The Church of England – a safer space for abusers than for the abused
The long awaited IICSA report into 70 years of sexual abuse, cover-up and neglect of victims in the Church of England has finally been published. It has been followed by…
Peter Ball
Christ Church Oxford Trustees could be personally liable for £85K each
Followers of the Dean Martyn Percy story will recognise it as a tragedy not only for the individuals concerned, but also for Christ Church Oxford and the Church of England. We may have welcomed the recent intervention of the Charity…
Cottrell and Carey: why is some safeguarding secret, while others are thrown to the media?
It was announced yesterday that the Rt Rev'd Stephen Cottrell, who next week is to be formally installed as the 98th Archbishop of York, had been investigated over a past…
Safeguarding: the Church of England’s house is slowly being rebuilt
On 25th November 2015 the newly elected General Synod of the Church of England gathered to worship together with HM The Queen before she inaugurated the first sitting of its…
Jonathan Fletcher presents the Church of England with a crisis of integrity
On Boxing Day the nation was entertained on a bi-partisan basis by the tragi-comic story of Jolyon Maugham QC and his vulpine intruder. It will take some of us a…
Nobody knows Nobody’s Friends
People of a certain age might remember that the motorcycle patrolmen of the Automobile Association was once a common sight on British roads. Members sported badges on the fronts of…
Rev’d Jonathan Fletcher: CofE and GAFCON co-operate to manage risk to the vulnerable
The weeks leading up to General Synod were never going to be a happy time for the Church of England. Anyone in touch with the survivors of Anglican abuse across…
Child sexual abuse: the Blackburn Pastoral Letter is game-changer for the Church of England
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…
Emotional abuse in the Church: Bishops need psychological help
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…
Iwerne: what did David Conner (now Dean of Windsor) and others know about John Smyth’s regime of abuse?
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
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…
CofE clergyman tells suicidal sex-abuse victim to “crawl back under a stone”, and that he “probably enjoyed” it
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 dies – just as the CPS gives police go-ahead for his extradition and prosecution
John Smyth, who was accused of the sadistic beatings of young men under the guise of Christian discipleship, has died at his home in Cape Town. This brings to an…
John Smyth tortured Christian boys at Iwerne – where’s the CofE inquiry?
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…
Abuse victim: “The cruel and inhuman treatment I have received from the National Safeguarding Team in Church House, and others in the Church of England hierarchy, makes what Peter Ball did to me pale into insignificance”
It has not been a good week for the Church of England. We were warned as much by our Lead Bishop for Safeguarding, Peter Hancock, when he led the safeguarding…
Mandatory reporting of CofE child abuse is complicated, so let’s proceed incrementally
When judges are considering whether children can be returned to failing parents, they set the bar at a fairly low standard: ‘good enough parenting’ is sufficient. This approach does not…
Child abuse in the Church of England: Justin Welby must either accelerate the change or carry the can
This is a guest post by Martin Sewell, a retired Child Protection Lawyer who takes a special interest in Safeguarding as a member of General Synod. _____ When I was…
Safeguarding in the Church of England: when is a victim of child-abuse not a victim?
This is a guest post by Martin Sewell, a retired Child Protection Lawyer and a member of General Synod. ______ Yesterday I advanced a more sympathetic perspective on why Lord…
Lord Carey’s forced resignation is an injustice: he, too, was a victim of Peter Ball
This is a guest post by Martin Sewell, a retired Child Protection Lawyer and a member of General Synod. He considers here the wiles and manipulations of child-abuser Peter Ball,…
Child abuse in the Church of England: hypocrisy, inconsistency and ongoing cover-up
Child abuse is a seriously distressing matter. The violation, confusion, fear, self-loathing, guilt, depression... suicidal thoughts. It can take years and decades to come to terms with the misery and…