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| Tonight's Birmingham Evening Mail |
Earlier this year many of us here in the Midlands were shocked to be told that a respected local preacher had used his position to abuse teenage boys. It is a nasty story that I won't repeat in detail. Tragically several young people and their families have suffered greatly.
Sadly the tendency for many religious organisations is to pretend that such abuse never happens and when it is discovered they try to hush it up. On this occasion the Methodist Church have came up trumps. We set up a full inquiry led by a former President, learnt what lessons we could and have now issued a full apology that was carried in today's local newspapers. That is the right and good way to handle bad news.
I discovered a fuller story when my Methodist Recorder arrived this evening. I do hope that the report is placed online because there are clearly lessons that we need to learn again. Some of these lessons are reported more fully in tonight's Northern Echo. It may also be useful when confronted by those who complain about "health and safety culture" and CRB checks.
Sadly this may not be the last occasion that the church's name is associated with child abuse. I noticed in the annual report and accounts of the Methodist Insurance Company (pages 14, 31 and 35) that they have had to make special provision worth over £5,000,000 for insurance claims going back over fifty years in our children's homes.
Some claims have been settled, some are in the process of being settled but we are warned that some may not have yet been reported. These cases represent the tip of a spiritual iceberg that probably did much damage to people who will never see the Methodist Church as a place of safety.
