UNITED KINGDOM
Ekklesia

By Savi Hensman
MARCH 17, 2016

A review of how the Church of England handled allegations of sexual abuse by senior clergy has revealed serious failings. In recent years, similar problems have come to light in other churches and major public institutions. These raise important questions about child and adult protection, truth, power and justice.

A survivor, known as ‘Joe’ or ‘B’, has revealed that he was sexually assaulted in the 1970s when in his mid-teens, then emotionally exploited when he sought help two years later. He tried to inform dozens of priests and bishops but even those who met him failed to act, or indeed to keep records of conversations.

Most of those he told “were essentially good people in a dysfunctional institution riven with inertia. Kind words were never going to be enough in the face of a crime/justice issue, but, because it…