The Church of England is considering revamping its safeguarding system to strengthen oversight by an independent organisation as it tries to rebuild trust following the resignation of its leader over an abuse cover-up scandal.
Justin Welby quit last year as Archbishop of Canterbury, and de facto leader of the 85 million Anglicans worldwide, after an independent report found he took insufficient action to bring to justice a man who volunteered at Christian summer camps decades ago and proved to be a serial abuser of boys and young men.
Welby had said he had “no idea or suspicion” of the allegations before 2013, but the report concluded this was unlikely, accusing him of failing in his personal and moral responsibility to ensure a proper investigation. He quit in November and ceased performing his duties this month.
Outlining proposals to strengthen oversight of safeguarding, the Church of England said in a statement on Thursday that the Synod, meeting next month, would be asked to consider two models.
One of the models proposed would transfer responsibility for safeguarding officers in dioceses, cathedrals and the national church to a new organisation, it said.
Under the second option, diocesan and cathedral safeguarding officers would remain with their current employers but most national staff would come under a new body, it said.
“The proposals on safeguarding independence are the product of a huge amount of work and feedback from across the Church including from victims and survivors and it is right that Synod now makes the decision on which model to pursue,” said Bishop Joanne Grenfell, the lead bishop for safeguarding.
The Synod, comprising bishops, clergy and laity, is due to meet in London from Feb. 10 to 14, with the Church grappling with declining religious faith in Britain and internal divisions over how it approaches same-sex couples in its congregations.
The process to choose Welby’s successor could take several months. Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell has taken over Welby’s official functions until then.
(Editing by Timothy Heritage)
