Church disregarded dozens of abuse claims

Report finds Cofe whittled down child sex abuse cases for review from almost 100 to just 13

THE Church of England disregarded dozens of allegations in its inquiry into child sexual abuse and then downplayed the issue to protect its reputation, a critical report has found. A report by Sir Roger Singleton, the former Barnardo’s chief executive, found that almost 100 cases were whittled down to just a handful for a review released in 2010.

Inconsistent and over-specific criteria reduced the number of cases reported for the Past Cases Review, leading the church authorities to conclude, after examining 40,000 documents, that just 13 cases of alleged child sexual abuse merited formal action.

Sir Roger, who was commissioned to complete an inquiry into the review, said he believed the Church “downplayed” the issue to avoid reputational damage. However, he also said he found “no evidence whatsoever of a deliberate attempt to mislead”, or that anyone broke the law.

“In the public statement that it issued reporting on the review, [the Church] rather failed to give a comprehensive picture of the concerns that existed,” he said.

“It narrowed down the definitions of who had actually been responsible for abuse by limiting it to just new cases and cases where the Church took formal action. This had the impact of reducing the numbers from probably nearer 100 to just two which appeared in the public statements.”

Asked whether he found that officials were avoiding reputational damage, Sir Roger told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I think that is one of the factors that led those who prepared the press statement to emphasise the positive points for the Church and rather to downplay the negative aspects.”

The report criticises the Church for failing to involve victims and survivors in the process, and recommended that seven dioceses needed to repeat it. It also said cathedrals which were not involved in the original report should undertake their own reviews, and old files that were not reviewed during the original process should be examined.

In written evidence given to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse in March, Sir Roger detailed the reasons that dioceses ruled out individual cases. Included were those involving clergy who had died or retired, or allegations related to a bell ringer or choir member, who were deemed to be outside the scope of the report. Bishop Peter Hancock, the Church of England’s lead safeguarding bishop said: “These criticisms have been taken very seriously and acted upon and the House of Bishops have offered full support to implementing the recommendations in the report and any subsequent actions.

“We are committed to making sure that any known individuals who have not been dealt with appropriately in the past are assessed and any current potential risks to children and others are rigorously managed, including by reporting these individuals to the statutory authorities for investigation.”