The Anglican Communion Safe Church Commission

The Commission’s remit is to promote the safety of people within churches of the Anglican Communion – with a particular focus on children, young people and vulnerable adults. During the first phase of its work, 2016-2019, the Commission will identified safeguarding policies and procedures already in place within the Anglican Communion and developed new international guidelines. The guidelines were presented to the Anglican Consultative Council in Hong Kong in 2019 (ACC17) where they were approved.

• Guidelines to enhance the safety of all persons – especially children, young people and vulnerable adults – within the provinces of the Anglican Communion
  
  
• Lignes directrices pour améliorer la sécurité de tous – en particulier, celle des enfants, des jeunes personnes et des adultes vulnérables – au sein des provinces de la Communion anglicane
  
  
• Normas para mejorar la seguridad de todas las personas – especialmente los niños, los jóvenes y los adultos vulnerables – en las provincias de la Comunión Anglicana
  
  
• Directrizes para aumentar a segurança de todas as pessoas – especialmente crianças, jovens e adultos vulneráveis – nas províncias da Comunhão Anglicana
  
  
• Diretrizes para aumentar a segurança de todas as pessoas – especialmente crianças, jovens e adultos em vulnerabilidade – nas províncias da Comunhão Anglicana (tradução para o português brasileiro)
  
  
• 가이드라인은 성공회 교회공동체의 모든 사람의 -특히 아동, 청소년, 취약한 성인-안전을 강화하기 위한 지침이다
  
  
• アングリカン・コミュニオン諸管区のすべての人 ―ことに⼦ども、⻘年、弱い⽴場の⼤人― の安全を高めるためのガイドライン 
  
  

Safe Church Commission members at the Lambeth Conference 2022

The Commission is chaired by senior counsel Garth Blake, a senior member of a tribunal, who also chairs the Anglican Church of Australia’s Safe Ministry Commission. The other members of the ACSCC are:

• Marcel Cesar Pereira - Brazil
• Bishop Cleophas Lunga - Zimbabwe
• Yves Iradukunda - Burundi
• Bishop Brian Marajh - South Africa
• Bishop Festus Yeboah-Asuamah - Ghana
• Mary Wells - Canada
• Bishop Viv Faul - England
• Cruz Edgardo Torres Cornejo - Central America
• Daphne Audsley - Scotland
• Kim Barker - Co-opted Facilitator - South Africa
• Ena Barclay - West Indies
• Fr Wadie Far - Jerusalem and the Middle East
• Robin Hammeal-Urban - United States
• Canon Andrew Khoo - Malaysia
• The Revd Shazhad Gill - Pakistan
• Naw Laldini - Myanmar

The ACC also agreed to establish an international Protocol for the disclosure of ministry suitability information between the churches of the Anglican Communion so that priests are unable to move from one province to another to avoid investigation of complaints or concerns. The text of the Protocol is included in Schedule 3 of the Guidelines.

During its meeting in 2019, the ACC requested Member Churches of the Anglican Communion to adopt the Charter, and implement the Protocol and the Guidelines (ACC17 resolution C17.01). The ACC also requested a reconstitution of the Commission to undertake further work for a period of six years in accordance with the terms of reference recommended in the ACSCC report to ACC17.

Prayers

For those suffering abuse

Loving God, whose Son was both victim and victor,
we cry to you for those suffering abuse,
[especially...]
Be with them in confusion and pain.
Heal the wounds of body and mind;
break open the prisons of fear, self-doubt and despair;
and strengthen them to face the future with faith, hope and courage.
Reach out to them with your love,
that they may be made whole in boy, mind and spirit,
through the healing touch of the suffering Christ. Amen

God, our redeemer and sustainer,
we pray for survivors of violence, abuse and neglect.
Give your power to the powerless,
your fullness to the empty of spirit.
Heal their wounds, free them from fear,
and restore them to true health.
Grant this through Jesus Christ,
the crucified and risen Saviour
who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen

Those who abuse

Judge of all the Earth,
God of justice,
we bring before you all who abuse others.
Fill them with a hatred of the damage they do,
so bringing them to true repentance
and amendment of their lives,
for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen

(taken from The Anglican Church of Australia's "A Prayer Book for Australia". Broughton Books. 1995.)