Christians express dismay over Dispatches episode on church-related child abuse

The Evangelical Alliance, Churches Together in England and the Churches Child Protection Advisory Service have criticised Channel 4 over the “imbalance” of Monday night’s Dispatches on the abuse of children by some churches.

Channel 4’s flagship documentary attempted to get to the heart of abuse meted out by some churches against children they declared to be witches or demon possessed, a trend mostly seen in African churches.

The EA, CTE and CCPAS condemned such abuse of children and claimed that Monday’s Dispatches had focused on a “small rogue element of pastors”.

“We wholeheartedly condemn churches abusing or encouraging the abuse of children, in particular any church that brands children as witches or demon-possessed … The vast majority of African churches in the UK do not subscribe to these practises,” they said.

The EA and CTE, which represent thousands of churches, including many African churches, said they were “disappointed” that Channel 4 had “made no attempt” to contact them for a comment on the production of the programme.

“We are also dismayed that the programme did not feature any Christian representatives, who would have condemned these practises and provided the context that they are not tolerated in the vast majority of African churches,” they said.

Although none of the churches or pastors featured in the programme was a member of the EA or CTE, the groups went on to say that the programme did not take into consideration the “huge strides” that had been made in their African member churches in terms of developing and implementing effective child protection policies.

CCPAS said it had trained more than 5,000 African church leaders and volunteers in child protection.

Steve Clifford, General Director of the Evangelical Alliance, said: “There is no justification, in any circumstances, for child abuse or sexual abuse, and we wholeheartedly condemn any cases of the vulnerable being abused or exploited in the name of God.

“We call on churches to operate a policy of zero-tolerance of abuse in their ranks and we strongly advocate that all churches put the highest standards of child protection systems in place. We are partnering with CCPAS to make this process as easy as possible.

“The vast majority of churches – whatever their cultural background – foster respect, nurture and care for children.”

Dr Joe Aldred, Secretary of Minority Ethnic Christian Affairs for Churches Together in England, said: “Churches providing social and spiritual support in the African and Caribbean communities in the UK have a long history of exemplary work that has been recognised widely.

“This Christian community has never encouraged or tolerated abuses of children and vulnerable people. This remains the case and anyone found breaking the law under the guise of faith should be reported to the authorities.”

The groups said they plan to make a representation to Channel 4 explaining their “unhappiness with the imbalance” of the Dispatches episode.