UK: Church of England meets following series of sexual abuse scandals

The Church of England’s elected governing body is set to begin a week-long meeting on Monday in response to what has been described as an “unprecedented crisis” caused by multiple sexual abuse scandals.

The gathering in London takes place a month after Justin Welby resigned as Archbishop of Canterbury, the head of the Anglican Church worldwide, amid the scandal.

In recent months, sexual abuse allegations against a priest and a bishop have surfaced, bringing additional controversy to Welby’s interim successor.

The first day of the General Synod meeting, which convenes multiple times a year, will include a debate on a damning report from last year that detailed failures in handling a serial abuse case.

On Tuesday, bishops, clergy, and lay members will review new safeguarding measures in response to the Makin Review, which exposed significant failings related to Christian camp leader and serial abuser John Smyth.

“There’s never been anything like this in our lifetime, because the Church is in an unprecedented crisis,” said Synod member Ian Paul in an interview with Britain’s Press Association news agency ahead of the meeting.

“The crisis we’re facing now is a result of gradual erosion over years of trust and confidence and lack of openness, lack of transparency.” Paul was among those who petitioned for Welby’s resignation last year.

Welby announced his resignation in November after the independent Makin Review determined that he “could and should” have formally reported decades of abuse by Church-affiliated lawyer Smyth to authorities in 2013.

Smyth, who ran evangelical summer camps in the 1970s and 1980s, was found responsible for “prolific, brutal and horrific” abuse of as many as 130 boys and young men.

The review concluded that the Church of England—the mother church of global Anglicanism—had covered up the “traumatic physical, sexual, psychological and spiritual attacks” that occurred over several decades in Britain, Zimbabwe, and South Africa.

Stephen Cottrell, who became Archbishop of York in 2020, has temporarily stepped in for Welby but has also faced controversy.

In December, the 66-year-old faced calls to resign after allegations surfaced that he mishandled a sexual abuse case while serving as Bishop of Chelmsford.

According to a BBC report, priest David Tudor remained in his post despite Cottrell’s knowledge that the Church had prohibited him from being alone with children and had paid compensation to a sexual abuse claimant.

Cottrell expressed regret over the matter, stating, “I am deeply sorry that we were not able to take action earlier,” while also defending his actions.

Ahead of the Synod meeting, Bishop of Newcastle Helen-Ann Hartley reiterated her concerns about Cottrell and the decision to appoint him as Welby’s interim successor.

“I do not think that it’s appropriate for the Archbishop of York to be in post, and certainly to be leading change that the Church needs,” she told BBC radio.

“I think he (Cottrell) is the wrong person,” Hartley added.

“The Church’s new leader needs to talk the talk and walk the walk, and you can’t have one without the other.”

Last month, the Church faced further scrutiny when the Bishop of Liverpool, John Perumbalath, announced his resignation following allegations of sexual assault and harassment aired by a broadcaster.

Perumbalath denied any wrongdoing but said in a statement that “a rush to judgment and my trial by media… has made my position untenable.”

He added that a church safeguarding team had investigated the claims and found them “unsubstantiated,” while police had examined the first allegation and decided not to take further action.

The Anglican Church, the established state church of England, traces its origins to King Henry VIII’s break from the Roman Catholic Church in the 1530s.

Its supreme governor, King Charles III, appoints archbishops based on the prime minister’s recommendation.

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