Diocese of Chichester Opening Statement

THE DIOCESE OF CHICHESTER OPENING STATEMENT BY COUNSEL TO THE INQUIRY OPENING REMARKS 1. Good Morning, Chair and Panel. I am Ms. Fiona Scolding, lead counsel to the Anglican investigation . Next to me sits Ms. Nikita McNeill and Ms. Lara McCaffrey , junior counsel to the Anglican investigation. Today we begin the first substantive hearing into the institutional response of the Anglican Church to allegations of child sexual abuse. The Anglican investigation is just one of thirteen so far launched by the statutory Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse established by the Home Secretary in March 2015, offering an unprecedented opportunity to examine the extent to which institutions and organisations in England and Wales have been able to respond appropriately to allegations of abuse. 2. This hearing focuses upon the response of the Diocese of Chichester to allegations made to it about various individuals – both clergy and volunteers over the past thirty years. Some of the abuse you will hear about occurred during the 1950’s and 1960’s: some of it is much more recent in origin. A series of allegations came to light from the late 1990’s onwards and then engulfed the Diocese of Chichester in the first decade of the 21 st century. The role of the hearing is to examine what happened and what that shows about the ability of the Anglican Church to protect children in the past. It is also to ask 1 about its ability to learn lessons and implement change as a result of learning from the mistakes which it has acknowledged that it has made. 3. This hearing also seeks to examine how the Church dealt with those who whilst abused as children, came to speak to the Church as adults and tell their story – and of the inadequacies of response by the Church to those disclosures, which again, the Church as acknowledged. 4. Most of those from whom you will hear were abused, or make allegations of abuse from very many years ago. The laws and practice of the Church of England have changed markedly even in the past five years in response to the information that these individuals have brought to light, and is still in the process of genesis , something from which we will hear from the current Bishop of Bath and Wells, Peter Hancock, who is in charge of safeguarding at present. The law, guidance and views of society have changed even more radically since the time when much of the offending took place. 5. However, as this Inquiry well knows, the pain of those who were abused as children does not go away or end simply because society’s views have changed. Sometimes, their lives have been blighted by such abuse. Others have sought to become activists for a more open and transparent culture both within our society and within the Church, using their own experience as a way to promote change and compelling the Church to look at them and face what some of those within it had done, even when the Church did not wish to do so. We will be hearing evidence from some of these victims, survivors and 2 complainants, all of whom are seeking to use their own experiences as a way for us, as an Investigation, to learn and make recommendations. 6. The feelings of shame and inadequacy associated with sexual abuse within childhood can leave an indelible stain for even those with the most courageous and optimistic personalities – the Inquiry wishes to thank them for the openness, their honesty and their desire to assist us. The more that all of us can speak about abuse and expose it, the more that society as a whole can change. 7. Some of the people who were involved in running the institutions as the time when the abuse occurred are no longer alive or are very elderly. The majority of those individuals who were in senior positions within the church when the disclosures of abuse camet to light have also retired, or are no longer working within the Diocese. Some have also passed away. 8. There have been a number of internal inquiries into the actions of the Diocese of Chichester and individuals who spent time as clergy in Chichester even if their offending took place elsewhere. This Inquiry will not hear much which has not been aired or ventilated previously within the criminal courts, the civil courts or by internal review processes of the Anglican Church itself. What is different is that the focus on this investigation is upon the themes and issues which emerge from the reviews and trials: to seek to draw them together and to synthesize the issues which arise: and to examine the 3 extent to which the Church has been able to change many of the deep rooted structural , governance and cultural problems identified following reviews. Our primary role is to listen, and to inquire. 9. As a society, we have had to examine uncomfortable truths about our wilful blindness to such abuse over decades over the past ten years. We have gone from a situation where sexual abuse was not spoken about, discussed or heard. Where, in many people’s eyes, it was even inconceivable that it could exist, let alone that individuals who were otherwise pious, holy, charismatic people could have engaged in, to recognising that such abuse occurs at all levels of society and can involve individuals who otherwise would be considered to be paragons of their communities. This Inquiry is part of the continuing conversation that our society is having about such truths. INTRODUCTION 10. So what then is the purpose of embarking on this investigation within this inquiry? 11. First of all, these events did not happen so long ago as to consign them to history. The institutional response of the Church which were are examining happened, largely, in the last decade of the twentieth century and in the first decade of the twenty first century – a time when sexual abuse was recognised as a problem by society and where the state had systems in place to investigate it. 4 12. Second, the response of the church assists us in examining how society as a whole, and in particular its established institutions have dealt with such abuse to date. The Church is the “established” church of England: the national church. I will explain in a little more detail exactly what that means in a moment, but it is a very important and powerful institution within our society. The reaction of the Church and the issues raised reflects other strands within our society to do with class, gender and sexual orientation which are of wide applicability . Its internal laws have to be approved by Parliament: the Queen is the head of the Church and its bishops still sit in the House of Lords. It provides spiritual sustenance for many and is seen as a leader in terms of not just religious questions, but related questions of social justice and ethics. Its management of allegations of child sexual abuse reflect not just society’s difficulties in coming to terms with it, but also how even institutions dedicated to good can both harbour individuals who are malign but also be institutionally incapable of effective responses to concerns about the sexual abuse of children. 13. Third, it is also still a very significant provider of voluntary services for children in everything from the Cubs through to youth groups and mother and baby classes even for those who do not worship within its Churches. It is also by far and away the largest “sponsor” of state education within the country. 1 in 6 children attend an Anglican school [check figures] . Whilst the Church does not directly fund many of these institutions, clergy and volunteers from parishes and dioceses often sit on the governing body or board of trustees (in the cases of Academy schools) and the Diocesan Board of 5 Education still plays a significant role in the supervision of religious education within those schools, much of which has a social and ethical dimension. 14. Fourth, it allows the panel to consider whether deference to individuals in a position of authority, not so very long ago, may have put children at risk of child sexual abuse. The wider issue is whether the Church in its responses to allegations was too willing to believe those who subsequently turned out to be abusers: too slow to interrogate information that ought to have given rise to acute concern; and too willing to accept the status quo. 15. Fifth, the Panel can also consider issues emerging from this investigation which remain relevant and will contribute to the Panel’s ability to put contemporary problems of child sexual abuse in context, both within the Church but also within other institutions where similar problems no doubt arise and are replicated . 16. Those who will be giving evidence and the available documentation suggests there may be the following problems : (i) A tendency to make children responsible for their sexual abuse instead of the adults around them. (ii) A tendency to let difficult issues drift rather than to confront them. 6 (iii) An inability to believe that those whose lives were ostensibly dedicated to good could be capable of great harm towards children and young people. (iv) An inability to spot “grooming” behaviours or even understand what grooming behaviours were. (v) An inability to understand that those who were abused as children would still feel such abuse acutely as adults and require redress and reparation, no matter how long ago the events occurred. (vi) A culture of excessive deference to those at the top of the hierarchy and an unwillingness to challenge them.

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