Church of England reveals almost 400 new abuse allegations

The Church of England has found 383 new cases of alleged abuse – almost half of them sexual.

Independent reviewers assessed 75,000 files, some of them dating back to the 1940s.

Some cases were as late as 2018, when clergy who had lost their jobs after being convicted of serious sexual offences were later re-appointed because there was not a proper procedure to prevent that happening.

The Archbishops of Canterbury and York said they felt “great sadness and profound shame”.

Publishing its national Past Cases Review 2 (PCR2), the CofE said some of the allegations had been dealt with previously but not in a way that meets modern safeguarding standards.

The most common type of alleged abuse was sexual, accounting for 181 cases, followed by 39 emotional abuse cases, 33 physical, and 21 allegations of financial abuse.

Nine cases of domestic abuse were filed, while 81 were classed as “other”.

There were 168 cases relating to children, 149 to vulnerable adults, while a further 27 were recorded as fitting both those categories.

Data shows 242 cases related to clergy, 53 to church officers and 41 to volunteers whose roles included engaging with children.

One survivor whose testimony formed a case in the report said the “scars on all victims will always remain and our lives have been permanently redirected”.

They added: “Our church must, therefore, remain permanently open to respond to new revelations and new phases within older revelations.

“Unlike the work on some other focus groups, the agenda is never closed or concluded.”

The report has 26 national recommendations, including establishing a charter to ensure the voices of children are heard.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, said in a joint statement that it was “with great sadness and profound shame that we, again and again, come face-to-face with the brokenness and failings of our church”.

They added: “There are no possible excuses, no rationalisations for our church’s failure to share the love of God and value each and every person.

“PCR2 was our next step in extending our search for the truth and being satisfied that past abuses and the misery suffered by survivors, victims and their families was uncovered.

“We sincerely apologise for our failures and want to reach out to those who are still suffering from the pain and misery they endured.”