A vicar who has campaigned to expose clerical sex abuse in the Church of England will be named Secularist of the Year today.
Rev Graham Sawyer of St James' Church, Briercliffe, in Burnley, is one of two winners being announced today for the £5,000 prize granted by the National Secular Society (NSS).
The other winner is Eastbourne-based Phil Johnson, the chair of Minister And Clergy Sexual Abuse Survivors (MACSAS), a group that supports victims of clerical abuse. The winners will be handed their prize by human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell at a central London ceremony, at lunchtime today.
NSS chief executive Stephen Evans praised both men for their 'courageous efforts to break the silence that has allowed an epidemic of abuse to take place in the Church of England'.
He added: 'Sawyer has made strong, reliable and consistent demands for reform from within the CofE. Phil Johnson has given a voice to many voiceless people who have suffered clerical abuse. Both have faced institutional hostility and worked tirelessly to promote meaningful change which will protect children in the future, often at great personal cost.
'We hope their work will cause those in positions of power to reflect on the damage done by excessive deference to religious authority. The Church of England must be held to account for its cover-up of abuse, including through independent oversight of its safeguarding policies. And ultimately it needs to be disestablished so society can hold clerical authorities to the same standards as everyone else.'
Rev Sawyer said he was 'humbled' by the award and applauded the 'NSS's principled version of secularism that defends both freedom of and from religion'.
He added: 'When religious leaders are given secular power or one particular religion is given a position of privilege by the state, we all too often see an abuse of power: perhaps an example of this is the way that the established Church of England has treated victims of sexual abuse perpetrated by its leaders over so many years.'
Johnson said: 'I am honoured to accept this award and in doing so recognise that I am just one of many people who have stood up to institutions to try to achieve justice, recognition and redress for abuses perpetrated against them. Sadly, many victims are so harmed that they are unable to fight these powerful institutions on their own, so it is important that we continue the fight for them.
Johnson earlier this month gave evidence at the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), a series of hearings over responses to allegations of child abuse in the diocese of Chichester. Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby this week told the inquiry he was 'ashamed' about the CofE's record on abuse and its treatment of survivors. He warned against factionalism and deference providing a shelter for abusers, and said the current disciplinary process for accused clergy was not 'fit for purpose'.
Johnson added: 'Those who have followed the Anglican hearings at IICSA over the last 3 weeks will have seen revealed an institution that is elitist, sexist and homophobic and does not see itself as accountable to the law. This must change. At the very least we need a change in the law to require the mandatory reporting of allegations of sexual abuse to the statutory authorities so institutions like the Church of England cannot go on 'dealing with things' in-house and those who fail to report or cover up abuse can be held to account.'
