St Matthew's RedhillSafeguarding Announcement
16/12/2024
Dear Friends,
Some of you will be aware that there has been news coverage today concerning the Revd David Tudor, a priest who served at this church between 1980 and 1984. In October this year, Tudor was prohibited from ministry for life following a tribunal hearing. Public details of the case are available here - and a number of people in our diocese have been closely involved with proceedings, including the Archdeacon Moira Astin, who brought the complaint that led to Tudor's prohibition.
A BBC Radio 4 File on Four programme focusing on this case was made available on BBC Sounds from early this morning and is receiving wide news coverage on the BBC and beyond.
You may be wondering why I haven't been in touch with you about this sooner. This was something I wanted to do when Tudor was prohibited from ministry in October. However, in order to protect the identities of the survivors in the case, the tribunal judge requested that nothing that might lead to their identification - including the names of the parishes where Tudor served - should be shared. However, now that the names of the parishes are in the public domain, it feels right that we should now communicate with you about this case. However, this does not detract from our commitment to protecting the identities of survivors. Please do not speculate on this - it is part of our care for them that we do not name them.
Many of you will find this information upsetting and unsettling. The programme is difficult to listen to and may be distressing to engage with - please do take care of yourselves if you choose to do so. A statement from Bishop Christopher on this case can be found on the Southwark Diocesan Website Southwark Diocese. As Bishop Christopher says, the behaviours admitted by David Tudor indicate a serious and damaging breach of his pastoral and professional obligations as a priest. Bishop Christopher has apologised unreservedly for the pain and trauma that his actions have caused - and he has offered to meet with any survivors affected by Tudor's behaviour.
With the Diocese we are offering full support to those affected by this matter, and we ask that people respect their privacy during this difficult time. If anyone has a concern about this situation, you can speak with me directly or with our parish safeguarding advisers Angie Holdsworth, Joanna Goddard or Suzy Walters. A list of people and organisations that can offer support is below.
Please do keep all those affected by this situation in your prayers.
With best wishes
Revd Anna
Support
If anyone has a concern about this situation – or any safeguarding matter - a list of people and organisations that can offer support is below:
Diocese of Southwark Safeguarding Team
0207 939 9441 (Mon to Fri 9am – 5pm)
020 3874 6743 (out of hours)
A free and independent national helpline run by First Light for anyone who has been abused through their relationship with the church
An independent, non-denominational Christian safeguarding charity providing a wide range of support including an open-access helpline 0303 003 1111
A survivor-led organisation that runs peer support groups for victim-survivors of all kinds of abuse, including faith-based abuse.
A fuller list of support organisations can be found on the Church of England website here