General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI) discussed the report of the all-Ireland denomination’s Safeguarding Development Committee this afternoon on the first day of business in Belfast.
The report, which forms part of the General Council’s report, PCI’s senior body after the General Assembly, detailed the background to the serious central safeguarding failings that the Church announced publicly in November 2025 and progress that has been made since then.
This included an update on the new Safeguarding Department, safeguarding training, which has seen training delivered to over 4,400 youth leaders and elders in the last few months. The General Assembly was also asked to agree that the Protocol for the Immediate Management of Safeguarding Concerns be incorporated within the policies and procedures of the church.
In proposing the report, the General Council’s Convenor, Very Reverend Dr David Bruce, said that, “I don’t suppose any of us could have imagined the path which lay ahead of us at this time last year. While God is God, and we walk by faith not by sight, the Psalmist’s dark valley has been our experience in recent times.
“I include in this primarily, people who have been hurt, harmed or let down through the well-publicised safeguarding failures in our central church. But I also include an unnamed number of other people, including their families, whose lives have been overturned by these events.
“For us as a church this has been and remains a deep and necessary place of learning, of dying to old ways, and of acquiring new and unfamiliar skills. If this can ever be said to end, we will not be the same. I hope we might be more humble. I believe we are being chastised. I suspect our reputation will need to be rebuilt from the ground up. And I know that this path is God’s way for us.”
The former Moderator spoke of the setting up of the response line the morning following November’s announcement, where people were able “to voice their concerns and tell their stories. The range of matters raised has been wide, and all of them have been taken seriously…with those of a safeguarding nature directed to the PSNI or Social Services for further action.”
Some, he said, had raised concerns from the past which, “although not of a safeguarding nature have none the less caused them distress, and may continue to do so. Not everything that has been said to us can be actioned further, if all avenues of enquiry or appeal have been exhausted.”
Dr Bruce continued, “But even in stories extending back over years, we have sought to listen carefully, and to respond to each person individually, and according to their need. In the course of the past six months, I have met personally with several people at their request, either in their homes or elsewhere, and I have corresponded with others, as have at different times, the Acting Clerk, the Deputy Clerk, the Moderator of the General Assembly, and members of our Safeguarding Team…This has not been perfect, and I want to apologise sincerely for the times when the church’s central responses to emerging situations have caused further distress.”
He also spoke of the independent inquiry into safeguarding and governance that had been announced in March. Lead by INEQE, an agency which specialises in this field, “Their work will be assessed by the Charities Commission in due time. It is my understanding that the voices of those who have been harmed will be heard through the process of the inquiry itself, and by the Church. I make a commitment that their stories and needs will help to shape best practice as we look ahead,” he said.
Since December’s Special General Assembly created the new Safeguarding Department, responsibility for it falls to the new Director of Operations, Ken Swarbrick, a member of the new Senior Leadership Team.
Updating the General Assembly, Mr Swarbrick said the new Department now has a Safeguarding Lead, two full time and two part time Safeguarding Officers, a Safeguarding Policy Officer, three full time, and one part time administration officers. While he informed Members of Assembly that the role of the Head of Safeguarding has yet to be appointed, “the new Safeguarding Training Officer will be joining the team next month.”
Mr Swarbrick continued, “Training is essential in making all of this work…we have delivered Child Safeguarding training to over 3,000 Youth Leaders in the last few months and over 1,400 of your fellow elders have also been trained. Managing the training programme across 500 congregations, 19 Presbyteries and 2 distinct legal jurisdictions is difficult - your support and your support for your Clerks of Presbytery in co-ordinating this is really appreciated.
“The team processed over 1,000 applications in May, but still the rate at which applications are being received is higher than the rate at which we can process them. We will get them done, but as we do, we will need your patience and we will need your prayers.”
In his speech, Dr Bruce also spoke of how the work of the Safeguarding Development Committee had focussed on the revision of policies and procedures as they apply in both jurisdictions.
“Members of the General Council, who are the charity trustees of the denomination, have been called to several additional meetings to review the policies and procedures as they have emerged since January, and much more remains to be done as these living documents are updated and improved.
“As these resources have been approved, they have been uploaded to the PCI website. Work is continuing to assist congregations in the drafting of their own bespoke versions of these documents.
Speaking about the Protocol for the Immediate Management of Safeguarding Concerns, Dr Bruce said that, “The protocol, which has resulted in the precautionary standing down of some colleagues, has developed over time, and now represents a much better process than in November last year when it was first introduced.
“There are times when hard decisions are required, and in such moments, clear guidelines such as these are needed…This document has already been approved by the General Council and is in force as Guidelines.”
