Archbishops of York and Canterbury say they are ‘truly sorry’ for Church’s ‘shameful’ actions ahead of child sex abuse report being published tomorrow

• A report into child abuse in the Church of England is to be released tomorrow 
• The independent inquiry has been collecting evidence for two and a half years
• Ahead of its release, the Archbishops of York and Canterbury have apologised for the Church’s failure to tackle the problem 

The Archbishops of York and Canterbury have expressed their remorse for the Church’s ‘shameful’ actions ahead of the publication of a report into child sex abuse tomorrow. 

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) has been collecting evidence about the abuse and its cover-up within the Church of England through a series of hearings over the past two and a half years. 

Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, John Sentamu, the former Archbishop of York, and several other bishops have given testimony at hearings, along with survivors and officials.

The IICSA is due to publish its findings in full tomorrow.  

Ahead of its release, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York shared an open letter apologising for the Church’s actions.

The Archbishops of Canterbury and York have shared an open letter apologising for the Church’s failings in tackling child abuse

The letter read: ‘For survivors, this will remind them of the abuse they suffered and of our failure to respond well; it will be a very harrowing time for them. 

‘Some have shared courageously their story at the IICSA hearings or in other forums. For others this report will be a reminder of the abuse they have never talked openly about. 

‘We are truly sorry for the shameful way the Church has acted and we state our commitment to listen, to learn and to act in response to the report’s findings. 

‘We cannot and will not make excuses and can again offer our sincere and heartfelt apologies to those who have been abused, and to their families, friends and colleagues.’

The letter also expressed the Church’s desire to support any further victims who come forward following the report’s publication. 

It read: ‘We, as the Church of England, are ready to support anyone who comes forward. We must honour our commitment to change. 

‘Survivors have told us that words without actions are meaningless; we are taking action but we are also aware that what we have done has neither been soon enough nor sufficient.

‘Please pray for all those who will be affected by the publication of the report on Tuesday and that as a Church we are able to respond with humility and a shared determination to change. We must listen carefully and reflect honestly on all that the report says and continue to drive change towards a safe Church for all.’

The report is expected to shed light on the Church’s response to the investigation into Bishop Peter Ball. 

Among sex abuse cases to recently trouble the Church was that of former bishop Peter Ball, jailed for 32 months in 2015 for sex abuse against boys carried out over three decades

Ball, 87, of Langport, Somerset, was the former Bishop of Lewes and Gloucester and was sentenced to 32 months in prison in 2015 after being convicted of misconduct in public office and indecent assaults.

The paedophile carried out a series of assaults against young boys and teenagers and used his friendship with Prince Charles to continue his ministry despite an earlier police caution.

The Church faced criticism over its handling of the claims against Ball, something addressed by the Archbishops’ open letter. 

It states: ‘At this point, we know that the report is based on the main public hearing in July 2019, which examined the response of the Church of England and Church in Wales to allegations of child sexual abuse, as well as the adequacy of current safeguarding policies and practices. 

‘The report will also focus on common themes and issues identified by the overall investigation which included the case studies into Bishop Peter Ball and the Diocese of Chichester, both held in 2018. 

‘The report will identify failings that we are already working to change, and failings that we will need to work harder to change. 

‘There will no doubt be strong recommendations and we welcome that. We make an absolute commitment to taking action to make the Church a safe place for everyone, as well as to respond to the needs of survivors for support and redress.’ 

In September the Church of England set up a multi-million-pound compensation fund designed to funnel money to victims of historic sex abuse by bishops, clergy and lay church workers.

Its ‘interim pilot support scheme’ will make the first payouts from a compensation process expected to cost the Church £200million.

The fund was approved by the Church’s Cabinet, the Archbishops’ Council, which also said that in the future it would invite outside authorities to run independent inquiries into allegations against Church figures.

Officials declined to disclose the scale of the new fund, but Church documents earlier this year said that the final bill was likely to come to £200million.

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