The failure of the Church of England’s safeguarding policies and procedures dominated the opening days of its General Synod, meeting February 11-14 in London. The C of E has been mired in controversy in recent months after a series of safeguarding failings came to light.
One of them — the physical abuse of up to 130 young boys by barrister John Smyth during Christian youth camps — led to the resignation of the Archbishop of Canterbury. A report by independent reviewer Keith Makin said that Smyth could have been brought to justice if Archbishop Justin Welby had properly reported what he knew to the police.
A debate on the Makin Review was held on the first day of the Synod. Before that, it was the turn of the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, to deliver a presidential address. A lay member of the Synod, Sam Margrave of the Diocese of Coventry, moved what was essentially a vote of no confidence, a procedural motion that, if passed, would have prevented Cottrell from delivering his address.
Margrave’s motion was in response to controversy surrounding Cottrell’s safeguarding record, which has been revealed in recent weeks by a serious of media reports, including his handling of the known abuser, Canon David Tudor, who was a priest in the Diocese of Chelmsford, while Cottrell was bishop there, and his handling of two separate allegations of sexual assault and harassment against the former Bishop of Liverpool, John Perumbalath. Perumbalath has denied the allegations, but resigned from his post on January 29 after they were revealed by the U.K.’s Channel Four News.
Margrave’s motion was opposed by 239 Synod members. But the motion highlighted the extent of disquiet about Cottrell’s leadership of the Church of England, with 73 voting to support the motion and a further 43 abstaining. Some members walked out as Cottrell began his address.
As part of his address, three female members of the Synod led members in a Litany of Repentance. One of them, Bishop Sarah Mullally of London, has temporarily taken on some of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s metropolitical responsibilities.
In his speech, Cottrell acknowledged the depth of the problems facing the church.
“I am deeply, deeply mindful of the feelings of anguish, anger, sadness, and regret present in this chamber,” he said, “not least among victims and survivors of abuse and those who valiantly support them, but also among women in our church who are still victims of discrimination, unwanted touch, and, at times, even sexual assault.”
He added: “It’s because I love the Church of England — and because I take so seriously our responsibility to be the church for our nation and all its people — I am deeply dismayed by our failings; failings that have been laid bare by the Makin Review and by other recent stories of shocking abuse, and I am determined that we make the changes necessary that will prevent these failings ever happening again and give us the processes of accountability and improved practice that we so urgently need.”
Area Bishop Joanne Grenfell of Stepney in the Diocese of London is the C of E’s lead bishop on safeguarding. Opening the debate on the Makin Review, she said: “We need to recognize the widespread failure within the church to respond well to disclosures of abuse, as well as, in some instances, the deliberate coverup of that abuse in the past. …
“Faced with the unimaginable reality of John Smyth’s abuse, and the shame of being part of a church where individuals and groups of people covered up and responded in wholly inadequate ways to that, and other, abuse, the only possible response is our collective confession, repentance, and commitment to turn back to God’s truth and light.”
The Rt. Rev. Julie Conalty of Birkenhead in the Diocese of Chester, deputy lead bishop for safeguarding, read out some words from survivors to the session. One of them, pointedly, said: “We don’t trust what you say, because we see what you do.”
After a somber and measured debate, the Synod approved a motion — with 384 in favor and two abstentions — that expressed the Synod’s repentance for the church’s failings, called on people in leadership positions in the church to “redouble work to implement best practice,” and recognized the “continuing effects” of abuse on the lives of victims and survivors.
Synod had the opportunity to put those words into action the next day, when members debated a motion to set “the direction of travel” for new independent structures for safeguarding. Two options were under discussion. Option Three would see national safeguarding staff transfer to an independent body, while Option Four would also transfer diocesan and cathedral safeguarding staff to the new independent structure.
Those favoring Option Four, including most survivors and Professor Alexis Jay, a safeguarding expert who led the U.K.’s Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, have said that this would ensure a consistent approach to safeguarding and resource allocation across the 42 dioceses.
Those favoring Option Three, including most of the commercial organizations providing outsourced safeguarding facilities to the church, argued that the trustees of the Church of England’s many separate charities, including dioceses and cathedrals, could not delegate their legal obligations to ensure good safeguarding.
In the end, the Synod approved a compromise proposed by the Bishop of Blackburn, Philip North, endorsing Option Three “in the short term” while calling for “further work as to the legal and practical requirements necessary to implement Model Four.”
An amendment to “lament and repent of the failure of the Church to be welcoming to victims and survivors and the harm they have experienced and continue to experience in the life of the Church” was passed overwhelmingly, despite being Bishop Grenfell.
Responding to the amended motion, victims’ advocate Andrew Graystone, a journalist who wrote a book about the Smyth scandal, Bleeding for Jesus, said that General Synod had “punched survivors in the gut.”
He said: “This morning the General Synod agreed that there was a need for major culture change in the Church of England to make it a safer organization. This afternoon they voted for a measure that will leave the power of bishops completely unchanged and unchallenged.”
The acting primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, Anne Germond, attending the Synod as a guest, said Canadian Anglicans “continue to live with the legacy of our church’s role in the residential schools.”
Wearing an orange feather “to remember the children,” she said: “Every child matters. We are doing vital work towards reconciliation through truth-telling and justice-seeking, but we continue to be humbled by our failures.”
As the Synod continues its meetings, it will discuss governance arrangements and new legislation to reform its clergy discipline system.
Gavin Drake is a writer, editor, and producer at Church Street Bureau, a small company providing writing, editorial, and videography services.
