The New Archbishop of Canterbury Admits the Church Failed Abuse Victims: Will Anything Actually Change?

Archbishop Sarah Mullally Admits Church of England Safeguarding Has Fallen Tragically Short in First Address

Dame Sarah Mullally, the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury, used her maiden presidential address to the General Synod to confront the Church of England's safeguarding failures head on.

"We have fallen tragically short," Mullally told Synod members on February 10, 2026, just days after swearing her oath to King Charles III on February 4.

She committed to "bringing an approach of seriousness and focused direction to all matters relating to safeguarding in all contexts in the church."

Church of England Faces Reckoning on Abuse After Decades of Systemic Safeguarding Failures

Mullally declared that safeguarding must be

"centred on the experiences of victims" and "sharpened by our past failings." She called for a trauma informed approach that puts victims and survivors at the heart of all the Church does and committed to proper independence in safeguarding processes.

The address comes in the wake of her predecessor Justin Welby's resignation over the Church's handling of abuse allegations, a scandal that exposed systemic failures in how the Church of England identified, reported, and responded to abuse within its institutions over decades.

The Crusader's Opinion

Words are cheap. Every new leader promises to do better on safeguarding. The question is whether this Archbishop will build the independent structures needed to hold the Church accountable, or whether this is another round of solemn promises followed by quiet inaction. The victims who were failed by the Church of England do not need more speeches. They need independent oversight with real power. They need perpetrators prosecuted. They need the institution that failed them to prove, through action, that it has changed. We are watching.

Take Action

• Act: If you have experienced abuse within a church, contact the police or an independent safeguarding body. You will be believed.
• Share: Share this story. The Church of England's safeguarding crisis is not over. Accountability requires public attention.
• Pray: Pray for abuse survivors within the Church. Pray for genuine reform, not just rhetoric.
• Learn: Review your own church's safeguarding policies. If they do not exist, demand them.