Update Sunday: Andrew Goddard has added a comment from the Bishop of Warrington to his blog. I have copied it below the fold.
Tim Wyatt New Statesman There is no solution to the Church of England permacrisis
Martyn Percy Meander
Andrew Goddard Psephizo The Bishop of Liverpool: outstanding questions that need answers
Gavin Drake Church Abuse An open letter to the Church of England’s Diocesan Bishops: General Synod and Safeguarding
Al Barrett This estate we’re in “Burn it down”: responses to/within the polycrisis in the CofE
Bishop of Warrington’s comment
Andrew, thank you for this comprehensive article and for your sensitivity. If I may, I would for the purpose of clarification, like to state that I did not seek to take leave of absence from the diocese of Liverpool. I persistently sought due process to bring this matter to a conclusion. Extended study leave was suggested by the archbishop of York’s office on three occasions as a pastoral response to my formal safeguarding disclosure against the Bishop of Liverpool. At the third suggestion by the Archbishop of York, in mid August 2023, I agreed and commenced the study leave on 7th September 2023. I would like to add that I remain immensely grateful to the Bishop in Europe who at very short notice, opened up the possibility of a chaplaincy in his diocese. This would extend to 4 chaplaincies, across 12 months as I awaited a resolution.
With regard to the safe recruitment of the Bishop of Liverpool, I was made aware in February 2023 that the Bishop of Liverpool had ‘bombed’ on safeguarding questions at interview. I was advised to retain safeguarding responsibility for Liverpool at least until the Bishop of Liverpool did some training. This was unsolicited. As the Acting Diocesan Bishop (responsible for safeguarding in the diocese) and according to proper process, I reported this to the Archbishop’s Secretary for Appointments; Liverpool’s Diocesan Safeguarding Advisor reported this to the NST.
I was given assurance in April 2023 that the Bishop of Liverpool had been safely recruited and there were no issues.
Rt Revd Beverley A Mason
Bishop of Warrington
Hmm. I’ve met and chatted with Martyn Percy. I also, many years prior to that, met and chatted with Jerry Pournelle, around the time that he was Big In SDI. To describe Pournelle as a scientist and philosopher seems a litte much: he was more notably a hack SF author (his own work is forgettable and mostly forgotten, but he co-wrote several novels with Larry Niven which are somewhat better) and a long-standing columnist for Byte magazine, and he was part of the Reagan camp in the 1980s. He was a man of stridently right-wing views, and were he still… Read more »
For anyone wanting to understand what’s happening in the Church of England at the moment I recommend the Church Times, whose full, informed and objective coverage has been consistently superior to anything I’ve read in the secular media and possibly on this blog site too. This week’s issue contains a range of articles that effectively answer many of the questions posed by Andrew Goddard and provide some much needed perspective to the other articles as well. In part this is because their journalists understand how systems and processes work in the Church and are able to explain as well as… Read more »
Undoubtedly ‘Nothing to see here, move along’ is the attitude that the CofE would like to prevail, & from what you say the Church Times is pushing that line.
It is one way of looking at things, I suppose, but to my mind the never ending stream of revelations of abuse & cover up within the CofE calls for real action rather than another round of polite ineffectual chat about how nice the roses are this year.
I think it helps to understand the nature of campaigning for change. If you have a small pressure group working to overturn an injustice imposed by a powerful institution then you will achieve nothing by being nice. You can ask for conversation about change but the powerful institution will simply ignore you because they believe that what they are doing is right, or they may acknowledge privately that things are wrong but they have too much to lose by changing things. So the campaign group uses whatever methods might be appropriate. This can be terrorism (in South Africa or Ireland),… Read more »
Reasonable conversations and ecclesial mannerliness in safeguarding abuses have produced nothing for victims over the years, other than more coverups, and if anything, the willingness to dialogue has only prolonged their suffering and long wait for truth and justice. They are still waiting. Simon, above, is broadly correct, though I anticipate a far longer timeframe for change if Synod votes for option 3 or some other fudge. If Synod votes fully for option 4, and along with the tabled amendments, which would lead to fully independent safeguarding – scrutiny, delivery, policy and remedy – then the end is possibly in… Read more »
Martyn, surely there must be some inspirational leadership to be shown from the House of Bishops. The time has finally come to rise to the occasion and for it to vote for Option 4. Anything less will be a disaster. We deserve sound decisions from our representatives on Synod.
“surely there must be some inspirational leadership to be shown from the House of Bishops” – sadly I cannot think of anyone following the lead of the current House of Bishops, except out of idle curiosity.
Well said, Martyn. I, for one, am utterly sick of being told ‘play nicely as that’s the way of polite (church) society’ by those who do not have to live with the burning sense of injustice that comes from being seriously wronged, and then re-abused through the ineptitude of senior staff. There was a time I might have suggested the same kind of ‘polite affected ecclesial mannerliness’ Jane seems to be longing for, and join its advocates in pontificating about its value to unity, saying ‘peace, peace, where there is no peace.’ Then it happened to me, and I’ve been… Read more »
I have not read the whole of the current edition of the Church Times but the leader is notably process-focussed on the need for “institutional change”, which means ensuring that “the right processes are in place”, not only in relation to safeguarding but also clergy discipline, finance and HR. They are sensible words, albeit essentially tautological, but they could be written about pretty well ANY organisation about to have an important meeting. Martyn Percy says that “the purpose of this ecclesial system is to maintain indecision”. Well yes, of course it is. It has to be, because indecision is essential to the survival… Read more »
Re Mr Drakes excellent article. Never did I imagine this day would come.
All the House and College of Bishops need taking outside onto the green of Church House and publicly essayed on standards. Standards matter. Standards have clearly fallen.
Martyn’s analysis is perceptive and challenging, but how can the church, the ekklesia, implement change? Considered and patronised as ‘pew fodder’ how can we effect change? Motions from a PCC, even local deanery, will be received ignored by ambitious vicars,deans, archdeacons and bishops! Yet it is we ordinary church members who keep the real ‘show’ on the roAd.
Please note the update containing a significant comment on Andrew Goddard’s article made by the Bishop of Warrington herself. Thanks to Ian Paul for drawing our attention to this.
I don’t see how ABY can be allowed to speak, or any Safeguarding Debate be held, at GS this coming week until ABY addresses these very precise detailed points in the same clinical detail in which they have been made. It is extremely common, and Gavin Drake has exposed in detail, https://churchabuse.uk/2025/01/30/more-porky-pies-from-the-pinocchio-archbishop-of-york-stephen-cottrell/ that ABY’s MO is to make sweeping generalised claims about his safeguarding track record, none of which turn out to be true when examined in detail. My own two meetings with ABY in May 22 & Nov 24 provided further examples to add to the large evidence base… Read more »
Never could the synods, bishops and commentators be accused of an inability to use 100 words when 10 words would be preferable. I consider this to be one of the core institutional failures. Or maybe a symptom of a failure. To take one example – I struggle to find anything in these articles about clergy codes of conduct. I know they exist, but: they are too voluminous they are too vague and subjective they are not easily measurable they are little referenced nor read they are not maintained In contrast, secular institutions seems manage to put codes of conduct on… Read more »
I will declare my interest in that I am a member of the Steering Committee for the Clergy Conduct Measure. Gavin Drake really could not be more wrong about the Clergy Conduct Measure. First in relation to grievances. Most people who have grievances believe that they are as a result of misconduct and so lodge complaints of misconduct. These need to be triaged and those that are grievances need to be sent to someone who will attempt quickly and locally to resolve the grievance. He then overlooks that most complaints are likely to be of misconduct which is less than… Read more »
I’m not sure which code you are referring to. But if it is codes of conduct (I know there is a different name within the CoE), then surely (a) it has to be updated and improved every year, according to experience and learnings from secular organisations, by independent safeguarding professionals (b) it has to be cut to 10% the current length.
I am not familiar with the current processes, but surely serious cases of misconduct should go to an ‘independent’ central team? Maybe the central team is already independent, or it is proposed that it is independent, I don;t know.
Regrettably, Peter, most of us have lost all trust and confidence in the church lawyers on moving forward in this arena. We’ve seen far too much nepotism, failures to declare conflicts of interest, self-protection for the hierarchy, and vested financial interests in keeping the business and legislation in the hands of the church lawyers and senior officers – who have no accountability, and seem intent on keeping it that way. It grieves me to say so, but we’re just not able to trust the lawyers advising General Synod anymore. Many members of GS feel the same way and no longer… Read more »
I have not “overlooked that most complaints are likely to be of misconduct which is less than serious”. The context of the letter is safegarding failures. Safeguarding issues are serious misconduct, and so that is what the letter focusses on. You say that “the investigation will often be outsourced”. That is not what the draft measure says. The only part of the Measure which deals with the composition of the “Investigations and Tribunals Team” is section 14, which says: “The Chief Legal Adviser to the Archbishops’ Council and the General Synod must designate one or more members of the Legal… Read more »
Your Honour, would you kindly clarify for me a few points: who undertakes the triage stage, and their independence of the central and/or diocesan structures and systems of the C of E? what is the ‘central team’, and how it is independent of the central or diocesan structures and systems of the C of E? For many interested in the revisions (and my interest is professional rather than as one who has been subject to disciplinary processes), the nature of independence at all stages of the process – evaluating the seriousness of evaluations, determining the process to be followed thereafter,… Read more »
While following the Liverpool story, I’ve been avoiding commenting because this is so ‘He says/she says’ and, as a former harassment advisor in a university, I know just how difficult such situations are. But the latest from Bishop Bev continues to raise even more questions for me. It isn’t clear to me whether the “formal safeguarding disclosure” here is the one made by the other woman, or Bishop Bev’s own experience which was later called harassment rather than abuse. Leaving aside the claim that Bishop John “bombed” on safeguarding – which isn’t what the limited information from those on the… Read more »
I was about to post the same sort of questions! Who told Bishop Bev these things? An NST officer? A disgruntled CNC member who did not want +John as bishop of Liverpool? (Other answers are available). It makes a considerable difference who said this to her.
My jaw is sagging too, Charles. Would it be reasonable to wonder whether the person who brought these allegations to +Bev is the same person who recently made anonymous allegations (swiftly debunked) about the CNC process to the media. Other answers are available, as you say, but is that how +Bev got hooked in? If so then it’s not hard to see how things might have gone steadily pear shaped from there.
Is there an official whistleblowing policy laid down for members of the CNC if they have concerns about how things have been carried out?
This is exactly what Q37 asked for the forthcoming Synod. Copied and pasted in full here for ease of reference: The Revd Dr Ian Paul (Southwell & Nottingham) to ask the Chair of the Crown Nominations Commission: Q37 Given the wide consensus that whistleblowing is an institution’s ‘first line of defence’ against loss of integrity, what whistleblowing policy is in place for the Crown Nominations Commission, how has it been communicated within and outside the CNC, and what use has been made of such a policy if it is in place? The Archbishop of York to reply as Vice-Chair of… Read more »
Isn’t it rather odd that this Question was submitted by the deadline of noon on 28 January yet the announcement of the Liverpool stuff was only after that, same day but 7 pm? Does this suggest some inside knowledge of what was to come?
The Bishop of Warrington has made a personal claim of sexual harassment against the former Bishop of Liverpool which remains uninvestigated because of the technicalities of the CDM process.
As you say, other answers are available and I find it very disappointing this evening that she now seems to becoming the subject of negative speculation herself.
I have no connection whatever with anyone in the diocese but to an outsider it smacks of blaming the female victim for upsetting the establishment apple cart
Yes, we’ve seen that happen almost every time a woman speaks out about alleged wrongs – although Helen King has a good track record of speaking up for those who have been wronged. As for ‘Does this mean that she offered to be the safeguarding lead without formally being invited to do so? (That’s how I am reading “unsolicited”)’: I read this as ‘she was asked to remain safeguarding lead without having made any such suggestion herself’. Whatever happened, it cannot have been right that a woman making a complaint of sexual harassment against her senior (who was a subject… Read more »
Absolutely, Janet. I make no criticism of Helen, but it concerns me that some contributors keen to insist that survivors play nicely gloss over the seeming discrepancies in the Archbishop of York’s account of what happened to Bishop Bev after she had raised her concerns, jumping instead to the ‘who broke process?’ in the CNC. I have little time for people who are disgruntled complainers and break confidentiality on collective responsibility just because they don’t get their own way, so I think it’s reasonable to ask about the credibility of sources. But let’s not forget that someone who did nothing… Read more »
I don’t think anyone is at present accusing bishop Bev of anything – and certainly not suggesting she is not a victim. Her allegations must be investigated for justice to be done for her and indeed for bishop John. What some are asking is who told her to stay in role as safeguarding bishop and why.
As a child sitting through Holy Week services my stomach always lurched at the point when Pontius Pilate asked ‘What is truth ?’ because we were now speeding towards the grizzly end of the story, and when rather older I got into trouble in a school RE lesson for expressing some sympathy with Pilate rather than joining in the required universal condemnation of him- and his washing his hands of the situation.Truth was absolute and he missed it. I feel rather the same misgivings about the revelations regarding the Bishop of Liverpool, his appointment and sudden resignation . A contributor… Read more »
Do I understand this correctly? +Warrington has been on study leave, acting as a chaplain in Europe, for 18 months, because ++York was not willing to take action against +Liverpool despite knowing of significant safeguarding concerns? Justin Welby resigned as ++Canterbury because he took insufficient action in respect of the disclosure of abuse decades earlier by John Smyth, who was not a priest or employee of the Church of England, where the abuse took place at a youth ministry run by a parachurch organisation that was not part of any Church of England management structure. Stephen Cottrell has taken insufficient… Read more »
SJ May I suggest you read carefully. The Bishop in Europe offered Bishop of Warrington a role with chaplaincies in Europe. Yet no evidence this progressed. Yet I agree with your comments about ABY who is a worn out priest. I saw him preach at York on Christmas eucharist. Sadly none of the vitality he displayed in preaching when he was Bishop of Reading.
I don’t know about all four chaplaincies, but Bishop Bev was chaplain at the Church of the Holy Ghost in Genoa, Italy, in June and July 2024. You will find her name in the church’s calendar.
Peter Thank you for helpful information.
The trouble is we can ‘understand’ all sorts of things from what is on the table. I think I can correctly call this ‘an unholy mess’. Quite how the CofE extricates itself, or makes good the damage, I have no idea. But a good starting point might be to stand back from the ‘threat’ to the institution and personal reputations and ponder what we might do if we really believe that ‘the truth shall set you free’. And I recognise that truth is multi dimensional. I now spend some time at my local Quaker meeting. Sitting in listening silence is… Read more »
That, Sam, is the million dollar question, as the phrase goes. His explanation has been that he firmly believes God has called him to be Archbishop of York and so he is not going to resign. My take is I can well accept that he took on the Archbishopric out of some sense of being called to it, at least I hope so, though I can (from the interviewing work I do among senior people in other fields) discern more than a little ambitiousness in his make-up. But my take on him hanging on is it is more the ‘usual’… Read more »
Al Barrett’s article has so far, sadly not been commented on – it contains some very practical insights about the different approaches to reforming the church. Michael Harper and Tom Smail once said, regarding renewal, that to be real, it must be local, and that’s true of any school of churchmanship, not just the charismatic. The early church, of Acts and the letters didn’t have visible, central church buildings, large or small – mostly they met in homes and rented buildings. What mattered was that people knew where to find them for help, teaching and support. Its the same thing… Read more »
This is absolutely no reflection on the specifics of the desperately sad case of the Bishop of Warrington and Liverpool Diocese…but…the question that won’t go away is why on earth the CofE has convinced itself it needs SO many bishops? Why not let clergy take their own confirmation services, as they do in the Catholic Church? Then what is there really left for suffragans to do that could not be done by employees with far less ecclesiastical baggage, and far more accountability, specific training, skill and experience. Once a bishop is appointed you’re stuck with them for a full life… Read more »
There is some wisdom in this but I cannot help connect this with the calls we often hear – even here on TA – for a culling of diocesan staff! You can’t have your cake and eat it… And by the way – I have worked with / for bishops for a long time. Confirmations is a minor part of how they spend their time. What most really like doing is spending time supporting parishes and chaplaincies in a whole variety of ways. People say they want more support. Of course, confirmations can be a good excuse to visit a… Read more »
I think that’s a good question. Of course, once there is a bishop, and a hard-working and sincere one, they will find useful things to do. That might well include genuinely appreciated support for parishes. But the recipients might still prefer the money – like a child given a well-meaning but unsuitable book from a grandparent for their birthday.
Confirmation by the local parish priest is what happens with Lutherans, & in Germany (unlike England) confirmation remains both a common rite of passage for teenagers & a major social event. Why CofE require a Bishop to confirm I have no idea. By the way our previous diocesan was so far out high church that he conducted a confirmation in the RC cathedral rather than in his own CofE cathedral – clearly doing it in a mere parish church was never on the cards!
Chapter and verse? Neither Blackburn nor Chichester have RC cathedrals.
It was done in Arundel, ostensibly because it was cheaper than using Chi Cathedral
These CofE Confirmations (big event about 100 candidates) were done in Arundel RC Cathedral by John Hind, Bishop of Chichester, 10 May 2009.
As someone I knew was being confirmed I attended, and found it a most bizarre event – they even used the RC cathedral choir!