The Bishop of Oxford has said the Church of England is “learning lessons” and making its safeguarding processes more rigorous in the wake of recent abuse scandals.
Rt Rev Dr Stephen Croft, father of worship leader Andy Croft, will retire this summer after nearly a decade in his post.
He told BBC Radio Oxford that his diocese has been improving safeguarding training.
Reflecting on his own experience, Dr Croft acknowledged “mistakes”, including the way he handled a rape allegation against a parish priest who later died by suicide.
“Nationally and in all dioceses, I think our processes are better, I think our churches are safer thanks to better training and the work of our volunteer safeguarding officers in parishes. We have a brilliant safeguarding team in the Diocese of Oxford, but we’re not complacent,” he insisted.
He emphasised the need to “listen to the voices of survivors” and to connect their experiences with safeguarding processes" so we really understand…the cost of when safeguarding goes wrong and does not go well.”
Dr Croft added: “The best way it can’t happen again is for us not to be complacent and say it could never happen again and is to be alert to the risks and dangers.”
The bishop previously faced criticism from survivor Matthew Ineson, who reported abuse to Dr Croft in 2012, when Croft was Bishop of Sheffield. In December 2024, Dr Croft claimed it was one of his “deepest regrets” that he did not do more to ensure the disclosure was followed up.
The Bishop also addressed far-right attempts to “appropriate” Christian symbols, referencing activist Tommy Robinson’s London carol service.
He urged caution over the event narrating its own “certain story of Christian Britain, and equating that with white, native British culture.”
“From the Church of England, we are very careful to say Christ is already part of Christmas,” he added. “We don’t need to put Christ back into Christmas. Attendances at church services across our diocese, I’ve been hearing, are significantly up again this year. People are celebrating Christ at the heart of Christmas.”