Presbyterian Church has ‘work to do’ to regain trust after safeguarding failures
By Jonathan McCambridge, PA
The Presbyterian Church in Ireland has a “lot of work to do” to regain trust after admitting failures around safeguarding, the chairwoman of the Safeguarding Board for Northern Ireland has said.
Bernie McNally also said the Church may need external support to set up a governance system that members can have confidence in.
The Church announced this week that moderator Rev Trevor Gribben is to stand down after a review found “serious and significant failings” in central safeguarding functions from the period 2009 to 2022.
They need to set up a system so the voices of victims and potential victims can be heard
It emerged that failures included situations where the Church did not respond when people who had suffered harm sought help and instances where offenders returned to worship in church but were “inadequately monitored”.
The Presbyterian Church has since faced pressure to release more information about the safeguarding issues involved.
On Thursday, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said it is engaged in ongoing discussions with the Church to ensure mechanisms are in place to support anyone who wishes to report abuse.
The PSNI said discussions began after concerns were raised by the Church following the conviction of an individual in 2024 for child sexual offences.
Ms McNally is chairwoman of the Safeguarding Board for Northern Ireland, a statutory body responsible for coordinating and improving child protection efforts across Northern Ireland.
She told the BBC that she understood that people were anxious for more information, but said that due process had to be followed.
She said: “They need to set up a system so the voices of victims and potential victims can be heard.
“They need to get some external device on how to deal with child protection or vulnerable adult issues because they clearly need support and help to do that.
“Thirdly, they probably need some external help, like a panel of experts to help them set up a new governance system.
“A system that people can have confidence in, a system victims could have confidence in and their congregations could have confidence in because this is all about trust now.”
She added: “I think people will be very distressed. I would imagine the congregations will be very distressed.
“I think sometimes when there is a vacuum it is filled with misinformation.”
Ms McNally said: “Pastoral care at this stage is going to be vital to reassure those congregations who have put such faith in the Church, they have put their trust in the Church, they have spent their whole lives being loyal to this institution.
“I think the Church has a lot of work to do to regain that trust.”
The Presbyterian Church in Ireland has around 180,000 members belonging to more than 500 congregations across 19 regional presbyteries across the island.
