Lord Rowan Williams, who held the post from 2002 to 2012, said the Church still has a “mindset”, but not a “dominant ethos”, of being a “close-knit male body of clergy protective of their dignity and authority”.
He made the comments while giving evidence in London on Wednesday afternoon to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.
Fiona Scolding QC, the lead lawyer for the Anglican strand of the inquiry, is examining how the Church of England handled allegations of sexual misconduct stretching back to the 1950s, first focusing on the Diocese of Chichester.
She questioned Lord Williams after reading a statement from retired judge Baroness Elizabeth Butler-Sloss (pictured below) who described how she found there was a “culture of denial” about child abuse among police and clergy in Sussex and said the diocese had an “anti-woman culture”.
When asked if he felt safeguarding was affected by sexist and misogynist attitudes, Lord Williams said: “I think that’s possible.”
But he said there was always a “certain resentment and suspicion” of “lay expertise” generally and not just women.
He added: “This may not connect immediately with abusive behaviour towards children but I would see it as part of a wider mindset in which the authority of ordained ministry was beyond criticism.”
Lord Williams said the Church had been…
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