Surviving Church Conflict

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As Area Bishop of Stepney, Joanne is a suffragan bishop and was not one of those elected to Synod to represent the southern suffragans in the ‘general’ election in October 2021. Indeed, she did not stand for election at that time. The only way I can rationalise the behaviour of the AC is that it’s a deliberate provocation to attempt to force Jasvinder & Steve to resign in protest, so that the current partial neutering of the ISB that the AC has achieved will then be converted into a complete destruction of any effective ISB. The point I am making is that it is now impossible to staff the present chapter other than via ‘inventive’ expedients. The present arrangements are, bluntly, played out and have been since the early/mid 1980s. What I think is clear from this display is that (as many will have suspected all along) it is not really worth anyone’s while to engage with the Church, and that if effective reforms are to be made, they will need to be implemented by parliament and the government without reference to the Church’s wishes (and whether the Church likes it or not). Perhaps survivors’ groups should simply stop wasting time with bishops and Church officials, and should devote time to engaging solely with MPs and civil servants.

A similar level of insight and expertise at strategic level will be needed in countering the abuse of charitable status of many churches, for example, indeed more so, because so many factors act in resistance to change. At present there seems to be a stand-off, with both the Archbishops’ Council and Ms Munn seemingly having ‘doubled-down’ on the issue. The Church appreciates the bravery of those who have come forward to report abuse and to share their thoughts as to how safeguarding processes, procedures and practice can be improved. We are grateful for the work of our survivors’ group and those individuals who have shared their experiences. It will be noted that the bishop admits (i) that the process for appointing Meg Munn had been handled had “not been right”, and (ii) that the issue of her chairing the ISB was “not yet resolved”, adding that she hoped progress could be made on that “in the next week or two.” That was nearly 4 weeks ago now and there has been no announced resolution of the issue, so it appears that Meg is still in post. Those who are to devise the Review questions and set the all-important terms of reference include Sir Roger Singleton – the acting head of the NST during the early period of the complaints scope; he reported directly to William Nye, and worked with the Lawyers of Church House – all of whom are the explicit subject of the complaint. Apparently, in the eyes of the Church and its Secretariat, no reasonable person could have a reasonable perception of bias arising out of those associations!Under these circumstances it is hard to see how Prof Foot could be able to remain as a charity trustee, let alone being appointed to a permanent salaried position that involves acting as chair of the trustee body. If you read the terms of the announcement – and we must now be clear that the news management is largely in the hands of the CofE Communications Department – it was all very respectful and amicable; evidently the Chair was leaving partly to spend more time with her family. If you believe this is the top and tail of the story, I have a lovely bridge in New York to sell you – ‘real cheap.” Meg Munn’s appointment as acting chairman of the ISB is irregular for a number of reasons, as I explained in my letter published in the Church Times on 28 April 2023:

This isn’t usually a particularly attractive commercial proposition, and is why this “new” venture hasn’t already taken off. People want to be paid. And they don’t want to risk losing everything if they make a tactical error or even fill in the dreaded form incorrectly. And then you, the good bloggers on Surviving Church and Thinking Anglicans, provided further input on the relationships between governments and religions. Bloggers explained how religions resist ‘interference’ by governments, and how public authorities are reluctant to ‘intervene’. This is because they are part of the same history and culture, which is particularly true for the established Church of England. But when there is a conflict, the law prevails. This is yet another chapter in a bizarre saga. Each one is characterised by an unusual level of incompetence to the point of farce, if it weren’t so concerning. ES Well, by a sort of grim serendipity, I suppose you could say, we were anyway going to do an item, as you know, this week, about the allegations from some members of the Independent Safeguarding Board you have, who have the job, I suppose you could say, of marking your homework, as it were, allegations that actually their independence is being interfered with by the Church of England. What’s your response to that suggestion? With Martyn Percy’s case he obtained crowd funding because supporters could grasp his cause and get behind it. The next big case will require similar support if not a great deal more, to have any chance of success. That said, I believe it to be possible.Chief amongst these complainants is that of Gilo. His complaint is that the Secretary General permitted a prior complaint against him to be dismissed, upon the basis that he was not present at a significant meeting which was the subject of serious and controversial inquiry at IICSA. However, it is now confirmed that he was present, via a Subject Access Request answered by other parties present at the meeting. Gilo’s solicitor – the IICSA survivor advocate Richard Scorer – has written comprehensively seeking answers to questions five times without response. The original complaint letter can be read here https://www.thinkinganglicans.org.uk/elliot-review-redux/ You will not gather it from the General Synod agenda but a lot is happening. Let me update you in brief starting with the Q&As. Two merit your special attention. Isn’t the problem that the C of E feels it can ‘mark its own homework’ and doesn’t really like the idea of any truly independent scrutiny? I see the ISB as the secondary issue here, but what has so far been revealed about it rather supports the point. What cannot be denied however is that Ms Sanghera and Mr Reeves have brought bona fides to their task and devoted a lot of time to talking to Survivors, gaining their confidence. The effects of the imposition of the Archbishops’ Council ‘s choice of Chair into this difficult situation without any consultation with the very group that has been abused and ignored by the Church for far too long, is yet another example of the arrogance of power that taints so much that the Church does in this area. One might be critical of the slow pace of change, and even perhaps of the naivety of the ISB members; sometimes they appeared to be talking a better game than they delivered within the complex and tangled institution that is the CofE.

As such, there will be an election for the vacancy for a southern suffragan in the House of Bishops. Of course, it is open to anyone eligible to put their name forward for this election and any southern suffragan bishop is free to do so. However, may I encourage you to reflect on whether it may be preferable for Bishop Joanne to be able to take the place on the House of Bishops, so that she may be part of the House and the General Synod in her role for Lead Bishop for Safeguarding. Looking at the October 2021 voting figures, if none of the five stood down, it seemed likely (though not certain, as the STV counting is complex) that Jonathan Baker would have stepped up to fill the vacancy. However, that did not happen. Work with survivors to increase understanding throughout the Church of the nature of abuse and its impact and reflect this learning through policy, procedure and training. The statement from the CofE, after a thorough investigation, exonerating the Dean of any wrongdoing. The rejection of that judgment by dons prosecuting the Dean of Christ Church, who were still wanting to assert that the Dean posed a “risk”. (Both September 2020).Following the translation of Bishop John Perumbalath to the See of Liverpool from the See of Bradwell, there is now a vacancy for a southern suffragan in the House of Bishops. The new processes will, for example afford to others what was not given to Martyn Percy, a proper triaging process to determine at the outset whether there was sufficient evidence to uphold the complaint as either grievance/misconduct/ serious misconduct. Appropriate speedy diversion to mediation is also being considered. We learn from Synod Questions that an outside auditor is to be appointed. Was Gilo or Richard Scorer consulted on this, were they notified before the matter appeared in an answer to Synod Questions?

colleagues in non-church professions who work with survivors of church-based abuse (e.g. mental health services) and need to understand the particular impacts of this abuse and how to respond well

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Part of the great bitterness of the dispute can therefore be attributed to ‘buyers’ remorse’ on the part of academics who, on reflection, did not undertake sufficient due diligence, and noted that it was their own mistake. That was due diligence which might once have been undertake by the patronage secretary and who would have advised the governing body. That said, it may be wondered what due diligence either party could have performed in 2014 which would have been adequate. However, as I have noted before, the main problem is the extreme paucity of eligible ordained candidates. If a large college has to resort to appointing people who have, or have had, connections with a seminary some miles from the University, then it is clear that the field is excessively narrow. This itself creates antipathy within the governing body: that they are forced to choose between candidates about which it is hard to undertake sufficient due diligence; it simply adds a further layer of resentment. JG So, the Independent Safeguarding Board is in the process of being set up. It’s in phase one and it’s looking forward to the next step, which is to sort of full independence. I absolutely recognise that there have been teething problems in getting that going. Now, we’ve had more conversations this week that have been actually really constructive about how that should look, but it’s not because the Church is resisting independence. It’s about getting the right structures for independence: how it’s funded and what the scope of work is, what reporting looks like, and I think that does need further work, but we are taking some really constructive steps towards that at the moment.