Child safeguarding

Child sexual abuse: the Blackburn Pastoral Letter is game-changer for the Church of England

June 21, 2019
Martin Sewell
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When St Paul began writing his letters I doubt he expected them to become as copied, shared, dissected and analysed as they are today. He wrote to help and support people he knew, sometimes in exasperation, sometimes in inspiration, and…

Is a diocesan bishop about to break ranks over historic child abuse in the Church of England?

May 13, 2019
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The past few weeks have seen a huge escalation in the accumulation of evidence and opinion on the tragic story of the Church’s safeguarding failures. I write in the context…

Emotional abuse in the Church: Bishops need psychological help

March 8, 2019
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There is a Jewish proverb that a good name is worth more than precious stones. In this reflective and penitential season of Lent, members of the Church of England House…

‘General Synod has no confidence in the Church of England’s capacity to regulate its own safeguarding culture’

February 20, 2019
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The laicisation of former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick by the Roman Catholic Church was one more step on the long journey towards cleansing that institution of sexual abuse, much of it…

How far is Bishop George Bell’s reputation restored? When is a cloud not a cloud?

January 25, 2019
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This is a guest post by Synod members Martin Sewell and David Lamming. _______ The Church of England has now published the Briden Report into the further allegations against Bishop…

church of england safeguarding guidelines card

Church of England Safeguarding Guidelines: progress, regression or PR spin?

January 7, 2019
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The Church of England has just brought out a very useful wallet-sized card of Safeguarding guidelines to remind its various bishops, priests and officers of what is a good and…

Church in Wonderland: the Clergy Discipline Measure shoves victims down a rabbit hole

December 4, 2018
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On 22nd November 2017 the Rt Rev'd Peter Burrows, Bishop of Doncaster, was having lunch in a cafe when his chaplain began a discussion about the case of Fr Matt…

Iwerne David Conner Dean Windsor John Smyth

Iwerne: what did David Conner (now Dean of Windsor) and others know about John Smyth’s regime of abuse?

November 6, 2018
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Many years ago, I worked as a duty solicitor, undertaking day and night visits to the local police stations. There were not many on the rota and it was a…

Lord Carey challenges Bishops to break their silence on the ‘significant cloud’ hanging over the name of Bishop George Bell

October 5, 2018
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Lord Carey spoke at the 'Rebuilding Bridges Conference' at Church House today, which aims to restore the name and reputation of Bishop George Bell. This is his speech, reproduced in…

rev susan brown moderator church scotland safeguarding suicide

Church of Scotland Moderator blames excessive safeguarding for the rise in suicide and self-harm among young people

September 12, 2018
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This is a very brave intervention by the Moderator of the Church of Scotland. In an era where the safeguarding of children and young people has never been more pervasive,…

It is pointless pouring the new wine of safeguarding into the old wineskins of arcane ecclesiology

September 6, 2018
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The Church of England media report on Monday told us that “a senior church figure” had been invited by the police to discuss an alleged failure to report a serious…

CofE clergyman tells suicidal sex-abuse victim to “crawl back under a stone”, and that he “probably enjoyed” it

August 20, 2018
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Surprising as it may seem, the wave of comment following the death of former Iwerne Chairman and serial abuser John Smyth very nearly wasn't the worse news for the Church…

John Smyth tortured Christian boys at Iwerne – where’s the CofE inquiry?

August 6, 2018
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The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) hearings into the crimes and cover-up relating to Peter Ball have rightly shocked many in the Church of England, yet what may…

York General Synod - Bishop Peter Hancock with abuse survivors

Synod – Reasons to be Cheerful (Pt 1): the secret to a contented flock

July 15, 2018
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Sometimes we need to remind ourselves that the glass is half full, and I offer these thoughts on General Synod in the irrepressible spirit of the late Ian Dury, which…

whitewash child abuse singleton report adequate

It is time for General Synod to protest: victims of sexual abuse deserve better than ‘adequate’

July 5, 2018
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Critics of the Church of England’s responses to historic sexual abuse can be fairly generous. Consider the words of David Pearson, founder of the Child Protection Charity CCPAS, who was…

CofE Safeguarding: General Synod is being managed, manipulated, duped and disrespected

June 18, 2018
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Since the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse moved the focus of its hearings away from the Church of England until returning later in July, campaigners for the reform of…

CofE: ‘Come and confess your sins, but we might have to report you to the police’

May 30, 2018
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It their guidelines for Safeguarding Children and Young Adults from Harm, the Diocese of Canterbury has apparently abolished the Seal of the Confessional. No longer may the penitent sinner confess…

Lambeth Awards: why is the CofE patting itself on the back over Safeguarding?

April 9, 2018
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The Lambeth Awards were bestowed last week at Lambeth Palace. The Anglican Oscars non-academic honours for exemplary service and inspirational ministry were instituted in 2016 as part of Justin Welby's…

In Holy Week we should hold our Archbishops’ feet to the fire

March 26, 2018
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Many years ago during the course of a philosophical discussion, an old writer friend of mine offered me one of the most simple yet incisive observations on the human condition.…

Where’s the headline: ‘Welby slams Sentamu’s lack of humanity and leadership’?

March 24, 2018
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Giving evidence to the Independent Investigation into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) this week, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby was asked: The other thing that we have seen a lot…