The Bishop of Manchester David Walker has said that the inquiry into child sexual abuse was “pretty shameful” for the Church of England and showed what a disaster safeguarding had been.
Speaking to Channel Four News the Bishop said that the church has failed people and has prevented them form being abused and then when they attempted to report the abuse they often haven’t been believed or the evidence has been weighted in favour of the perpetrators
The Bishop was responding to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse published yesterday which found that from the 1940s to 2018, 390 people who were clergy or in positions of trust associated with the Church have been convicted of sexual offences against children.
Many of these cases demonstrate the Church of England’s failure to take the abuse seriously, creating a culture where abusers were able to hide. Alleged perpetrators were given more support than victims, who often faced barriers to reporting they simply couldn’t overcome.
The Church’s failure to respond consistently to victims and survivors of child sexual abuse often added to their trauma. Archbishop Justin Welby described this failure as “profoundly and deeply shocking”.
The Bishop said that the church was making it safer for children and vulnerable adults and though we can be as careful as possible, nobody could ever give a 100 per cent guarantee that they can prevent every possible abuse
“To the survivors we say sorry” and “nothing will ever make that go away” he added ” but what we can do is promise them that we are learning back from the process
