The former chair of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) has praised the Bishop of Newcastle for exposing safeguarding failings in the Church of England.
Professor Alexis Jay was writing in an open letter as part of a group of lawyers and survivors and their advocates.
The letter said that radical change is needed to meet 'even secular standards' of safeguarding in the church.
It described Bishop Helen-Ann Hartley as 'courageous' and urged more to follow her example to keep children safe.
The bishop has been an outspoken critic of the church's handling of safeguarding since the publication last month of the Makin Review into abuse by the late Christian barrister John Smyth. Yesterday she called for the Archbishop of York to resign after revelations emerged that he had allowed a child abuser to continue working as a priest in the diocese of Chelmsford. Bishop Helen-Ann has also said the next Archbishop of Canterbury must end the Church of England's 'old boys' network'.
Professor Jay was commissioned by the Church of England after IICSA to author a report into ‘The Future of Church Safeguarding’. It clearly stated that the Church must establish fully independent safeguarding processes to meet even secular standards. However the report was rejected by General Synod last year.
The 12 signatories to the letter, which has been published by the Survivors' Trust, says recent events 'make implementing this radical change imperative.' It says it supports the Bishop of Newcastle's 'efforts to highlight these failures and thank you for the courage it has taken. We hope more will follow your example, standing up to ensure the 1 million
children in Church schools in the UK are safe.'
Commenting on the latest calls for the Archbishop of York to resign, the letter says: 'For the second time in two months, we are witnessing many calls for the resignation of an Archbishop. There has never been a voluntary resignation in the 900-year history of the Church, and now we are potentially facing two, both linked to failing to safeguard
children and vulnerable adults. This is particularly alarming, knowing that 4,600 schools in England are run by the Church of England.'