Thinking Anglicans

more on child protection and the CofE

Following on from here, this week the Church of England issued a press release, Church confirms principles of protocol to review past child protection cases and the press duly reported:

Guardian Riazat Butt Church pledges to root out decades-old child abuse cases

Church Times Pat Ashworth Child-protection protocol agreed

Religious Intelligence Ed Beavan Child protection review ordered

BBC Church abuse case review outlined

Transcript of last May’s radio interview with the archbishop.

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Kelvin Holdsworth
16 years ago

I’m puzzled by these reports. They seem to suggest that the person that the C of E has chairing this child protection review is the Bishop of Hereford, the Rt Rev Anthony Priddis. Isn’t he the one who was found to have broken the law in his discrimination against John Reaney, a youth worker? I struggle to see how anyone in my own church (ie in Scotland) would be put in charge of child protection if they were known to have recently broken the law and to have done so in a case relating to someone’s employment. Furthermore, Bishop Anthony’s… Read more »

Cheryl Va. Clough
16 years ago

Good to see this happening. My only caution is be aware that the more embarassing a case (i.e. the more someone/group expressed a concern and the more the bishops/staff denied or hindered the investigation, the less likely they are to admit to the case). Thus there is still likely to be some nasty cases hit the press. Be prepared for that, that’s what happens when you remove skeleton’s from the family closet. But the closet can’t be really clean until you’ve gone through its insides. Get the inside clean, get a good regime going to keep things in order and… Read more »

Simon Sarmiento
16 years ago

Kelvin

Bp Priddis was the bishop with particular responsibility for child protection long before the Reaney employment tribunal case arose. So your question should rather be whether the outcome of the latter case is a reason for him not to continue as such.

I don’t see why, in this context, the particular issue, i.e. child protection, is any more significant than say if he were the national spokesbishop on the Olympics, or on hospitals, or on relationships with the Baptists, or whatever.

The offence is a civil law matter, not a criminal one, after all.

Kelvin
16 years ago

Well, there probably are quite a few people who would see child protection as more significant than the Olympics or relations with the Baptists in any context. The tribunal found that +Anthony chose to illegally discriminate rather than taking actions which would have enhanced the wellbeing of young people in his diocese. Did those actions harm young people? Well, perhaps not directly. However the whole case was about the difference between direct and indirect effects of someone’s actions. It does seem troubling to me that he should be in charge of a Church-wide process of examining the employment records and… Read more »

Weiwen
16 years ago

Simon, one might worry that given Bishop Priddis’ revealed biases, he might be looking to scapegoat gay men for the child abuse scandal, like what the Vatican is now doing by trying to root out gay men from its seminaries. his recent discriminatory actions do raise the question. however, given that employing a gay man as a youth minister and child abuse are in two completely different worlds, I would consider him innocent till proven guilty if it were up to me.

Cheryl Va. Clough
16 years ago

Thanks for letting us know about the interview Kelvin. They need to include volunteers too, pedophiles might duck under employment screening and instead use Sunday school and church camps as their opportunities for access.

Yes, it is possible to use this to scapegoat one area e.g. GLBTs whilst glossing over another area e.g. bishops aiding and abetting predation of females.

That’s why there will still be a few more scandals.

Göran Koch-Swahne
16 years ago

And keep him under observation…

Cynthia
Cynthia
16 years ago

“They need to include volunteers too, pedophiles might duck under employment screening and instead use Sunday school and church camps as their opportunities for access.” Indeed so. Severla years ago a young man who volunteered to work with kids at Bruton Parish Church was found to have molested both children with whom he had contact at the church and with children whose parents, trusting that someone who worked at the church would be safe, hired him as a babysitter. The settlements of lawsuits cost the parish dearly, the clergy who had supervision had to leave, and the parish underwent a… Read more »

NP
NP
16 years ago

Gorans says “And keep him under observation…” Yikes…..are we going to have surveillance of bishops who want to stick agreed Anglican positions now? Goran – you really seem to believe your views are widely accepted and those who want to stick to Spirit-inspired scripture and tradition are in a minority…..and Dromantine, TWR, Dar have not jogged you out of this dream…….you will have to keep an eye on a lot of bishops in the CofE and the AC if you are concerned about orthodox views! I am smiling, imagining Derek Hatton telling people to keep an eye on that Neil… Read more »

Ford Elms
Ford Elms
16 years ago

“we going to have surveillance of bishops who want to stick agreed Anglican positions now? “ NP, a century ago it was “agreed Anglican position” to take, by force if necessary, native children from their families, put them in residential schools, beat them if they dared to use their native languages, and, essentially, steal their culture and identity from them. We are now paying for that. The issue is not whether or not he “sticks to agreed positions” but whether or not he will go on a witch hunt. The RC bishops are sticking to agreed positions when they purge… Read more »

Göran Koch-Swahne
16 years ago

NP, What happened at Dar es Salaam was something that happens in committees when the leadership is incompetent… There are no “agreed positions”. That is why you have the present nastiness. There are also 2 distinct Christendoms; one Hierarchic which requires submission to its whims and one which believes all human beings are made by God and equal under God. The Great Commandment and the Great Commission. “those who want to stick to Spirit-inspired scripture and tradition” are the product of 19th and 20th century Modern (including Colonialism) to late Modern Cultural prejudices and bad schooling; the Alexandrian commandment of… Read more »

Cheryl Va. Clough
16 years ago

“…a century ago it was “agreed Anglican position” to take, by force if necessary, native children from their families…”

It’s only a few months ago that Australian Aboriginals are again facing unilateral confiscations.

Not a bad thing where kids are being abused, so can we remove female children from Anglican churches that advocate female slavery and gagging?

After all, we should be consistent in applying the gospel…

Jesus’ exhortation to remove planks from one’s own eyes seems to come to mind…

Ford Elms
Ford Elms
16 years ago

“Anglican churches that advocate female slavery and gagging?”

Who does this?

Cheryl Va. Clough
16 years ago

Sorry Ford, Swept away in the moment. There is female slavery and there is gagging, it literally happens in the worst case scenarios but there would not be an official Anglican church anywhere that would publically support such conduct. Mind you, there are Anglicans who live amongst communities that don’t have a problem with female children being made as wives when they are as young as 9 or 10, nor being left out for the hyenas if their bodies are mutilated by childbirth at too young an age, or their being beheaded if they misbehave. While the words slavery and… Read more »

mynsterpreost (=David Rowett)
mynsterpreost (=David Rowett)
16 years ago

Ford wondered
“”Anglican churches that advocate female slavery and gagging?”

Who does this?”

Apart from consenting adults behind closed doors, dunno. But it puts a new complexion on singing ‘Bind us together, Lord’

Erika Baker
Erika Baker
16 years ago

“Apart from consenting adults behind closed doors, dunno. But it puts a new complexion on singing ‘Bind us together, Lord'”

Thanks for the most wonderful giggle at the end of a very long day!

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