one abuser from continuing to abuse; and by others to have acted without sufficient compassion for the victims of that abuse. The Church of England finds itself now in a position where two of the last three Archbishops of Canterbury, both of the last two Archbishops of York and other bishops have faced serious accusations of dereliction of duty in regard to safeguarding – not for abusing others themselves, but for failing to act rightly on information they had been given about abuse that had taken place. How long the current Archbishop of York will be able to withstand calls for his resignation is yet to be seen.
This week, the Church of England’s General Synod voted almost unanimously (392/407) to set up an external scrutiny body and to transfer most of the functions currently carried out by the Church’s own National Safeguarding Team to an external employer. Following advice from several key safeguarding bodies, Synod voted not to undertake the complex work of transferring diocesan teams and functions to that same external employer at this time, but to investigate doing this in the future. While survivor groups are disappointed with this two-stage process, it is nonetheless seen as a big step in the right direction, and the point has been made quite strongly that today’s church is far better equipped than the church of previous eras – when abuse was frequently and cruelly (for survivors) brushed under the carpet. In our parish churches, all our leaders are required to undertake frequent safeguarding training, and we have regularly reviewed policies in place to keep everyone safe. Do not hesitate to get in touch with me or our Safeguarding Officer if you have any concerns or questions.
May the Lord bring consolation to survivors and purge his church of evil.
Image by Anemone123 from Pixabay