Stephen Cottrell, the Archbishop of York and acting head of the Church of England, has issued an apology to victims in historic church abuse cases, saying that they’ve been let down by the Church.
Writing the foreword to the annual report of the Church Commissioners, Cottrell said, “The Church Commissioners is really sorry for the prolific and abhorrent abuse highlighted within the report and its lifelong effects on his victims.
“We recognise that victims were badly let down by many in several parts of the Church of England and are profoundly grateful for his or her courage to come back forward and share their experiences, knowing how costly this could be.”
The Church Commissioners are accountable for managing the Church of England’s investment fund. This week the group announced its funding proposals for the subsequent three years. Among the plans was the allocation of £30 million towards safeguarding. The Church has already earmarked £150 million for a national redress scheme for many who suffered abuse in church settings.
The past yr or so has been quite a rocky one for the Church of England. Justin Welby was compelled to resign as Archbishop of Canterbury last November after an independent report into historic sexual abuse cases found that he had didn’t do enough about allegations against the late John Smyth.
Smyth was involved within the physical and sexual abuse of boys on the Iwerne Christian camps within the 80s and 90s. He died in 2018 without being delivered to justice.
The Church Commissioners also noted that the Church’s failure to properly discover and punish cases of abuse represented a severe threat to its fame.
“This case and other safeguarding failures undermine public confidence within the assertions made by the Church, including the Church Commissioners, in regards to the importance of, and priority given to, safeguarding,” they said.
“The potential reputational impacts might be far-reaching; for instance, they could in turn make it tougher for us to draw and retain staff.”
Such concerns about fame are shown to be greater than valid. In Ireland a recent opinion poll revealed that while people generally have a favourable view of Catholic teaching, they’ve a low opinion of the Catholic Church. By far the predominant reason given for this distrust was historic sexual abuse cases.
 Stephen Cottrell, the Archbishop of York and acting head of the Church of England, has issued an apology to victims...){kind=link}