Sexual, physical and emotional abuse not only
devastates the victims but damages God’s mission, according to the
spokesman of an Anglican network working to protect the vulnerable.
As well as being chair of the Professional Standards Commission of the
Anglican Church of Australia, Garth Blake is a founding member of the
Anglican Communion Safe Church Consultation.
This is an informal network
of Communion members working to prevent abuse in churches and their
surrounding communities.
“Some Anglican Provinces have seen highly publicised lapses in behaviour
by some clergy and church workers with tragic consequences for those
who have been abused”, he said.
“Our growing international group is
committed to the physical, emotional and spiritual welfare and safety of
all people involved in churches throughout the Anglican Communion.”
Established in 2009, the group has been working to promote the safety
and welfare of all people involved in church across the Communion.
Members have been providing resources to educate about the issue of
abuse and misconduct in the churches, and have equipped and supported
people working to make their churches safe.
This year between 23 and 26 June in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada,
the group will be holding their second conference for ministers, church
leaders, pastoral counsellors and others concerned with power, abuse and
gender issues in the church, entitled Partnering for Prevention: A
Conference on Abuse in our Communion and our Communities.
At this event participants will be discussing a range of topics
including human trafficking, bullying, pornography and mass media, and
domestic violence. They will examine the the impact of abuse in
residential schools in Canada and the lessons to be learned. There will
also be workshops on prevention education, healing, and pastoral ethics
and relationships.
Mr Blake explained that, no matter how challenging abuse might be, the
Anglican Communion had a duty to do so: “It’s important both for those
who have been abused, and also for the church as a whole, to tackle
these things head on. Darkness needs to be exposed to the light and
without speaking the truth and naming evil behaviour there will be no
change.”
“This issue is at the heart of the gospel. If we cannot protect
vulnerable children and adults it says something about our Good News. We
must see protecting people as core to mission. In some places the
public perception is that churches are not safe communities and not
owning up to our past puts down a significant barrier to the gospel
message.”
Mr Blake acknowledged that there was no “quick fix” for abuse in
churches and communities.
“It’s got to be a mix of sound policy,
education and training, as well as specific codes of conduct combined
with effective pastoral care of those abused. There also needs to be
accountability on the part of the abusers. All of this needs to be done
in the framework of understanding evil and also God’s grace.”
Ultimately the group aims to develop a comprehensive strategy for
responding to and preventing abuse. This will include working with
Provinces to encourage them to implement effective policies and
procedures to protect the most vulnerable, especially women and
children.
“This is about making our churches safe”, said Mr Blake. “We have a long
term goal that churches of the Anglican Communion become known for best
practice in this area. We approach this humbly knowing how far we have
yet to go, but we want all people to see churches as safe places to be.”
Keynote speakers at the June conference will include the Rt Revd Mark
MacDonald, the first National Indigenous Anglican Bishop of Canada, and
the Revd Marie Fortune who is an ethicist and theologian with experience
in working to end sexual exploitation in religious environments.