UNITED KINGDOM
Christian Today
Ruth Gledhill CHRISTIAN TODAY CONTRIBUTING EDITOR 15 March
The Church of England failed to act over “credible” claims of sadistic sexual abuse disclosed repeatedly by a survivor over 40 years.
The Church, of which the Queen is Supreme Governor, is to change way it deals with abuse claims after a damning review published today that dicloses how at least three bishops failed to act after they were told.
The church described the review “embarrassing and uncomfortable”.
The office of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, is criticised for failing to make a meaningful response as the survivor tried repeatedly through 2015 to get some action taken against his abuser.
Referring to the survivor as “B” and the perpetrator as “Rev A”, the Church said today: “The reports of abuse that B has made are credible. They contain a tragic catalogue of exploitation and harm. The many attempts made by B to secure help from the Church within which he had grown up, resulted in frustration and failure. This increased his sense of anger at what had happened to him. He felt ignored.
“His loss of faith is another tragic consequence of the experiences that he was subject to. The impact on his health appears to have been significant and continues today. Despite all of this, B retains a desire to see practice in the Church greatly improve. He wants to ensure that others who present in a similar way to himself and who are seeking to be heard, helped, and healed by the Church, will receive a fundamentally different response than he did.”
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