Church of England pledges to root out past and present child abusers

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Following renewed criticism of its past practice, the Church of England has confirmed "the broad principles for a protocol for the systematic review of past child protection cases", following on from the Archbishop of Canterbury's announcement earlier in 2007. Effectively, the Church of England has agreed it will investigate the records of thousands of clergy, dating back decades, in an attempt to uncover unchecked incidents of child abuse. Over 2,500 letters will be sent to clerics and staff urging them to come forward with information on any cases of abuse or concerns that were not followed up at the time in the way they would be now. Each diocesan bishop is to initiate a review of clergy and other files, including priests who have retired to their diocese, diocesan lay employees and Readers (as such files are held at a diocesan level, not centrally). An Independent Reviewer will be appointed by each bishop to review the files to assess whether any ‘causes for concern’ exist. Each diocesan bishop is also to write to previous bishops, archdeacons, bishops’ chaplains and secretarial staff to ask whether they have any information about any cases of abuse or concerns expressed that they can recall from their time in the diocese, which were not followed up at the time in the way that they would be now. Such concerns will be listed alongside any issues raised by the diocesan file search. Additionally, any concerns expressed by other clergy or members of congregations will be included in the list. If any urgent issues arise these will be dealt with immediately by referring to the relevant statutory authorities. The Reviewer will recommend action on each case, and pass the portfolio to the Diocesan Child Protection Management Group to formulate an action plan to be led by the Diocesan Child Protection Adviser. Dioceses are being encouraged to complete the above process within 18 months of the final protocol being published, likely to be early next year. The protocol is currently being finalised in light of feedback from the House of Bishops to a draft text. The Rt Revd Anthony Priddis, Bishop of Hereford and Chair of the Church’s Central Safeguarding Liaison Group, which produced the draft protocol, commented: “Children deserve the very best care, nurture and teaching the Church is able to provide whatever the context of their contact with the Church."

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