As a lay minister in Newcastle diocese, I strongly supported Helen-Ann Hartley’s call for the archbishop of Canterbury to resign (Bishop calls for Justin Welby to resign over failure to pursue serial abuser, 11 November), and I am relieved he has done so. For almost 40 years, since the abuse scandal surrounding the Nine O’Clock Service in Sheffield, the Church of England has attempted to ignore, minimise or deny the suffering caused by abuse in church settings. The leader of that church is awaiting trial on 34 counts of sexually abusing women (which he denies).
Meanwhile, while awaiting the publication of the Smyth review, Fiona Scolding KC and Ben Fullbrook published a report into the Soul Survivor church, commissioned after the national safeguarding team (NST) stated that its leader, Mike Pilavachi, “used his spiritual authority to control people and that his coercive and controlling behaviour led to inappropriate relationships, the physical wrestling of youths and massaging of young male interns”.
