The Church of England will vote next month on outsourcing policing of safeguarding issues to an independent watchdog, amid an ongoing fallout from an inquiry into historic allegations of abuse.
The General Synod, otherwise known as the Church’s parliament, will debate and vote on the changes in February, with the lead Bishop of Safeguarding admitting that the church had failed to act on, and then deliberately covered up, abuse.
Synod, which includes Bishops, clergy, and church-goers, will sit for its first session since the resignation of the Archbishopof Canterbury Justin Welby last month over safeguarding failures.
Dr Welby stood down in November after a damning report exposed a “conspiracy of silence” about the abuse of children and young men perpetrated by barrister John Smyth.
About 130 boys are believed to have been victims of Smyth, who died in 2018. When he was discovered, Smyth was allowed to move abroad with the knowledge of church officials, where he continued his abuse.
The Church of England has now proposed a new independent safeguarding approach to stop a cover-up happening again, with the first three days of Synod focussing on these issues. There are two options, which will be voted on in February.
The first would see all safeguarding officers currently working in dioceses, cathedrals, and the national church transferred to work for a new independent organisation.
The second would see most national staff move to a new non-church watchdog, but other diocesan and cathedral officers remaining with their current church employers.
Both options would see their safeguarding work scrutinised by a second external body, which would give victims somewhere to appeal to if they think their cases have not been dealt with properly.
The Church’s lead bishop for safeguarding, Bishop of Stepney, Joanne Grenfell, is backing the first option, which she said is “sufficiently radical to bring about the fundamental change we need”.
She added: “I believe that bringing together all our safeguarding colleagues into one external body with specialist line management and accountability is the best way to address the current gaps in provision”.
In other matters to be discussed, a motion will also be brought to debate how to encourage people from working class backgrounds to join the ministry in the Church of England.
The Synod will also discuss the ongoing use of prayers to bless same-sex couples’ relationships. Bishop of Leicester, Martyn Snow, revealed on Friday that an expected vote on whether the Church of England should allow clergy to enter into same-sex civil marriages will be pushed back.
A vote on the issue had been expected for the July meeting, but this has now been pushed back to a later date while more theological study is done on the issue. Bishop Snow recognised that the decision was “disappointing for LGBTQ+ people”, adding: “I am very conscious that there are people who are frustrated by that. I’m personally disappointed but I’m still confident that we can get there.”
The Synod will also consider proposed measures to make it easier to appoint Bishops, by slightly reducing the majority needed in the voting. One proposed measure would remove the current anonymous voting system.
If accepted by the Synod then the changes would affect the process to select a new Archbishop of Canterbury, which is being overseen by the former head of Mi5 Lord Jonathan Evans.
