Church of England ‘failed to protect children from sexual abusers’
from BBC News:
The Church of England failed to protect children from sexual abuse, and created a culture where abusers “could hide”, a report has concluded.
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse (IICSA)’s report says the Church’s failure to respond consistently to victims and survivors of abuse often added to their trauma.
It added that alleged perpetrators were often given more support than victims.
The Church of England is expected to publish a response later.
The report, which is the latest in a series of publications from the IICSA, says 390 clergy members and other church leaders were convicted of abuse between the 1940s and 2018.
In 2018 there were 2,504 safeguarding concerns reported to dioceses about either children or vulnerable adults, and 449 allegations of recent child sexual abuse.
The inquiry said the Church of England was “in direct conflict with its own underlying moral purpose to provide care and love for the innocent and the vulnerable”.
Its chair, Prof Alexis Jay, said: “Over many decades, the Church of England failed to protect children and young people from sexual abusers, instead facilitating a culture where perpetrators could hide and victims faced barriers to disclosure that many could not overcome.
Church Times leader and reports
The Church of England – a safer space for abusers than for the abused, by Martin Sewell, Archbishop Cranmer
Can the Church solve its paedophile problem? by Giles Fraser, UnHerd
Safe Spaces launches to offer support to survivors, from Church of England website:
Archbishops of York and Canterbury say they are ‘truly sorry’ for Church’s ‘shameful’ actions ahead of child sex abuse report being published, by Danyal Hussain, Mailonline
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