The Church of England is facing a pivotal moment as Dame Sarah Mullally, the newly appointed Archbishop of Canterbury, addresses the institution’s past safeguarding shortcomings in her inaugural speech to the General Synod in London. Her call for improved protective measures and accountability comes amid ongoing scrutiny of the Church’s handling of abuse cases.
In her address, Dame Sarah acknowledged that the Church had previously “fallen tragically short” in safeguarding and emphasized her commitment to improving these standards. She outlined a victim-centered approach that learns from past failures, stating, “This approach must be trauma-informed, put victims and survivors at the heart of all we do and be committed to proper independence.”
She stressed the importance of transparency and accountability, saying, “We must be wholly committed to listening to victims and survivors, to independent scrutiny of our safeguarding practices, and to delivering timely and robust trauma-informed processes.”
The Church’s past failures in safeguarding were highlighted by the Makin Review, which criticized former Archbishop Justin Welby for his inadequate response to abuse allegations against John Smyth. The review concluded that Welby did not ensure the abuse was reported to authorities, actions that led to his resignation.
Dame Sarah herself has faced scrutiny over her handling of an abuse case during her tenure as Bishop of London. However, Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell, acting as interim head of the Church, decided against further action on the complaint lodged against her.
Despite Survivor N’s criticism of the decision, labeling it a “blatant conflict of interest,” the matter will be revisited by the Synod later this week for further discussion on safeguarding improvements.
In addition to addressing safeguarding, Dame Sarah expressed her intentions to lead with “calm, consistency and compassion.” She remains hopeful about the Church’s future, citing encouraging reports of increased church attendance over the past four years.
She noted, “There is a visible sign of hope in the anecdotal and statistical evidence that, over the last four years, people have been returning to church.” While cautioning that these are early figures, she observed that the trend of rising participation appears to be continuing.
Dame Sarah Mullally, formerly the Bishop of London, officially became the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury following her Confirmation of Election at St Paul’s Cathedral, marking a historic moment as the first woman to assume the role.
This article was originally written by www.christiantoday.com
