The Church of England is grappling with a crisis of trust, facing allegations of abuse, a lack of transparency, and calls for fundamental changes to its governance. Clergy, members, and even the Archbishop of York have acknowledged the severity of the situation, with some suggesting parliamentary intervention or a royal commission to address the issues. The upcoming General Synod meeting is expected to be highly tense, with discussions on transferring safeguarding staff to an external body and implementing long-overdue disciplinary reforms for clergy.
Mutiny may be in the air when the Church of England’s normally staid ruling body, the General Synod, meets for a five-day session next week.In recent days, demoralised clergy have spoken of a church in freefall, a crisis of trust between grassroots members and the national leadership, serious reputational damage and a fear of more to come., some are asking if the church can ever again provide moral leadership.
Some felt Cottrell was not the right person to steer the church through the crisis because there were many questions over his own failure to act against alleged abusers. “But because he has massive support among the bishops, he feels he can ride this out,” Thompson said. According to Rev Dr Charlie Bell, another synod member, local parishes were “frustrated and irritated” at waves of bad news coming from the C of E hierarchy. People were fed up that good work at grassroots level, such as running food banks or hosting meals for elderly people, were being “endlessly swamped” by bad news from the top of the church.
CHURCH OF ENGLAND REFORM CRISIS TRUST ABUSE SAFEGUARDING GOVERNANCE
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