en explains the latest developments – and what may come
What has happened?
First, independent Christian safeguarding charity Thirtyone:eight published a ‘lessons learnt’ report into disgraced former minister Jonathan Fletcher’s time at Emmanuel Church Wimbledon from 1982 and 2012. Previously it had emerged that Fletcher had engaged in naked massages with men as well as beatings on their bare backsides, among other things.
Second, members of an Independent Advisory Group (IAG), which was assisting Thirtyone:eight, published its own report. The IAG is made up of an anonymous representative of Fletcher’s survivors, plus Sarah Smart, Graham Shearer and Dan Leafe – all conservative evangelicals.
Third, an independent review into the links between Scripture Union and the Iwerne school camps was published. During the 1970s and 1980s, John Smyth, a QC, Iwerne leader, SU trustee, and close friend of Jonathan Fletcher, invited young men from the camps to his home, where he told them to strip off before beating them violently in his shed.
Did Fletcher and Smyth contribute to these reports?
The Thirtyone:eight report says: ‘Five letters were sent to [Fletcher] between May 2020 and December 2020 expressing the commitment of the Reviewers to his inclusion in the interests of fairness and transparency. He did not take up the offers to participate by phone, online or written questions and therefore did not contribute.’
Smyth died in 2018, having moved to Zimbabwe.
What are the main findings and recommendations of the reports?
The Thirtyone:eight report contains 66 recommendations grouped under 18 themes ranging from leadership and accountability to effective safeguarding and support for survivors. A summary states: ‘Many who contacted the review spoke of “deeply harmful” and “inappropriate” behaviours experienced from Jonathan Fletcher including bullying, coercion and control, and spiritual abuse. Others who contacted the review requested that their positive experiences be included. The report concludes that the behaviours exhibited by Jonathan Fletcher were unacceptable for someone in Holy Orders and constitute an abuse of spiritual authority and power.’
The report itself says: ‘There were reports of naked massages and saunas, forfeits including smacking with a gym shoe, and ice baths. These behaviours are already in the public domain as a result of press coverage in 2019 and 2020. In addition to the behaviours set out above, during the review a serious incident of a sexual nature was reported. One participant reported that JF told him to perform a sex act in front of him and when he did not, JF performed the act instead. This behaviour demonstrates a gross abuse of power and in the opinion of the reviewers is far beyond anything which can be deemed acceptable or appropriate from a minister in a position of power, trust and responsibility. Further, it raises a question regarding whether this would be regarded as misconduct in a public office. We conclude that very few, if any, knew about this incident prior to 2017. We state for the record that JF has never been charged with or found guilty of any offence.’
It continues: ‘It is clear that bullying/ spiritual abuse was known about prior to 2017 and little or no action was taken to address this by role holders and leaders at ECW [Emmanuel Church Wimbledon] at the time … In the period of JF being Vicar there was no official safeguarding lead … The situation has been made more complex by JF’s continued behaviour including the use of power and influence to critique and undermine his successor’s ministry.’
Addressing the wider conservative evangelical constituency, the report says: ‘There is an urgent need for individual and collective repentance demonstrated by a clear pursuit of learning and change. Repentance would include all those who have been responsible for harm, or complicit in it (either through acts of commission or omission) being able to clearly articulate where they have wronged others and what they intend to do in order to begin reparations.’
And it declares: ‘It is the opinion of the Reviewers that the aspects of unhealthy culture at ECW and more broadly across the affected CE constituency might only be addressed fully by those having played a key role in the establishment and maintenance of that culture to no longer enjoy the influence they have had to date (i.e. considering their positions and stepping down). It is not for this review to determine the details of how this should take place, but it should be recognised and considered as a necessary part of a demonstrable commitment towards a safer, healthier culture.’
The IAG report focuses particularly on how the wider evangelical world handled revelations about Fletcher. It states: ‘According to the report timeline, the first disclosures ECW acted upon [about Fletcher’s abuse] were made in February 2017, around the time that the John Smyth story was receiving widespread media coverage. At that point, Fletcher undertook not to exercise his PTO [Permission To Officiate – i.e. licence to minister] to the Diocese of Southwark which then expired later in the year. Nevertheless, he was allowed to continue a public ministry: preaching regularly, speaking at a residential conference for students at St Andrew the Great, Cambridge in March 2018, participating in the licensing of the first UK GAFCON bishop in September 2018 and in January 2019 he attended, as apparently in good standing, the invitation-only ‘Mission-Minded’ conference addressed by Philip Jensen and William Taylor with many other key [conservative evangelical] figures present…’
It adds: ‘The fact is that nearly two years after the disclosures that initiated this process, Jonathan Fletcher was attending an invitation-only conservative evangelical conference, having exercised a wide-ranging and influential ministry in the previous 12 months. It is time for the leaders of the ministries involved to be open in explaining what happened … Genuine repentance for some may involve them stepping down from positions of leadership.’
The report into Scripture Union’s relationship with the Iwerne camps says SU’s failure to sever its links with the Trust when abuse was reported resulted in its being associated with camps where ‘perpetrators with poor intent’ could ‘access victims, to continue to harm children and young adults without effective challenge, and to operate without personal consequence’. SU did not actually run the Iwerne camps, but employed three of the staff at Iwerne, and supported its operations. The report says: ‘Where there is evidence that when SU leadership raised challenges, external scrutiny was rigorously rejected by Iwerne officers and their forceful responses repeatedly led to a “let them get on with it” approach, despite issues of SU accountability. SU could have considered terminating the relationship with Iwerne but there is no evidence that it did so.’
What have been the main reactions so far?
Fletcher victim and survivor Lee Furney, now a missionary in Malawi, has given a number of interviews, including one with broadcaster Julie Roys (julieroys.com). Speaking there of the response by evangelical leaders at that point, he said: ‘No one will take any personal responsibility. And so, when everybody is sorry, and the apology is general, nobody’s really sorry at all. And so, for example, for me, I’ve got people saying to journalists they are very, very sorry the way that they treated me. Really remorseful. They’ve got great regrets. But they haven’t told me that. And so, if you were really repentant, you’d go to your brother, wouldn’t you, or your sister? And you’d say to them, look, I’ve sinned against you, brother or sister. And there’s been ample time to do that. And instead, it’s been the same people that have been coming to me, not to say sorry to me, but to say to me, could you get people to stop making such a fuss?’
He added: ‘I want to expose what’s happened, so that the sin is dealt with. So, there can be help, and hope, and healing for victims. But also, for those who have enabled or those who have abused, they’re brought to repentance as well, and they’re restored. But if there isn’t repentance, if there isn’t appropriate resignations, then there won’t be restoration.’
In a statement on its website, Emmanuel Church Wimbledon (emmanuelwimbledon. org.uk) said it was deeply sorry for its failings, including its arrogance. It said it had established an ‘implementation group’ to help it put into practice the report recommendations. This was due to be assisted by an external adviser, Mark Meynell, but he has since stepped down, stressing this was for personal reasons and affirming that the ECW ‘church staff team under Robin Weekes [Fletcher’s successor as minister], are taking the multiple recommendations with utmost seriousness …’ Weekes has resigned as a member of the Church Society council.
Vaughan Roberts, of St Ebbe’s Oxford, said: ‘Given that I come from – and have been a leader within – the background and network that has had a major influence in shaping the culture, I am conscious of the need first and foremost to lament, listen, learn and repent … My term of office as Chair of the Proclamation Trust ends early next year, after which I will cease to be a trustee.’ He has also resigned from Church Society’s board of reference.
On his ‘Ministry Nuts and Bolts’ blog, former Oak Hill vice-principal Chris Green wrote: ‘Names will have to be named. I imagine some resignations will follow. Some churches will have to have difficult conversations. Some pulpits will be empty. That’s inevitable. Let’s just get used to it. And, yes, there will be those in the Church of England and elsewhere, Christians and unbelievers, who will take an unholy glee in this. “I told you so”, they will say. Some will hashtag and haunt us on social media. And there will be ghastly witch hunts of innocent, and maybe vulnerable, people. It is deeply unpleasant … But responding, reacting, will make us, first, defensive, and secondly, aggressive. Social media is a dirty playground, and like they say about wrestling a pig, you both get dirty but only one of you enjoys it. Instead, we need to see where they were right. Not, “make sure this never happens again” – I take that as a given. Not “if they were right” – I take that as a given too. But where they were and are right. Even the most politicised, bitter, malcontents. Even about the stuff that has not yet gone public. We need to see this as the start, not the end, of the process.’
The Church of England Evangelical Council said in a statement: ‘This is a time of lament for Anglican evangelicals as we humbly reflect on this report, carefully listen to survivors, and repent of all we need to change. Please join us in praying for the many affected by Jonathan Fletcher’s abuse and for Christlikeness in all those who seek to serve His people. We hope in due course to also add … commentary on cultural changes needed.’
In a statement at All Souls Langham Place, Associate Rector Jonny Dyer said: ‘The [Thirty-one:eight] report makes very painful reading … It is profoundly heart-breaking … We are so very sorry that this type of abuse continues to take place in the church body, especially so close to home. Our thoughts are with the survivors … Our hearts go out to them … We will be reflecting on what [this] means for us …’
However, in a Palm Sunday statement from his pulpit, William Taylor of St Helen’s Bishopsgate, cast doubt on the reports, declaring that what he called the ‘so-called’ IAG’s report on Fletcher was ‘clearly politically driven, and this action has significantly cheapened the report itself, [and] raises questions for the organisation that produced the report in the first place …’ But he also said there were things St Helen’s needed to implement, and that the church’s concerns were ‘first and foremost’ for the victims.
The following week, Easter Day, he apologised in church for parts of his previous statement, declaring: ‘I was wrong to speak as I did last Sunday. I caused hurt. I am sorry.’ Responding in turn to this on the soulinformation.org website, evangelist and
en writer Glen Scrivener, and writer and minister Sam Allberry, said Taylor’s apology did not go far enough, saying ‘there is still a significant distance to travel’. They added that Taylor’s first statement was ‘a deeply improper use of … pulpit, the occasion, and of Scripture’ and ‘a very serious error which goes beyond the specifics of what you said’ as it was ‘a mistaken use of power’ and an example of ‘the unhealthiness we see in our leadership culture’.
Church Society said it recognised ‘the pressing need to undertake a sincere and full review of its leadership and governance at every level and to ask the difficult questions of how power and authority is exercised in our organisation’ and would be reviewing its ‘relationships with other conservative evangelical organisations to ensure that we are not contributing to or enabling the culture criticised in the report’.
Conservative evangelical Bishop of Maidstone Rod Thomas said in a statement: ‘Until there was a disclosure in September 2018, I did not have any knowledge of [Fletcher’s] harmful activities. I both understand and share the sense of betrayal and hurt that many are now experiencing as a result of the courageous disclosures that have been made. I will now seek both to learn from, and promote, what the report has to say about building a healthy safeguarding culture.’
How can those personally affected by this abuse get help?
The Thirtyone:eight website says: ‘If you have been affected by the matters contained within the review and you would like to speak to someone independent about this, you can contact the Thirtyone:eight helpline on 0303 003 1111. Please quote “Southwark 2019”.’
What happens next?
Further reports are due in the coming year relating to John Smyth. One will investigate allegations of the abuse of boys at Winchester College, and the second independent report is being led by Keith Makin, a former director of social services, for the Church of England.
The aims of this second report are to establish what the Church of England knew about the abuse; explore what the Church should have known, within the best practices and standards at the time of the abuse; and make recommendations on changes that can be made to help avoid such abuse happening again. It will also consider the response of the other organisations involved; Winchester College, the Titus Trust, and the Scripture Union, ‘to the extent that those organisations are willing to co-operate’. It is expected to be released mid-summer at the earliest.
