Sir David Lidington, once the de facto deputy prime minister under Theresa May, and long-standing member of the Church of England, has spoken of his shock at discovering a total breakdown of trust within the church: “I was used to acrimony in politics, but I hadn’t expected to find it in the church”.
In this RMC “Big Interview”, Sir David told Roger Bolton of the deep suspicion he found at all levels while writing “The National Church Governance Report”, which proposes an overhaul of CofE structures. He said the mistrust “bedevilled” efforts to bring people together when confronting divisive issues such as same-sex marriage or the safeguarding process.
The new governance proposals could take two years to be enacted, and Sir David said he hoped restructuring would contribute to a rebuilding of trust. But a change of culture was also needed to move the CofE into a “more trustful direction where people do have greater confidence in each other”.
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