On Safeguarding and the C of E

 

From The Rectory II

You’ll probably know that The Church of England has again been having terrible trouble with safeguarding. I don’t really want to add to the ink spilled on the subject, but maybe I could say one or two helpful things and then offer some vital theological foundations.

The rights and wrongs of the present cases are complex. The abuse was horrific. That so many were so harmed is awful. That so little was done, that further abuse was not stopped, is utterly lamentable. We cannot say these things often or strongly enough. Our apologies can hardly be sufficient and we must all strive to do better. “Never again”, should be our aim.  

Archbishop Justin has spoken of his sense of shame and has taken personal and institutional responsibility for the many and long-term failings. His resignation became inevitable. He has apologised for his farewell speech in The House of Lords’ which failed to mention victims and survivors of abuse, who must always be uppermost in our thoughts, and which struck the wrong tone. 

Quite a few other people got things wrong, sometimes very seriously so, for a whole host of reasons and motives, some better than others. Some rules and policies were poor. I suspect there are questions for the police too. Co-ordination and communication were weak. Some claimed they thought others had acted or were dealing with things effectively. International co-operation and follow up is obviously vital where relevant. It is for others to adjudicate on all this. And importantly useful work has been done on what lessons can be learnt. There is much more to say, but as I say, others are better placed to discuss it.  

For us in the parish, it is worth us saying that much has changed for the better with regard to safeguarding in The Church of England over the years, as well as in our wider culture and society. No place or institution can ever be totally safe and we must not be complacent, but our parishes and diocese now have much better structures in place. Everyone is on it with regard to the safeguarding of both children and vulnerable adults in a new way. We know this is a top priority for everyone and we are all responsible. DBS checks and training have to happen and are checked up on. And lots of good work has been done to promote a healthy open culture where concerns can be raised and dealt with appropriately. Many parish and diocesan safeguarding officers do a fantastic job. The C of E is continuing to work on all this. There are moves afoot to make safeguarding more independent still.

So to the theology, which is really at heart of what I want to say. I hope this won’t seem like abstract irrelevancies. As the church, of course our theology matters to us and we believe it does and ought to shape the whole way we think and live. For all its failures, the church has a unique contribution to make here. We have fallen short, but we should have been showing the way on loving others wisely, because the Bible gives us the resources and motivations to do so.   

Perhaps two points about the Christian vision can be made.

First, we believe that all human beings, children, the vulnerable, are made in the Image of God. They are therefore of infinite dignity and worth, known and loved beyond measure. Christians above all should look out for the last and the least with love and compassion. Jesus’ care for the lonely, forgotten and vulnerable is well known. Remember how he welcomed the little children and said they should not be hindered in coming to him, though his disciples felt too important and busy. Jesus has some pretty eye-popping things to say about those who allow any harm to come to one of his “little ones” and we ought to look them up and heed them (Matthew 18:6, 10, 14, and similarly in Mark 9:42 and Luke 17:2).

Second, the Bible gives us a robust account of sin, our own and others. We can be horrified at temptations we don’t understand or share. They can be, in a way, rightly unthinkable to us. We maybe don’t want to think about them. I can see why, but these things must be faced and named. What if our background and experiences and opportunities were different? Some of us are nice polite middle-class people who can seem to have our lives together much of the time. But dig beneath the surface, poke us enough, and we know that all sorts of wickednesses lurk in our own hearts. The human heart is deceitful above all things. That should be one of our maxims. We could deceive or be deceived. There but for the grace of God…

We don’t want a crazy suspicious conspiracy control freaky sort of culture. In a way, some trust is essential to human relationships and flourishing. But we must be vigilant and open minded. And careful. We need a right kind of curiosity.

Everyone is a sinner. I am a sinner. We are foolish if we think we couldn’t sin or fail in many ways. And we are very much mistaken if we are sure that so and so could never do such and such, or X and Y could never happen here. We need a healthy view of the sin sickness which affects us all, and touches all our groups and institutions, and what protections and measures we are going to have in place.

All are loved. All can be forgiven. But redemption and reconciliation don’t mean that actions are without consequences. All are welcome, but not in a way which makes others unsafe. There is grace – but it is not cheap. Our sins can be covered, but there is no place for cover up. We do not need to manage Jesus’ reputation. What we need is to be genuinely blameless and above reproach in the eyes of all.  

We need to pray for great wisdom and diligence in this area.

Fingers have rightly been pointed. But we should also look to ourselves and the part which we can play in excluding abuse of all sorts and mitigating its consequences.

If this were a meeting not a parish magazine article, I think I might suggest we pause for a moment of silence and then say a prayer.

Almighty God, we look to you on behalf of victims and survivors of abuse.

We pray too for those who have done or failed to prevent terrible things.

And for all those in positions of authority and responsibility.

For all those who seek to care and help.

For your church and her future, and for a hurting world.

May we all know your grace, wisdom, healing and renewal.

May we play our part in building safer churches and cultures. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.

The Revd Marc Lloyd

Our parish safeguarding information can be found here: https://www.warbletonchurch.org.uk/safeguarding/

Or see The Diocese of Chichester site here: https://safeguarding.chichester.anglican.org/

And The Church of England: https://www.churchofengland.org/safeguarding

The local authority gives information here: https://www.eastsussex.gov.uk/social-care/worried/guide-to-safeguarding

And help and support is also available from various organisations such as Childline https://www.childline.org.uk/

The NHS gives useful advice on adults at risk of abuse or neglect: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/social-care-and-support-guide/help-from-social-services-and-charities/abuse-and-neglect-adults-at-risk/