The Church of England was \u201cnaive and uncritical\u201d when in came to abuses of power by clergy, former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams told the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse.<\/p>\n
On day eight of a three-week hearing on the Anglican church as part of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), Lord Williams of Oystermouth said that a mindset in which the authority of an ordained minister was thought to be \u201cbeyond criticism\u201d was a \u201cdefinitely a problem\u201d when it came to preventing abuse.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo much of this turns on how we understand the exercise of power in the Church, in which we have often been in the past \u2014 myself included \u2014 na\u00efve and uncritical,\u201d he admitted. \u201cIt did take us an unconscionably long time for us to really focus on the need of the complainant and the proper care,\u201d he told the inquiry.<\/p>\n
He added that this \u201ctop down model of authority\u201d leaves \u201clittle mental or spiritual space for a victim to speak out in the confidence that they will be heard\u201d.<\/p>\n