The Church of England voted this weekend to introduce a raft of new measures aimed at strengthening safeguarding procedures.
Under the new measures approved by General Synod on Saturday archbishops and bishops – who can already suspend clergy against whom allegations have been made – can now do so based on information received from local authorities and police.
In addition, a one-year limitation period for complaints of sexual misconduct made against clergy has been removed.
Bishops are also now obliged to appoint a Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser.
People named on statutory barred lists under the Safeguarding and Vulnerable Groups Act can now be disqualified from serving as church wardens or members of the parochial church council; they can also be suspended in the same way as clergy.
For the first time clergy are obliged to follow the House of Bishops’ guidelines. Up to now it has only been recommended. It has taken the Church of England two years to implement the package, which was introduced at Synod in February 2014 following a consultation launched in July 2013.
At General Synod on Sunday the Bishop of Durham, Paul Butler, the lead bishop on safeguarding, indicated that the Church was also considering re-introducing deposition from Holy Orders, or laicisation, as a penalty for serious crimes such as child abuse.
The penalty was abolished in 2003. Since then, clergy could be barred from ministry but would retain their title.
However Bishop Butler warned that any change to canon law would take time. “When the draft Clergy Discipline Measure was being considered in 2000, the Synod decided not to include deposition in the range of penalties available under the measure. I intend to invite the House of Bishops to reconsider whether that decision was wise, but amending the Clergy Discipline Measure to allow deposition would require a [new] measure, so change would take some considerable time,” he said.
This week the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, promised also abuse survivors an independent inquiry into abuse in the Church of England would take place within six months.
The pledge came after survivors who met with the archbishop at Lambeth Palace on 7 July complained that an ongoing Governemnt inquiry would not be able to comprehensively address cases of alleged abuse within the Church of England.
Meanwhile General Synod, which met in York, has given final approval to a new rite of baptism that does not refer to the devil.
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