House of Survivors

Archbishop of York welcomes ‘fourth House’ website built by survivors

Apr 28, 2022 | What others say

Church Times https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2022/29-april/news/uk/archbishop-of-york-welcomes-fourth-house-website-built-by-survivors

House of Survivors. A New Resource for the Church of England

Apr 24, 2022 | What others say

Surviving Church http://survivingchurch.org/2022/04/24/house-of-survivors-a-new-resource-for-the-church-of-england/

Falling Among Thieves

Apr 22, 2022 | Survivor Initiatives

Andrew Graystone - Temple Tract https://williamtemplefoundation.org.uk/falling-among-thieves/ Andrew articulates so intelligently and so knowingly, the painful place that both the Church and victims of their abuse find themselves at present. An...

Shameful Truth TV

Apr 21, 2022 | Documentaries

Youtube Shameful Truth has over 180 shorter news items. These are mostly on Phil Johnson's tireless work with BBC reporter Colin Campbell which exposed abuse and cover-up in the Chichester Diocese. https://youtube.com/user/shamefultruthtv

The Church of England’s governance body called General Synod has three houses.

House of Bishops
House of Clergy
House of Laity

Total membership of these is 450.

A fourth House exists, long unrecognised, which has done more to drive necessary change in the Church’s structures and cultures.

Its membership is greater far than the other three houses put together.

House of Survivors

"No, we don’t want to open a can of worms"

"I know thousands of happy survivors"

“With careful drafting it should be possible to express them [apologies] in terms which effectively apologise for what has happened whilst at the same time avoiding any concession of legal liability for it.”

"The Church cannot be held liable for the actions of individuals"

"I’ve told the Safeguarding Adviser, I’ve told my vicar, I’ve told the Bishop. They have taken all my information but offered nothing in return"

"My abuser remains in post whilst I remain in pain. I feel judged and isolated by the very institution that could offer me peace"

"It feels like the Church has learned nothing from all the mistakes. The vicar was sympathetic and said he believed me but then did nothing. Maybe he didn’t believe me after all?"

"I haven’t had any response [from the Diocese], please offer any help you can."

"they so often forget about the spiritual abuse, the loss of faith, the loss of the very thing that should help you through the abuses in your life"

"I’m sorry if Fr [ ] went a bit too far in his parental relationship with you."

"Since your solicitor has now issued a letter of claim, any further contact with the diocese can only be via our solicitors"

"We are going to have to stop sweeping things under the carpet... The furniture is in danger of toppling over."

"We will see if the claim can be ‘bought-off ’ for a modest sum representing the litigation risk. ... we will be pleased to conclude this troublesome matter."

"I understand that you have difficulty forgiving Rev [ ], perhaps you should consider asking God to forgive him"

"He didn’t only groom me, he groomed my family, he groomed the congregation, He groomed everyone."

"...my intention is to see if [Church contact] can help concerning restricting further the recent interventions [of the bishop]"

“The church colluded and concealed rather than seeking to help those who were brave enough to come forward. This is inexcusable and shocking behaviour”

‘If you can’t deal with the stuff you see, you’re never going to be able to deal with the stuff you don’t see’.

“I didn’t know I had to ask for help; I presumed that if I disclosed abuse, help would be offered.”

“As an adult male, it is difficult telling another male about abuse perpetrated by a [male Church Officer] – somehow more embarrassing”.

I told a member of clergy [ ] what had happened. He interpreted that I had run away and told me to go home. He never checked to see if it was a safe place.

WHAT OTHERS SAY

RECENT

Archbishop of York welcomes ‘fourth House’ website built by survivors

House of Survivors. A New Resource for the Church of England

Falling Among Thieves

Shameful Truth TV

LINKS

SURVIVOR INITIATIVES

IICSA

TWITTER

TWITTER

The Church of England’s governance body called General Synod has three houses.

House of BishopsHouse of ClergyHouse of Laity

Total membership of these is 450.

A fourth House exists, long unrecognised, which has done more to drive necessary change in the Church’s structures and cultures.

Its membership is greater far than the other three houses put together.

House of Survivors

"No, we don’t want to open a can of worms"

"I know thousands of happy survivors"

“With careful drafting it should be possible to express them [apologies] in terms which effectively apologise for what has happened whilst at the same time avoiding any concession of legal liability for it.”

"The Church cannot be held liable for the actions of individuals"

"I’ve told the Safeguarding Adviser, I’ve told my vicar, I’ve told the Bishop. They have taken all my information but offered nothing in return"

"My abuser remains in post whilst I remain in pain. I feel judged and isolated by the very institution that could offer me peace"

"It feels like the Church has learned nothing from all the mistakes. The vicar was sympathetic and said he believed me but then did nothing. Maybe he didn’t believe me after all?"

"I haven’t had any response [from the Diocese], please offer any help you can."

"they so often forget about the spiritual abuse, the loss of faith, the loss of the very thing that should help you through the abuses in your life"

"I’m sorry if Fr [ ] went a bit too far in his parental relationship with you."

"Since your solicitor has now issued a letter of claim, any further contact with the diocese can only be via our solicitors"

"We are going to have to stop sweeping things under the carpet... The furniture is in danger of toppling over."

"We will see if the claim can be ‘bought-off ’ for a modest sum representing the litigation risk. ... we will be pleased to conclude this troublesome matter."

"I understand that you have difficulty forgiving Rev [ ], perhaps you should consider asking God to forgive him"

"He didn’t only groom me, he groomed my family, he groomed the congregation, He groomed everyone."

"...my intention is to see if [Church contact] can help concerning restricting further the recent interventions [of the bishop]"

“The church colluded and concealed rather than seeking to help those who were brave enough to come forward. This is inexcusable and shocking behaviour”

‘If you can’t deal with the stuff you see, you’re never going to be able to deal with the stuff you don’t see’.

“I didn’t know I had to ask for help; I presumed that if I disclosed abuse, help would be offered.”

“As an adult male, it is difficult telling another male about abuse perpetrated by a [male Church Officer] – somehow more embarrassing”.

I told a member of clergy [ ] what had happened. He interpreted that I had run away and told me to go home. He never checked to see if it was a safe place.

WHAT OTHERS SAY

RECENT

Archbishop of York welcomes ‘fourth House’ website built by survivors

House of Survivors. A New Resource for the Church of England

Falling Among Thieves

Shameful Truth TV

LINKS

SURVIVOR INITIATIVES

IICSA

TWITTER

TWITTER

House of Bishops
House of Clergy
House of Laity