Failure to defrock Peter Hollingworth undermines Anglican church’s credibility, abuse prevention groups say

An Anglican church board made six findings of misconduct against former governor general Peter Hollingworth including failing to remove known paedophiles from the church. Photograph: Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images

Five leading child abuse prevention organisations have written to the Anglican church to criticise its “inadequate” decision on Peter Hollingworth, saying the failure to defrock him undermines the church’s credibility and fails to reflect the harm done to survivors.

Last week the church’s professional standards board declined to recommend defrocking Hollingworth, a former Australian governor general, despite making six findings of misconduct against him. These included failing to remove known paedophiles from the church while he was archbishop of Brisbane in the 1990s.