The November 2024 issue of the Journal of Anglican Studies is now available online. It contains nine items related to abuse and the failures of safeguarding within the church. Each article is available as a separate PDF file. Most, though not all, of the articles deal specifically with the Church of England. The “Afterword” contains a comprehensive critique of the current English situation.
Editorial by Martyn Percy and Rosie Harper
Rt Revd Dr Alan Thomas Lawrence Wilson
This edition of the Journal is dedicated to Alan Wilson. A separate article discusses his experience of the extent of abuse within the church and his commitment to reforming the institution’s response. This passion was developed in the context of a far broader array of interests and expertise.
Alan’s heart was drawn to matters of justice and equality beyond the everyday work of an Area Bishop, which he did with a substantial pastoral heart and exacting attention to detail. He saw it as an imperative of both his faith and shared humanity. His spirituality was adventurous and exploratory, with roots in the Benedictine tradition. This led him to value simplicity and humility. It also meant that belief became real when it was embodied. Sitting on the sidelines was not for him..
Mark Williams and Hans Zollner
Glimpses of Hope: Reflections on Journeying with Survivors of Clergy Sexual Abuse
Gerald West
Tamar Summons the Church to Account: Resisting Patriarchal (and Ecclesial) Impunity in 2 Samuel 13:21
Martyn Percy
Speaking Truth to Power Structures: Integrity and Identity in Ecclesiology
Josephine Anne Stein
‘There Isn’t One!’ Church of England Safeguarding Policy
Fergus J. King, Alexandra Banks, Alfred Sebahene, Nant Hnin Hnin Aye, Maimbo W.F. Mndolwa, Albert Chama
Towards a Safe Church: More Than a Lambeth Call
Clive Stephen Billenness, Rosie Harper, Martin Sewell
The Post Office at Prayer? Auditing Risk and Practice: A Safeguarding Appraisal
Editorial by Martyn Percy
Afterword: Safeguarding – The Future of Risk and Responsibility
We reported on 10 December that Rochester has no confidence in the Archbishops’ Council.
This provoked the Council to respond on 20 December, see Archbishops’ Council responds to Rochester Diocesan Synod’s motion of no confidence and the full text of the letter signed by the Secretary General, William Nye is available here.
Rochester diocese has now replied to that letter. See:
Consequent upon the resignation of the Archbishop of Canterbury which took effect yesterday, the Archbishop of York has issued this letter to Clergy and Lay Ministers, which is also available as a PDF here.
81 CommentsThe Church Times has this report: Synod to vote in February on future of church safeguarding
For background and context see Safeguarding and independence.
The new document mentioned can be found here: Wilkinson-Jay Response Group – Emerging Proposals
This describes the two models (out of the original four) between which the General Synod will be asked to make a choice in February. It’s worth the time to read the whole of this document to get the sense of where the Response Group is heading.
The differences are summarised by the Church Times this way:
Updated Wednesday
The Rochester diocesan synod has passed a vote of No Confidence in the Archbishops’ Council with reference to safeguarding.
“That this Synod resolves to pass a vote of no confidence in the Archbishops’ Council’s oversight of safeguarding and urges for the necessary reforms to restore trust, safeguard the vulnerable, and uphold the Church’s moral and legal responsibilities.”
The voting was:
In favour: 51
Against: 5
Abstentions: 9
The diocesan bishop supported the motion.
For more details, including a link to the full text of the proposer’s speech, see here: Diocesan Synod backs vote of no confidence
This action has attracted some media attention:
The Archbishop of Canterbury spoke yesterday (Thursday 5 December) in the House of Lords, in the course of a debate on Housing. His remarks have attracted a very considerable amount of criticism. So much so that he has now issued a statement of apology for them. Some relevant links follow.
Hansard, text of the speech. Parliament Live TV, video recording
The full text is copied here below the fold.
Friday 6 December A personal statement by the Archbishop of Canterbury
Yesterday, I gave my farewell speech in the House of Lords, as part of a debate on housing and homelessness.
I would like to apologise wholeheartedly for the hurt that my speech has caused.
I understand that my words – the things that I said, and those I omitted to say – have caused further distress for those who were traumatised, and continue to be harmed, by John Smyth’s heinous abuse, and by the far reaching effects of other perpetrators of abuse.
I did not intend to overlook the experience of survivors, or to make light of the situation – and I am very sorry for having done so.
It remains the case that I take both personal and institutional responsibility for the long and retraumatising period after 2013, and the harm that this has caused survivors.
I continue to feel a profound sense of shame at the Church of England’s historic safeguarding failures.
Friday 6 December. Safeguarding bishops apologise to survivors following Archbishop’s speech
113 CommentsThe Lead Bishops for Safeguarding, Joanne Grenfell, Julie Conalty and Robert Springett have written to survivors and their advocates following the Archbishop of Canterbury’s speech in the House of Lords.
We write after watching Archbishop Justin’s farewell speech in the House of Lords yesterday. We have heard from several of you about the distress and anger that this has caused you.
Both in content and delivery, the speech was utterly insensitive, lacked any focus on victims and survivors of abuse, especially those affected by John Smyth, and made light of the events surrounding the Archbishop’s resignation. It was mistaken and wrong. We acknowledge and deeply regret that this has caused further harm to you in an already distressing situation.
We know that the Church of England has seriously failed over many years at many levels in relation to safeguarding, and we are so sorry that yesterday’s speech was the antithesis of all that we are now trying to work towards in terms of culture change and redress with all of you.
As lead bishops for safeguarding in the Church of England, we apologize to you.
We will continue to do all we can to change the culture of the Church, so that abuse is exposed and prevented, those in authority are held to account, and the searching light of truth is allowed to shine into every corner of our lives.
If you are or are in contact with someone affected by this letter, please call the Safe Spaces helpline on 0300 303 1056 or visit this webpage where other support services are listed.
Joanne Grenfell, Julie Conalty, Robert Springett
Lead bishops for safeguarding
Updated 20 January 2025
December 2024
The Church of England has recently published two press releases on this topic.
This describes progress to date by the Wilkinson and Jay Reports Response Group which will report to the General Synod in February 2025.
This describes work being done by the National Safeguarding Team in conjunction with dioceses and others, to follow up the recommendations of the Makin report. A four stage process is outlined.
The following reaction to the latter has already appeared at Church Abuse: Church of England announces response to Makin review: kick it into the long grass.
We will add any further items relating to these two releases as they appear.
Update: this was issued on 16 January: Update on Makin Review Methodology
30 CommentsThis web page was published today:
LLF Working Groups continue: Update on membership and residential meeting
Following the decision at July General Synod to develop proposals to introduce standalone services including Prayers of Love and Faith (PLF) alongside pastoral reassurance, there will be continued input from four working groups into this process. The group membership includes bishops and members of General Synod, drawn from a wide range of backgrounds. Some of the members were part of the working groups that began their work in March 2024, while others have joined since the July Synod…
…There are four working groups in total, each with a different remit, looking at specific questions connected to:
- Prayers of Love and Faith – Guidance for registration and use including arrangements for use of the PLF in Standalone Services.
- Pastoral Reassurance – Code of Practice for Delegated Episcopal Ministry.
- Bishops’ Statement – Drafting group for an overarching rationale for a settlement around current and future practice for implementing the objectives of LLF.
- Ministry and Vocations Guidance – Development of guidance as part of the work to replace Issues in Human Sexuality (in parallel with decisions on a timetable to address questions around clergy in same sex marriage).
Full membership lists are included in the web page linked above.
There are two other new documents:
And there is this video, which was published earlier
39 CommentsOn Tuesday, Richard Scorer (Principal Lawyer at Slater and Gordon) wrote on behalf of one of his clients, Gilo, to both the archbishops. This was a follow-up to an earlier letter of 23 June 2023, to which no substantive reply has yet been received.
The full text of both letters can be read here:
Presumably, it will now fall exclusively to the Archbishop of York to reply.
The first letter was concerned with a meeting which included both National Safeguarding Team members, and representatives of Ecclesiastical Insurance, that took place in August 2016, and the handling of an earlier (2020) complaint about that event.
The second letter seeks to discover the outcome of a further meeting held in June 2024 by the Archbishops’ Council Audit Committee to examine how that 2020 complaint had been handled. To date no report has been issued (and the original 2023 questions remain unanswered).
In addition, the second letter refers to more recent questions raised by Gilo in relation to the York diocesan Past Cases Review 2. Again, no answers have yet been received.
57 CommentsThis statement is issued at 1615 on Thursday 7 November on behalf of a number of victims and survivors of John Smyth QC. It is a response to the publication by the Church of England of the Makin Review. Bracketed references refer to that review.
This report, previously scheduled for publication on 13 November, has been published this afternoon.
Press Release: Independent review into Church’s handling of Smyth case published (copied in full below the fold)
Independent Learning Lessons Review John Smyth QC (253 pages)
Appendices (245 pages)
Personal Statement by the Archbishop of Canterbury
135 CommentsThe Church Times reports: Opponents and supporters of prayers for same-sex couples lobby bishops
TWO Church of England pressure groups wrote to the House of Bishops before its meeting this week to express hopes and expectations about the next steps in the Living in Love and Faith (LLF) process.
The groups–Together for the Church of England, which campaigns for wider provision for LGBTQ people in the Church, and the Alliance, which represents opponents of the proposed blessings of same-sex couples–wrote the letters at the invitation of the House of Bishops, before their meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday this week…
The full texts of these letters are linked below.
The Alliance Letter 8 – October 24
Together for the Church of England Letter to House of Bishops (October 2024)
69 CommentsSee our earlier report here.
The bishop issued this statement on 9 October: Pastoral letter to the Diocese from the Bishop.
The Church Times reported this on 17 October: Four Scottish bishops urge Dyer to consider her position
And then this on 18 October: ‘No prospect’ of my resigning, writes Bishop Dyer after pressure is applied
The full text of the four bishops’ statement can be seen here.
69 CommentsThe Church Times reports: New working group to look at issues raised by Soul Survivor scandal
AFTER the exposure of “appalling practices and a shocking abuse of power” at Soul Survivor, in reviews by the National Safeguarding Team (NST) and Fiona Scolding KC, a group is being formed to carry out further work, the Bishop of Stepney, Dr Joanne Grenfell, the lead bishop for safeguarding, said this week.
The working group will look at ordination processes, clergy training and supervision, and safeguarding and governance in church-plants, bishop’s mission orders (BMOs), and mission charities that have an Anglican focus to their work…
The article refers to recent correspondence between a group of General Synod members and the Bishop of Stepney.
See letter to the Bishop of Stepney. And her reply.
Some background. At General Synod in July a motion was proposed by Robert Thompson but this was substantially amended by Bishop Joanne. See here and then here for the briefings prepared at that time, and over here for the Order Paper containing the motions. The outcome is recorded in the Business Done report.
Today on X (formerly Twitter) Robert Thompson has written this.
17 CommentsThe Diocese of St Albans has published this 8 minute video on YouTube: Diocesan Synod LLF October 2024.
28 CommentsUpdated
We reported earlier on the non-canonical ordination conducted by Bishop Tim Wambunya in Berlin in April: Dr Tim Wambunya apologises for his role in a Berlin ordination service.
Today, the Diocese of Lichfield has published a letter from Bishop Wambunya and a comment from the Bishop of Lichfield.
The Church of England website has published this notice
Name: The Right Revd TIMOTHY LIVINGSTONE AMBOKO WAMBUNYA
Diocese: Oxford
Date imposed: 9th October 2024
Relevant CDM section: 16(1)
Statutory Ground of Misconduct: 8(1)(a) Doing any act in contravention of the laws ecclesiastical & 8(1)(d) Conduct unbecoming to the office and work of a Clerk in Holy Orders
Penalty: Rebuke and injunction
The comment from the Bishop of Lichfield reads as follows:
“Bishop Tim has willingly and humbly accepted the Archbishop’s rebuke and injunction for his actions in Germany in April of this year. The injunction requires him to receive some additional training which formalises the need I too recognise, and I welcome that and will play whatever part is required in that. Most of all, I am certain that this process allows all of us to move forward, especially Bishop Tim and the communities of the Wolverhampton Episcopal Area. It’s now time to celebrate without inhibition Bishop Tim’s arrival in the diocese next week and to welcome the start of his ministry. He brings many gifts an unmistakeable desire for our communities to encounter the good news of a God who loves them and wants their flourishing.”
There appears to be no comment from the Diocese of Oxford.
Update
Church Times Next Bishop of Wolverhampton rebuked for his part in non-canonical ordination
43 CommentsUpdated Saturday and again Wednesday
In November 2023 the Trustees of Soul Survivor festivals, Soul Survivor Watford, and Soul61 (collectively known as Soul Survivor) commissioned Fiona Scolding KC to conduct an Independent Review into the culture and practices of Soul Survivor, following the National Safeguarding Team’s investigation into Mike Pilavachi.
Responses
An initial statement from Richard Scorer is copied below the fold.
Updates
Further analysis by Richard Scorer: The Soul Survivor Report – Some Thoughts
God Loves Women: Scolding, Colluding or Both? My critique of the Scolding Review into Soul Survivor and Mike Pilavachi
Church Times: Scolding review of Soul Survivor scandal published
For further updates on Soul Survivor, I recommend weekly checking at The Soul Survivor Situation – A Timeline.
77 CommentsTwo previous articles dealing with this:
Two Church Times articles (both linked previously):
Other opinions:
Andrew Goddard Choosing Bishops: A Failure to Discern?
Anthony Archer Crown Nominations Commission Back in the Firing Line
108 CommentsUpdated Thursday
Updated again 17 September
The House of Bishops meets on 18 September. The Agenda is published here.
The paper to be discussed HB(24)30 is published here: Crown Nominations Commission September 2024.
General Synod members have today been sent an email, which includes the following:
House of Bishops
The House of Bishops will meet on Wednesday 18 September at St Hugh’s College Oxford to consider proposals for reform of CNCs. The paper and agenda will shortly be available on the House of Bishops section of the website . This will follow on from a meeting of the College on this topic at which all bishops will be able to speak. The House of Bishops Standing Committee has agreed that this part of the meeting should be open to the public and press, subject to limitations in the room, to observe. Priority will be given to central members of the CNC but if General Synod members wish to attend they are asked to notify synod@churchofengland.org and seats will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.
Updates
Law & Religion UK has this report: Bishops to discuss difficulties in Crown Nominations Commission processes
Church Times has this: After deadlocks, Crown Nominations Commission’s secret ballots may end
Second Update
An order paper has been issued for the House of Bishops meeting. The meeting will now last an hour (5.00 to 6.00 pm) instead of the originally planned 25 minutes. The bishops of Oxford and Rochester will be proposing amendments.
Law & Religion UK has also published the Order Paper text here. This copy includes live links to the GS documents referenced.
69 CommentsChurch Times report by Francis Martin: Next Bishop of Wolverhampton regrets part in non-canonical ordination
THE next Bishop of Wolverhampton, Dr Tim Wambunya, has apologised for the part he played in a non-canonical ordination of a bishop in Germany, saying that he merely wished to support a former student.
The service, which took place in Berlin in April, was billed as the ordination, as Bishop, of the Revd Wamare Juma, who founded and leads the Revealed Evangelical Mission. The organisation’s website describes it as a “non-denominational para-church”, and it has branches in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania as well as Germany…
…At the service in April, Dr Wambunya laid hands on Bishop Wamare Juma, led him through the declarations and ordination prayer from the Common Worship rite of ordination and consecration of a bishop, and presented him with a “certificate of ordination” which identified Dr Wambunya as the “ordaining bishop”.
On Tuesday, Dr Wambunya said that he took part in a personal capacity. “I did not for a moment imagine I was representing the Church of England, or even any other Anglican province, and I was not there in any official capacity,” he said…
Do read the full report, which includes comments from the Bishops of Oxford and Lichfield.
Also, you can watch the entire event here:
Video: ORDINATION OF BISHOP WAMARE JUMA
