Bishop Philip North said: \u201cI\u2019m just devastated, really, that this mess that we\u2019re seeing unfolding since the publication of the Makin review undermines good work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTremendous, heroic work was going on at ground level with parish safeguarding officers and clergy going to tremendous lengths and taking safeguarding seriously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI can totally get why trust in bishops is at such a low ebb. It really is at a low ebb. And there are reasons for that. We\u2019ve seen poor judgment. We\u2019ve seen, quite possibly, poor behaviour. We felt trapped, I think quite often, by systems and structures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI can\u2019t deny there\u2019s huge reputational damage done to the church at a national level, to the standing of bishops and to the perception of the church and the Church of England, and we feel still to be very much on the back foot, very much on the defensive\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Asked whether the bishops\u2019 moral authority had gone after the scandals, he said most people had a knowledge of the Church of England through the parish church. Nationally, reputation needed to be restored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Read it all<\/a>.<\/p> College of Bishops \u2018very, very deeply shaken\u2019 by recent events in the diocese of Liverpool, media briefing hears https:\/\/t.co\/g8xWYE4UZP<\/a><\/p>— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) February 5, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote>