UNITED KINGDOM
The Guardian
David Batty
The Guardian, Thursday 30 August 2012
An inquiry into child sex abuse by Church of England clergy in Chichester has found many children suffered “abiding hurt and damage” because local safeguarding measures had fallen “woefully short” for two decades.
The inquiry by the Archbishop of Canterbury’s office concluded that the West Sussex diocese has “an appalling history” of child protection failures, with “fresh and disturbing” allegations continuing to emerge.
Lambeth Palace will now oversee clergy appointments and the protection of children and vulnerable adults in the diocese amid concerns that safeguarding procedures remain “dysfunctional”.
The archbishop, Rowan Williams, who set up the investigation, said the interim report “confirms that there have been many and longstanding failures in implementing a robust and credible safeguarding policy in the diocese of Chichester”.
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