Protecting vulnerable should be Anglican priority - group

The Anglican Communion should be leading the way in safeguarding children and all other vulnerable people against abuse in societies around the world. That was the message emerging from a meeting of Anglicans over the weekend on how to protect the vulnerable in church and society.

Delegates from seven Anglican Provinces came together for the international Anglican 'Creating a Safer Church' event, which was timed to coincide with the opening of the Lambeth Conference in Canterbury.

The three day event was an opportunity for senior international Anglican safeguarding practitioners to listen to the experience of different branches of the Communion and to reflect together on standards of accountability and future strategies.

"There is no doubt that the Church can do better," said Garth Blake, a senior Sydney barrister and Chair of the Professional Standards Commission of the Anglican Church of Australia.

"There is a need common to all of us around the world - and not just in the First World either - to get beyond 'risk management', and recognise the care of the vulnerable as being a core element of the Gospel we proclaim and live.

"This conference is a response to the Anglican Communion's desire to lead the way internationally in the safeguarding of vulnerable people. It effectively gives birth to a new network for advocacy, better professional standards, and mutual learning in all areas of safeguarding."

While 'abuse' is perceived by many as having only emerged as a major issue in the past 20 to 30 years, speakers highlighted how the mistreatment of children and other vulnerable members of society was endemic in all societies throughout history.

"Historically, faith communities were gatekeepers of both the moral imperative and the judicial process," said Canon Dr John Higgins a former Church of England national advisor on child protection.

"We are committed to the complete safety of children and all vulnerable people so why are we now on the back foot? Why aren't we leading the charge? This is a message we will be presenting to the Lambeth Conference on July 29 and to the wider Anglican community."

He added: "What we are here to talk about should be top of the agenda for the Bishops at the Lambeth Conference. What they are actually discussing should be farmed out to a few sub-committees."

Dr Higgins stressed that in the past Christians and the Church led the way in securing the welfare of children and other groups within society: "The agenda now has to honour the primacy of the welfare of children in particular and the vulnerable in general. It has to facilitate giving a voice to victims, delivering justice wherever possible, and appropriately restraining abusers.

"In all this the demand is that it must act with competence and integrity alongside others who affirm the welfare imperative for the young and vulnerable."

"I see that we are moving forward," said the Rev Pearl Luxon, conference host and National Safeguarding Advisor for both the Church of England and the Methodist Church.

He suggested the formation of a formal Anglican Communion-wide network to respond more fully to the issue of child protection.

"Together, we will be learning how to build vigilant communities concerned for the safety and nurture of all individuals - but in which the Church is a consistently competent and reliable partner with the statutory and voluntary agencies in all communities around the world," she said.

"It's my view that the Church is more true to the Gospel when it listens and learns from those who are vulnerable for whatever reasons, and where individuals in positions of authority in all church communities offer a Christ-like model of power."