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Church of England Faces 3,300 Cases of Child and Other Sexual Abuse; Might Have to Pay Millions
Christian Post ^ | 02/12/2018 | Stoyan Zaimov

Posted on 02/12/2018 10:39:01 AM PST by SeekAndFind

The Church of England is facing as many as 3,300 potential sex abuse cases in the form of concerns and allegations, as revealed by the Church's lead bishop on safeguarding issues.

The Times reported on Thursday that Peter Hancock, bishop of Bath and Wells, shared the latest figures, which concern sex abuse against children and vulnerable adults reaching up to 2016, during a three-day meeting of the General Synod in London.

Hancock did not make it clear whether all the complaints are new or a combination with longstanding ones, but even if a fraction of them are upheld, the CofE might be forced into paying millions of dollars in compensation fees.

The figures he shared revealed that 18 percent of the 3,300 cases involve Church officers, most likely to be members of clergy, while others accused in the church setting include lay individuals and other churchgoers.

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and other top church leaders have faced months of criticism about the handling of various sex abuse scandals, including the case of former Bishop Peter Ball, who was jailed in 2015 for two-and-a-half years for sex abuse over three decades.

Welby was also accused by an independent inquiry last year of failing to protect young victims, with the Church blamed for concealing evidence of historic sex abuse crimes allegedly carried out by George Bell, another bishop, who died in 1958.

The CofE has said in a statement on its website that while the inquiries are still going on, it cannot comment on cases such as George Bell.

A separate scandal unraveled in August 2017 after an independent review, accepted by Welby, claimed that the CofE had been advised by insurers to withdraw emotional support and pastoral care for sex abuse victims.

Child safeguarding specialist Ian Elliot found out at the time that "financial interests were allowed to impact practice" in at least one person's case.

BBC shared the story of the victim, identified only as Gilo, who was raped in the early 1970s by the Rev. Garth Moore, and despite trying to speak more than 20 times to senior church members, he received little in the way of a reply.

He finally was handed a settlement of close to $50,000 on the advice of Ecclesiastical, the insurer, but then the Church stopped offering him pastoral and emotional care.

"I think because of the relationship that the Church has with the insurers, the pastoral response is so fused with the legal response it's really effectively led by the insurers," the man explained.

"When that insurer has got such significant presence of senior clerics on its board across the years, then you're into an area of moral responsibility."

Ecclesiastical denied the accusations at the time.


TOPICS: Current Events; Mainline Protestant; Moral Issues; Religion & Culture
KEYWORDS: anglican; childabuse; churchofengland; sexualabuse

1 posted on 02/12/2018 10:39:01 AM PST by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

Oh, if only they allowed their priests to marry!

Uh, waitaminnit...


2 posted on 02/12/2018 10:40:17 AM PST by Mrs. Don-o ("God bless the child who's got his own." - Billie Holliday)
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To: SeekAndFind

You can bet if there is any hint of pederasty it will quickly be covered up by the press.


3 posted on 02/12/2018 10:48:11 AM PST by lastchance (Credo.)
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To: SeekAndFind

This is cultural. The rot is deep within every institution secular and sacred.

Normalization of adultery, pornography, and every immoral action is leading the way to a complete breakdown of right actions and right behavior all in the name of freedom.


4 posted on 02/12/2018 10:54:33 AM PST by OpusatFR
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To: Mrs. Don-o

RE: Oh, if only they allowed their priests to marry!

I don’t think any seriously thinking person, Catholic or Protestant will use prevention of sexual harassment as an argument FOR allowing priests to marry.


5 posted on 02/12/2018 10:58:25 AM PST by SeekAndFind
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To: OpusatFR

These folks can only find true freedom in Christ; the true freedom from such urges. They may need counseling and earthly punishments in addition to being His, but they will win in the end.


6 posted on 02/12/2018 11:02:12 AM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks (The US Constitution ....... Invented by geniuses and God .... Administered by morons ......)
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To: SeekAndFind

How right you are.


7 posted on 02/12/2018 11:05:36 AM PST by Mrs. Don-o (If a man's work be burned, he will suffer loss: but he himself will be saved; yet as by fire. -1 Cor)
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To: SeekAndFind

The ‘devil’ is always in the details. I fully expect pages and pages of excuses, because everybody else is doing it.


8 posted on 02/12/2018 11:19:47 AM PST by Just mythoughts
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To: SeekAndFind
It's way past time for all churches to deal with this issue.

There is no place for this anywhere.

Jail time is necessary for the offending parties.

9 posted on 02/12/2018 11:49:13 AM PST by ealgeone
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To: OpusatFR

So true that society is rotting and degrading rapidly. It is the culmination of the left and their push to their utopia. It does not help that our side sits and does nothing.


10 posted on 02/12/2018 1:03:03 PM PST by shanover (...To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them.-S.Adams)
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To: ealgeone

Churches don’t send people to jail. That’s something that the government needs to address, and they need to address it everywhere, in churches but also in schools, and everywhere else it happens.


11 posted on 02/12/2018 2:28:57 PM PST by Campion (Halten Sie sich unbedingt an die Lehre!)
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To: ealgeone

Ping


12 posted on 02/12/2018 5:34:41 PM PST by ebb tide (We have a rogue curia in Rome)
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To: ebb tide

See my post #9. Way ahead of you....as always.


13 posted on 02/12/2018 6:19:16 PM PST by ealgeone
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To: SeekAndFind
Richard Dawkins, the militant atheist, was sexually abused at a CofE boarding school (and later in a secular boarding school).

Like Milo, he claims it didn't harm him, but given his vehemence against believers, it does make me wonder.

14 posted on 02/14/2018 12:38:59 AM PST by LadyDoc (Liberals only love politically correct poor people)
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