Church of England facing 'time of reckoning' in wake of scandals and historical abuse claims
The Church of England's Synod will be debating and voting on new safeguarding measures in the wake of multiple scandals.
Sunday 9 February 2025 12:06, UK
The Church of England is facing a "time of reckoning", the lead bishop in charge of safeguarding has told Sky News.
The Bishop of Stepney, Joanne Grenfell, was speaking from her office in east London ahead of a crucial meeting of the Church's General Synod, which starts on Monday.
She will present a roadmap to fundamentally change how the church handles abuse allegations.
She said: "I do feel the weight of responsibility. I wake up in the middle of the night and I think about the people who hurt because of what we've got wrong."
The 478 members of the Synod - like a church parliament - will be debating and voting on new safeguarding measures in the wake of multiple scandals.
Many inside the church say it is facing an existential crisis over its failure to adequately investigate and discipline those accused of serious misconduct.
Bishop Joanne said: "We are facing that kind of time of reckoning at the moment. And I think that's right.
"I understand that there are issues of trust and confidence with the whole church.
"I've no truck with cover-ups. Things have to come to light."
Last November, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, was forced to step down after a report concluded he could and should have done more in the case of paedophile John Smyth - who for years sexually and physically abused more than 120 boys and young men.
The Bishop of Liverpool, John Perumbalath, has also just announced his retirement after accusations of sexual assault and harassment were made by two women - one a bishop. He denies any wrongdoing.
On Tuesday, the Synod will vote on two proposed models to fundamentally change the way the church deals with complaints about mistreatment.
If passed, it will implement an external body to scrutinise safeguarding, but each model has slightly different implications for the staff who look at complaints.
It could take around a year before safeguarding changes come into force.
Bishop Joanne said: "I haven't got a magic wand that means I can wave it and say it's all in place the week after [the vote].
"But I think what we would be doing in the meantime would be ramping up the stuff we're already doing that makes it clearer that we're up for scrutiny, that there's independence of decision-making."
When asked if fresh scandals might emerge, Bishop Joanne admitted: "You can never be complacent - never say 'this is a safe church'. It's always a church that is trying every day to become safer.
"We're open to a light being shone into the Church of England to say what are you doing about safeguarding? - can we trust you? - and I want the answer to be yes."
Read more:
Who was John Smyth - the man at the centre of abuse cover-up?
Culture of 'fear and careerism' in the Church
Why did Justin Welby resign?
'Very clear proposals'
There will be some "very clear proposals" around safeguarding, conduct and governance at the General Synod meeting, Dame Sarah Mullally, the Bishop of London, told Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips.
"[Over] the last three or four months, it has become apparent to people the shocking abuse within the church. And my heart goes out to the victims and to the survivors," Dame Sarah said.
"I'm very conscious of, one, the bravery of them coming forward, but also the shocking abuse that occurred to them and the way in which the church failed to address it properly. And it means that we all have to, in terms of apologising to them, we all have to do something."
Abuse survivor 'cautiously hopeful'
Jane Chevous, 65, is recognised by the Church of England as a survivor of abuse.
She says she was raped over a 10-year period by youth officers as a young adult when she was involved in youth activities in the church.
For the last 20 years, Jane has run campaigning and support group Survivors Voices, and sits on a panel scrutinising safeguarding policies.
She believes survivors should be addressing the Synod: "We're the people that the church ought to be listening to before it takes this vote. It's not survivor involvement, is it, if we're not there and we're not being heard."
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She added: "Previously, survivors including myself have been invited to speak - to have a slot at Synod where we've presented a survivor perspective.
"So I wonder if they're afraid of what we're going to say or afraid that that will have undue influence on the way the vote goes."
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But Ms Chevous has welcomed the changes and is "cautiously hopeful" the vote will pass, saying: "It is a good step, but it's still a lot of detail to be worked out. And we know how good the church has been at wriggling out of the things that it's supposed to be doing. And that's been one of the problems.
"I think many people at Synod are resigned to the fact that independence is the only way to go. But I think we need to keep the pressure on."
Over the weekend, Survivors Voices sent a letter to the General Synod and its most senior members, the Archbishops' Council, urging them to vote in favour of an independent safeguarding body.
Shared with Sky News, the letter reads that "unlike staff and church leaders, we have no forum to gather our collective voice", and states it is the view of nearly 40 respondents.
The two-page document adds: "When you vote on Tuesday, please remember that the current system has failed."
The Church of England launched a National Survivor Participation Framework last Thursday, which 171 victims and survivors contributed to developing via a survey.
It added it is "committed to implementing the principles and different types of survivor participation, to ensure victims and survivors are involved in inclusive, trauma-informed, and impactful ways".
Additional reporting by Nick Stylianou, communities producer.