The Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI), Rev Dr Trevor Gribben, has announced that he will step down following an internal investigation which uncovered “serious and significant failings” in the Church’s safeguarding functions spanning more than a decade.
Dr Gribben made the announcement during a news conference in Belfast on Wednesday. In his statement, he said the investigation found major shortcomings in the Church’s central safeguarding systems between 2009 and 2022, which had placed people at risk.
“Following an internal investigation and report, it has become clear that there have been serious and significant failings in the central safeguarding functions of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland from the period 2009 to 2022,” Dr Gribben said. “As a result of this, people have been placed at risk. We are aware of a number of people who have been harmed, and we believe there may well be others as yet unknown to us. We apologise unreservedly for this.”
He added that the Church’s “first and greatest concern” was for those who had suffered harm or been put at risk, saying PCI “profoundly regrets this” and will offer “all possible support to those affected.”
While Dr Gribben noted that he was not directly responsible for the professional delivery of safeguarding within the denomination, he acknowledged that the failings occurred partly during his tenure as General Secretary and said he would step down from his current role at the end of the month. He will also retire from his role as Clerk of the Assembly and General Secretary.
“I have made these decisions and taken these steps with the deepest personal regret that our central failings have caused such harm to those who deserve our protection the most,” he said
Safeguarding Review Findings
Speaking after Dr Gribben, Dr David Bruce, Convener of the General Council of PCI, outlined in “sorrow and with deep regret” the findings of the internal review and the measures being taken to address the failings.
He explained that PCI’s current Safeguarding Team identified a number of situations between 2009 and 2021, and one as late as 2022, where the Church “failed to deliver an adequate safeguarding service.”
According to Dr Bruce, these failings often involved a failure to follow the Church’s own Taking Care guidance, and were “magnified by major gaps in necessary record-keeping”, meaning not all cases of poor practice have yet been identified.
He said the failings included not making required referrals to authorities, inadequate responses to concerns, and poor support for those who had suffered harm. The person previously responsible for safeguarding is no longer in post.
Dr Bruce said the Church has since worked with statutory bodies, strengthened its structures, increased training, and begun an external audit of safeguarding practices using a framework from the Safeguarding Board for Northern Ireland.
“Above and beyond all of these necessary steps, however, rests our primary concern, which is the people who have been harmed, placed at risk, or who simply didn’t hear from us when they needed help or guidance,” Dr Bruce said. “We have let you down, and for this I am truly sorry. It should not have happened.”
He invited anyone affected to contact the Church’s dedicated response line and urged prayer.
“I ask you to pray – that those who have been harmed might find healing in the time ahead, and that together, we might recover the qualities of caring compassion which lie in our heart as a people, but which, through these evident failings, have been so seriously compromised.”
