In response to Rev Jules Gomes: The safeguarding industry has become a witch hunt, Phil R wrote:
Friends of mine own a large place with several outbuildings in a lovely rural part of the UK near the sea.
Two of the outbulidings they turned into dormitories and offered as a Christian camp, and for many years ran it for youth groups, usually for innrer city children within the Anglican Church.
The buidings now stand empty. Why? Because a church member accused them of “neglect”. Now let’s be clear here. There has never been a single complaint from any child or parent attending the camps. However, one church helper went to the police with this charge and they were “investigated”. No charges were made, however, they subsequently found that they could not get a DBS check.
Net result, no groups of children from the inner cities get to to go to this lovely place and have fantastic holidays any more. The buildings stand empty, my friends are demoralised and have lost all faith in the intergrity of both the justice system and the Anglican Church.
They no longer attend the Anglican Church, neither do their married children and their children. In all, around 22 family members moved from their village church and now attend a local Free Church instead.
When I last drove through their village, the vicarage was up for sale and the village church now has a service once a month.
