Rowan Williams Apologises After Damning Review Exposes Church in Wales Covered Up Child Abuse for 30 Years

Church in Wales Review Exposes Decades of Abuse Cover Up as Rowan Williams Admits Failing Victims

A devastating independent review has revealed that senior leaders in the Church in Wales knew about sexual abuse allegations against Anthony Pierce for decades but failed to act, allowing him to rise through the ranks to become Bishop of Swansea and Brecon.

The 131 page review, led by barrister Gabrielle Higgins, was commissioned after Pierce was jailed for four years and one month in March 2025 for sexually assaulting a boy under 16 between 1985 and 1990 while serving as a parish priest in West Cross, Swansea.

The report found that a mother first reported Pierce's abuse of her 15 year old son to Bishop Dewi Bridges and Archdeacon Wynford Rees in 1993. During that meeting, Pierce offered to resign, but Bridges refused the resignation. The allegation was later dismissed as "unsubstantiated."

Despite the allegations, Pierce was promoted to Archdeacon of Gower in 1995 and then elected Bishop of Swansea and Brecon in 1999. Archbishop Alwyn Rice Jones received a formal complaint letter and a 30 page handwritten document detailing Pierce's admission, but dismissed the matter as "a bit of a hiccup" and "evidence of homosexuality, not paedophilia."

Former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams received the handwritten report when he became Archbishop of Wales in 2000 but told the review he did not read it and was unaware of its contents. When he moved to Lambeth in 2002, he took the report with his personal papers rather than passing it to his successor Barry Morgan.

I accept that it was an error to take it with me to Lambeth when I moved, rather than immediately passing it to my successor or checking that he had access to it. I am very sorry indeed for any ways in which I contributed to this, however inadvertently.

Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury

The review described the Church's handling of the case as "wholly inappropriate and inadequate" and called the failures "a source of shame for the Church."

The victim's mother, Brenda, told ITV News:

Nobody cared, nobody listened. The only person who believed him was me. It was all brushed under the carpet.

Tragically, her son died in 2004, before justice could be served. Police were not formally informed of the allegations until 2010.

Rowan Williams and Church Leaders Face Scrutiny Over Decades of Safeguarding Failures in Wales

Current Archbishop of Wales Cherry Vann acknowledged the review shows "in painful detail the missed opportunities, the harmful assumptions and the inadequate processes." Pierce has since been deposed from holy orders and is no longer a priest.

The review also found that Bishop John Davies, who succeeded Pierce in 2008, knew of the safeguarding allegations from 1993 and 1999 but stated he was "satisfied" the matter had been handled. He delayed referring the allegations for a year and in 2011 reinstated Pierce's ministry permissions "without seeking prior advice."

The review concluded that mandatory safeguarding vetting must be required for all future bishop and archdeacon candidates in the Church in Wales.

The Crusader's Opinion

This is not a story about one bad priest. This is a story about an entire institution that chose comfort over children. For over three decades, powerful men in robes knew that Anthony Pierce was a predator, and they promoted him anyway. They called a child's abuse "a hiccup." They called it "homosexuality, not paedophilia" as if reclassifying evil makes it disappear.

Rowan Williams, the man trusted to lead the Anglican Communion worldwide, could not be bothered to read a report about a child being assaulted. The victim died without ever seeing justice. His mother's words should haunt every church leader who looked the other way: "Nobody cared, nobody listened." The Church must root out every last enabler and protector of abusers with the same ferocity it claims to preach the Gospel. Anything less is complicity with evil.

Take Action

• Read the full Anthony Pierce Review published by the Church in Wales and hold your church leaders accountable for safeguarding.
• Contact the Church in Wales to demand full implementation of mandatory safeguarding vetting for all clergy appointments.
• Support abuse survivors by donating to Thirtyone:eight, a Christian safeguarding charity that protects children and vulnerable adults in faith settings.
• If you or someone you know has experienced abuse in a church setting, contact the NSPCC helpline at 0808 800 5000 or report to your local police.
• Pray for abuse survivors and their families. Start a conversation in your church about safeguarding policies and whether your congregation has proper procedures in place.
• Support Christian advocacy at www.TheShepherdsShield.org to help defend and protect the most vulnerable.