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Church of England
UK News

Report claims Church of England withdrew advice for sex abuse victims

The insurer – Ecclesiastical – has a senior clergy member on its board.

It is alleged that once compensation had been paid to victims, emotional support was withdrawn and the church's insurer is being blamed.

After an independent review was steered by Ian Elliot, a child safeguarding specialist, the conclusion was that the insurer's advice had "directly conflicted" with the pastoral responsibilities of the church. Furthermore, the "financial interests were allowed to impact practice".

The Archbishop of Canterbury has fully accepted the review's findings.

 However, a spokesperson for Ecclesiastical has strongly denied it advised the church to sever pastoral ties after compensation payment.

"We were not asked to participate in this review and were not given the opportunity to set the record straight. Contrary to what the Elliott Report claims, we did not advise the Church of England to withdraw pastoral care from the survivor.

"We have always been clear that pastoral care and counselling can and should continue in parallel with an insurance claim."

Ecclesiastical has had senior clergy members on its board of directors.

Nevertheless, the company said this was standard business practice because the Church of England was a major customer. They also stated that the clergy were non-executive directors.

The Church of England's responses to complaints of historical abuse have incited calls for responsibility for safeguarding to be transferred from its ruling bishops to an independent body.

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