Church Of England Must Open Up Its Governance To Scrutiny | Letters

Readers respond to the archbishop of York saying the church should kneel in penitence as it faces criticism over its handling of abuse cases

It is difficult to comprehend why the Anglican Church allowed known abusers into positions of trust, and continued to tolerate situations that should have been impossible (C of E must ‘kneel in penitence’ after difficult year, says archbishop of York, 25 December).

A church has no knees but those of its members, most of whom, in this case, were surely oblivious of the situation. That the archbishop of York chose to use figurative language at such a portentous moment offers a small clue to the problem. Why did Stephen Cottrell need an adviser to tell him that a known abuser should not hold any office in the church? What is the point of high office in the church if its holders cannot act in favour of victims and against perpetrators?