Truro Diocese and acting Bishop boldly call for urgent change in the Church of England
An important statement from the Bishop's Diocesan Council (BDC) has just been issued. Approved by the acting Bishop of Truro, the Rt Rev Hugh Nelson, it attacks the failings of the Archbishop's Council and the Council of Bishops both in the current safeguarding crisis and over a number of years. The statement, published on the Diocese of Truro website, reads:
At the Bishop’s Diocesan Council this week, the agenda included an opportunity for members to discuss the Makin report and the response nationally and locally. Council members represent the diversity of the diocese geographically, in church tradition, in church size and in perspective. Members of the Council are listed here.
The discussion concluded with a unanimous decision by the Council to share its views with the churches, schools and communities of our diocese. This is shared below:
Over the last three weeks the safeguarding failures of the Church of England have been laid bare yet again.
We are hearing clearly from survivors and victims of abuse in this diocese and beyond that the national church response is causing intense pain. It has deeply and repeatedly hurt the people we are here to serve, and has demoralised those who are trying to do the right thing in parishes, schools, and chaplaincies across Cornwall.
As the Bishop’s Council, we join our voice to Bishop Helen-Ann Hartley’s prophetic call for us to be a different sort of church. A church that does not seek first to protect itself, but which champions those who are most vulnerable. A church where people with power are clearly and consistently held accountable.
Fundamental
changes to the way the church works have been recommended and accepted
again and again, but too often real change has been delayed or denied.
The House of Bishops and Archbishops’ Council appear to have failed to
implement the recommendations
The statement adds that the Bishop’s Council is grateful to survivors who contributed to this wording.
Fr Jeff Risbridger, focal minister at St Hilary, this morning praised the Rt Rev Hugh Nelson, for being the first Bishop to speak out publicly in supporting the Bishop of Newcastle, who has called for the Archbishop of York, the Rt Rev Stephen Cottrell, to stand down.
"I wanted to share this with you straight away," Fr Jeff writes in a letter to parishioners, "as the deafening silence from Bishops and other senior members of the Church of England over the past few weeks, as well as the unhelpful and even opaque comments made by both Archbishops, has caused - and continues to cause - intense pain to the survivors of abuse. I want people in our Diocese to know that this is a safe place and be assured that, as people of faith, we will speak up for them and take the action we need to take as a Church.
"Of the Bishops, only the Bishop of Newcastle, The Rt Revd Helen-Ann Hartley, has so far openly called for changes in the accountability structures of the Church of England. In agreeing to the publication of this statement by the Bishop’s Diocesan Council, its Chair, Bishop Hugh, is adding his voice to Bishop Helen-Ann’s, and I am immensely proud of his courage in so doing.
"I very much hope that other Dioceses will quickly follow in calling for the changes that are so desperately needed in the leadership and governance of the Church of England."
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