UPDATE: SUN 11 JUNE – DoWNLOAD Q&A HERE

In November 2020 the Methodist Church in Ireland initiated a Safeguarding Past Cases Review. No specific issue prompted the Review other than the wish of the Methodist people to acknowledge and honestly reflect on the past so that victims could be heard, acknowledged and supported to ensure that the Church can be a safe place for all today.

The Review had the widest possible remit, encompassing all cases and situations of safeguarding concerns or issues of which the Church was aware. It included appeals that any who had knowledge of issues, reported or unreported would make them known to the Panel.  The final report is now available here and will be presented on Saturday 10th June at the annual Conference of the Irish Methodist Church.  

There are nine main findings detailed and fourteen recommendations for the Methodist Conference.  Consequently, the Methodist Conference will be issuing the following apology:

We apologise. The Methodist Church in Ireland apologises without reserve to all those who have been victims of abuse in the life of our Church. We have failed you, failed society and failed our Saviour. Our processes that were designed to protect all have not done that. We have caused pain that goes beyond measure. We apologise that we have not been the beacon of light that we are called to be. It has taken us too long to recognise our failings and face up to the truth. We have failed to listen carefully to what we were being told in the past. We apologise.

The incoming Methodist President, Rev David Turtle, describes this report as:

‘a time to say sorry, an opportunity to ensure that our policies continue to be robust and to renew our resolve to protect all and to be a place of safety for all. Our resolve is that what we have learnt will further enable us to be a place of healing and hope for everyone’.

One purpose of a past cases review is to further raise awareness and create an opportunity for survivors of abuse to speak in safety.  If anyone wishes to make a report they should initially contact the Methodist Church Safeguarding Officer on safeguarding@irishmethodist.org.  All details of Irish Methodist safeguarding policies and procedures are found at www.irishmethodist.org/safeguarding

Rev Dr Stephen Skuce (Vice Chair, Past Cases Review)
stephen.skuce@irishmethodist.org  +44 7803 828589

Rev Dr Heather Morris, General Secretary, The Methodist Church in Ireland
secretary@irishmethodist.org

ENDS