Our Shared Responsibility for Safeguarding

November 2024

A pastoral letter from the safeguarding lead for the House of Bishops Rt Revd Dr Joanne Grenfell, Bishop of Stepney has been circulated to Centre for Formation in Ministry students who are training for ordained and lay ministry in the Church of England. The pastoral letter follows the publication of an independent review by Keith Makin into the Church of England’s handling of abuse allegations by the late John Smyth, and the subsequent resignation of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby.

Read the pastoral letter 

The following text is the accompanying message from the PrincipaI of Sarum College, James Woodward:

I am circulating this note from the Bishop of Stepney who is the safeguarding lead for the House of Bishops. I believe it captures the present situation with some clarity as we listen to the consequences of the Church of England’s failure to respond to the appalling violence of John Smyth.

At the heart of this are those many victims of abuse perpetrated over a number of decades. The Church of England has failed them and as a consequence there is a serious lack of trust in the institution and its safeguarding practices. We should note that this also has implications for all those in leadership and the shared responsibility to ensure good safeguarding oversight and practice.

I hope you will join with me and many others praying for the victims of John Smyth. There are lessons for us all to learn wherever we find ourselves in and within the life of the Church of England.

Can I also assure you that the College Safeguarding Group has already met to discuss the implications of this report. We are committed to ensuring that the college is a safe space for all who participate in our work. As part of this ongoing development of safeguarding in the life of our work it will be important that we all participate in the safeguarding training that is provided and is part of our shared responsibility in the work of Christian presence and engagement across the region and beyond.

I am aware that there may be students of Sarum College who have been affected by the publication of this report and want to talk to someone independently. If this is the case please call the Safe Spaces helpline on 0300 303 1056 or visit safespacesenglandandwales.org.uk.

Alternatively, you may wish to contact the diocesan safeguarding team in your area or the National Safeguarding Team at safeguarding@churchofengland.org.

Visit the Sarum College safeguarding page