Church of England should rethink automatic secrecy of misconduct hearings, say MPs

Source: The Guardian

Church of England should rethink automatic secrecy of misconduct hearings, say MPs

Proposed clergy conduct measure hoped to improve existing rules criticised for failing to tackle misconduct allegations

David Pegg
Tue 17 Jun 2025 08.14 BST
Last modified on Tue 17 Jun 2025 08.25 BST

Church of England proposals for church courts to automatically be held in secret should be reconsidered, a parliamentary committee has said.

The clergy conduct measure is intended to replace the existing clergy disciplinary measure, which has been extensively criticised for failing to tackle allegations of serious or sexual misconduct against clergy.

Under the terms of the new measure, when an allegation of misconduct is made against clergy, “the tribunal or court is to sit in private except in a case where” certain conditions are met, such as a public hearing being requested by the defendant.

MPs and peers sitting on the ecclesiastical committee told church representatives on Tuesday that members of the public had expressed concern about the new proposals.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jun/17/church-of-england-should-rethink-automatic-secrecy-of-misconduct-hearings-say-mps

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