Churches support abuse inquiry

The bishops of England and Wales have pledged their full backing for the new public inquiry into child abuse.

This week the Home Secretary Theresa May announced an overarching inquiry into historic allegations of abuse by politicians and figures in the NHS, Churches and the BBC.

Danny Sullivan, chairman of the National Catholic Safeguarding Commission, said the commission recognises and “deeply regrets” the hurt and damage caused to victims and survivors of abuse within the Church.

“It remains committed to working as effectively as it can with those who have suffered abuse and to ensuring their needs remain its priority,” he said. “The Church is willing to cooperate with any public inquiry and to share the lessons it has learned with the wider community to ensure children and vulnerable people everywhere are effectively protected from harm.”

The inquiry’s chairwoman, Baroness Butler-Sloss, was vice-chairwoman of the Cumberlege Commission, which reported on Catholic Church safeguarding policies in 2007. She also chaired a review of historic child sex-abuse problems in the Church of England’s Chichester Diocese, as a result of which a clergyman was convicted in 2008.

The Anglican Bishop of Durham, Paul Butler, said: “Over a month ago the Archbishop of Canterbury, with the support of Cardinal [Vincent] Nichols and the president of the Methodist Church, wrote to the Home Secretary saying a full public inquiry is required into institutional child abuse, which I followed up in the House of Lords a few days ago,” he said.

In the Church of England at the General Synod in York this weekend, survivors of sexual abuse by ministers and clergy will meet the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby.