Presbyterian Church Ignored Child Safeguarding Concerns, Expert Says

Attempts in 2023 to alert authorities in the Presbyterian Church to failings in its child safeguarding policies were ignored, a leading expert in the area has said.

Ian Elliott, who played a key role in reforming child protection structures in the Catholic Church, said he had “previously offered advice to the [Presbyterian] Church, but this was refused.” A Presbyterian himself, Mr Elliott was asked in 2023 to participate in an expert safeguarding panel for the Presbyterian Church. He agreed and used that body as a way of voicing his concerns about what may be happening. Unfortunately, these questions were not answered and he resigned after a number of months.

He said he believed Rev Gribben was made aware of the issues that were raised about the safeguarding practice in the church. “I am not aware of any response made to those issues by him or anyone else,” Mr Elliott said.

Rev Gribben took office as Moderator – the Presbyterian Church’s chief public representative – last June and had been general secretary of the church, or clerk, at the time. He had held that position since 2014, having been deputy clerk since 2008.

At a press conference in Belfast on Wednesday, when Rev Gribben announced his intention to stand down, the acting clerk of the general assembly, Rev Dr David Allen, said the church initiated an investigation into its safeguarding practices last May after receiving information from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). A subsequent internal investigation identified a “number of situations between 2009 and 2021, with one as late as 2022, where we have failed to deliver an adequate safeguarding service.”

It involved three Presbyterian congregations, on both sides of the Border, “where we are aware of people who have come forward and spoken with us,” he said. The investigation outlined failures “to make referrals to statutory authorities when these were required” in abuse cases as well as not responding “adequately to concerns expressed to us about individuals in congregations.”

There were also “situations where some offenders returning to worship in church, following referrals to us by statutory bodies, were inadequately monitored.”

Mr Elliott said his “primary concern then [in 2023] and remains today is to confirm that those who may have been harmed in the past are provided with appropriate support. Also those who may have caused harm to others need to be removed from post and the information passed on to the appropriate authorities without delay.”

Source: Read the original report