Published on this site August 31st by Jill Powell
A "profoundly negative culture" within the Diocese of Chichester led to two decades of child protection failures, a report has concluded. The inquiry by the Archbishop of Canterbury's office said "fresh and disturbing" aspects of the way abuse claims were handled keep surfacing.
Lambeth Palace has said it will now oversee clergy appointments and child protection matters in Sussex. Three local priests have been charged this year with child sex offences.
The report states:
We emphasise that policies are only as good as the practice that they promote. There must, therefore, be a one hundred per cent compliance throughout the diocese with its safeguarding policy. Such compliance requires both leadership and training.
In responding to the interim report, Archbishop Rowan Williams has made the following statement:
“I am very grateful to those who have been conducting the Visitation in the Diocese of Chichester and to all who have co-operated with this process – not least those survivors of abuse who have shared their experience. The abiding hurt and damage done to them is something that none of us in the Church can ignore, and I am deeply sorry that they should have been let down by those they ought to have been able to trust.
I hope they will believe that we take their experience seriously: we owe them not only our words of apology but our best efforts to make sure that in the future our churches will be safe places for children and vulnerable people of all ages. 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. The guidelines laid down by the national Church and the agreed standards of best practice have not been consistently followed and the flaws in safeguarding practice have put children and others at risk.
In the last couple of years much has been done to improve the situation but there remain several areas of concern. In the light of this, I have decided that the visitation should continue and that both safeguarding and appointments matters should be conducted under the supervision of this office until uniformly better practice can be assured.
The problems relating to safeguarding in Chichester have been specific to that diocese rather than a reflection of failures in the legal processes or national policies of the Church of England. Nevertheless in the course of their work those who have conducted the visitation have identified some areas where they believe that lessons learned from Chichester could usefully point to some further development of national policy or processes. These will now be considered, along with the rest of this Report, by our national Safeguarding group as soon as possible."
The Church is committed to listening to the survivors of abuse and learning lessons from the past.
We would encourage anyone who has suffered abuse to come forward – their privacy and wishes will be respected. A special helpline has been set up in conjunction with the NSPCC on 0800 389 5344. Victims can also make a report to police.
We would also urge anyone with any concerns about a child protection issue to contact the police.
To read the report click: http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/articles.php/2604/archbishops-chichester-visitation-interim-report-published
