Safeguarding as a Byword for Betrayal
The latest safeguarding scandal in the Church of England is not an isolated mishap but part of a decades-long collapse. The conviction of Chris Brain, whose cult-like Nine O’Clock Service was tolerated and even fast-tracked by the hierarchy; the exposure of John Smyth’s serial abuses in the Makin Review; the resignation of Archbishop Justin Welby under the weight of his failures; and now the grotesque breach of nearly two hundred survivors’ personal details in a so-called “redress scheme”—these are not accidents. They are the visible fruits of an institution hollowed out by compromise.
Forgotten Duties of the Pastor
St Gregory the Great, in his Regula Pastoralis, wrote that the shepherd must “stand on the height of contemplation, but also walk in the valley of work,” lest he abandon the flock to the wolf. The C of E’s leaders have instead preferred the valley of reputation, where committees and procedures are worshipped but souls are neglected. The result has been predictable: victims silenced, survivors ignored, predators shielded, and scandals multiplied.
The Idolatry of Careerism
This is not uniquely Anglican. The Catholic Church, especially in the post-conciliar era, has staggered under the same weight of scandals. Bishops shuffled abusers, bureaucrats minimised complaints, and Rome issued apologies while protecting reputations. Pope St Pius X, in Pascendi Dominici Gregis (1907), warned of precisely this corruption: that modernist shepherds, no longer believing in sin or objective truth, would reduce faith to “sentiment” and thereby lose the very capacity to defend their flock. What was once prophetic now reads like a diagnosis.
The refusal of the Church of England’s General Synod to establish fully independent safeguarding, clinging instead to episcopal control even after so many betrayals, reveals the same disease. Bishops speak of healing but act to preserve their own authority. As one critic has put it, careerism has triumphed over conscience.
The Deeper Theological Collapse
The crisis cannot be solved by structures alone. It is theological. A Church that no longer trembles before divine judgment will never take earthly justice seriously. A Church that reduces doctrine to negotiation and worship to entertainment will inevitably treat victims as expendable. The safeguard of souls depends not on corporate training manuals but on fidelity to Christ the King.
Pope Pius XI, in Quas Primas (1925), taught that only under the Kingship of Christ can societies be rightly ordered. That includes the Church herself. When bishops substitute public relations for truth, or legal indemnities for repentance, they reveal that they serve another master. Survivors, forced to relive their wounds in the latest data breach, know this better than anyone.
Conclusion: Betrayal and the Path Back
Both Canterbury and modern Rome stand condemned by their failures. Their apologies ring hollow while victims weep. Their procedures mean little while predators flourish. The lesson is simple: “safeguarding” without sanctity is betrayal. Only conversion—pastors who once more believe in sin, in judgment, in the Cross—can restore the credibility of shepherds. Until then, the wolves will continue to feed.
- St Gregory the Great, Regula Pastoralis, I.2.
- Pope St Pius X, Pascendi Dominici Gregis (1907).
- Pope Pius XI, Quas Primas (1925).
- Makin Review, Independent Review into the Abuse of John Smyth QC (Nov 2024).
- Reuters, Personal details of Church of England abuse victims leaked (27 Aug 2025).
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