Vicars who quit before crime checks

SOME members of the Anglican clergy have quit the Church of England rather than face criminal record checks amid child sex abuse claims, a public inquiry heard yesterday.

Opening the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse’s hearings into the Church, lead counsel Fiona Scolding QC said: ‘You will hear of parishes where individuals resign rather than face such checks.

‘[This is] not because they have perpetrated any criminal offending, but because they consider that it is a slur on their character to even be asked such questions.’

The Church is under scrutiny over its handling of abuse stretching back to the 1950s, and this strand of the inquiry will first examine the Diocese of Chichester, hit by scandal after multiple allegations.

In her opening statement, Mrs Scolding outlined evidence she said would highlight a ‘culture of denial’ about abuse.

Young victims were often made to feel responsible for the molestation they suffered and there was ‘an excessive emphasis upon forgiveness, which allowed individuals to go without justice’, she said.

Survivors of abuse are set to give evidence at the three-week hearing in London.