The Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI) has been told by its moderator Rev Richard Murray that it is living through an ecclesiastical earthquake. At last week’s special general assembly, there was more emphasis on creating a management structure to deal with the crisis than on the church’s lack of safeguarding and its victims.
The assembly met in Belfast to update its 400 members across Ireland following the sudden resignation of its former moderator, the Rev Trevor Gribben, last November after an internal report found “serious and significant failings” in safeguarding between 2009 and 2022. This led to the current investigations by the PSNI and the Charities Commission. These were dramatic interventions unprecedented in the church’s 185-year history.
The gravity of the situation was outlined at the outset of the assembly on Wednesday by Murray, who said the PCI is “living through such a time when there has been an ecclesiastical earthquake, and when safeguarding has been rightly moved to centre stage”.
He said there were those who had “faithfully” carried out their safeguarding duties, but others had failed to do so.
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As a result, he said, “we are acutely aware of people who have suffered and been left desolate. There are forces without, and forces within, that oppose us and sometimes we wonder what is coming next”.
“What does the future hold for the PCI, and where is the Lord in the middle of it all?”
The safeguarding issue was mentioned by Rev David Bruce, a former moderator and convener of the church’s General Council, who announced that Dermot Parsons, due to become the new head of safeguarding, had resigned. There was no further information offered.
Before the Wednesday meeting, the PCI had asked all its congregations not to destroy any material in relation to safeguarding, including minutes of meetings, records, reports and evidence of records’ destruction. This was reportedly at the request of the PSNI.
The PCI wished to say as little as possible about safeguarding while the investigations by the police and the Charities Commission were continuing.
As a result there was an absence of comment about the victims, apart from the moderator’s opening remarks. It was regrettable there was no presentation by a “non-Presbyterian” victim who could have shared his or her suffering, and underlined that this was about human beings as well as about creating management structures to deal with the crisis.
After a debate lasting just over two hours, the assembly agreed to establish a senior leadership team. The team will include the new post of operations director, as well as a new clerk of the general assembly and the current deputy clerk. Each member of the team is required to be an ordained minister or elder, and there are new details agreed for the role of clerk and deputy clerk. The traditional role of general secretary, which was held by Gribben before he became moderator, becomes obsolete.
The debate was largely concerned with the proposed senior leadership team, with a number of floor members expressing worries that this would turn the PCI into a “business role model” which would be contrary to the traditions of Presbyterian governance. At the end, however, the proposal for the new leadership team was accepted.
One of the main contributions on the day was made by media-savvy former moderator Rev Norman Hamilton. He referred to “the still high levels of bewilderment, distress and confusion among many members of our Church, as well as in the wider society”.
“My key concern is that since the crisis broke in early November, the main source of information and analysis to both the Church and the wider society has been through many journalists, and much good work has been done by them. The Church has to start speaking to its members directly,” he said.
The assembly was held on Ash Wednesday, eve of the Lenten period of discipline and reflection. The overall impression of the day’s event was that much pain still lies ahead for the PCI; three months after the crisis began, church members and the general public are still largely left in the dark.
On the day after the special general assembly met, the PSNI revealed that to date they have received 101 referrals about safeguarding in relation to the investigation. These include direct reports from victims, as well as referrals from safeguarding partners and other parties.
DCS Zoe McKee, head of the PSNI public protection branch, confirmed that the investigation into the PCI remains a priority, and encouraged anyone who believes that they may have relevant information, or wishes to make a report, to contact the PSNI.
Richard Murray said the church was “saddened” to learn of such figures but welcomed “the clarity that is being brought with regards to their ongoing criminal investigation”. He acknowledged the bravery of those who had come forward, and expressed “deep lament” for those who had suffered.
Those with relevant information should contact the police at [email protected], or the PCI safeguarding team at [email protected].
Alf McCreary is a Belfast Telegraph columnist and the paper’s former Religion Correspondent
