The Church of England has earmarked £150m to compensate survivors of church-related abuse.
Members of the General Synod in York have given final approval to a redress scheme after four years of negotiation and discussion with survivors and their advocates.
Designed to address the profound harm caused by church-related abuse, the church says the new, independently administered scheme will offer not only financial redress but also formal apology, acknowledgment, therapeutic support, and other forms of bespoke redress.
Monday’s landmark vote completes the Church's legislative process, paving the way for the scheme to open for redress applications, subject to parliamentary approval and royal assent.
Phil Johnson, a survivor of church-related abuse and a member of the Redress Project Board, welcomed the vote: “I am relieved and pleased that Synod has voted to approve the redress scheme. It is the culmination of years of hard work and when it opens, it will make a huge difference in the lives of people. For the church, it is an opportunity to rectify some of the harm that’s been done to victims and survivors.”
Rt Rev Philip Mounstephen, Bishop of Winchester, who is chair of the Redress Project Board told Premier that it is “a really significant and welcome step in providing much needed redress for victims and survivors of church related abuse. I do want to say at the outset that we should never have had to do this work, but we are responding to a clear and urgent need, shameful as it is that we have had to do that.”
He added: “The currency of abuse is secrecy, it's coercion, it's fear. It happens in the dark, both literally and metaphorically. And that is the exact opposite of everything that the gospel of Jesus Christ is about.
“Life in Christ is about fullness of life, it rejoices in the light and that's why it is such an appalling offence against both God and our neighbours that abuse should ever happen in the life of the church.”
He went on to say that the £150m allocated by the Church Commissioners is not a fixed sum or capped, so “we will need to see what the level of demand is.”
The measure was approved by General Synod with an overwhelming majority, following an amendment brought by Bishop Julie Conalty of Chester to ensure financial awards from an Interim Support Scheme (ISS) would not offset future financial awards made through the redress scheme.
A public website will open from Friday 18th July, enabling prospective applicants to register their interest and receive advance notification of the scheme's official opening date once it is known.
The scheme has been developed in response to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), with over 160 policy decisions taken with survivor input.