Statement on Bangor Cathedral Visitation Report implementation

The two groups which were inaugurated in response to the Bangor Cathedral Visitation Report and a safeguarding audit by the specialist charity thirtyone:eight have begun to meet regularly.

The implementation group, chaired by Archdeacon David Parry has met three times and is making good progress in carefully engaging with the recommendations contained in the two reports. As required by their terms of reference, they have reported on progress to the Bangor Cathedral Oversight Board, the Cathedral Chapter, and to the Representative Body’s Audit and Risk Committee and received helpful feedback from each of these groups.

The Oversight Board met for the first time last week and started the process of setting out their plan of work which will include deep dive exercises into aspects of Cathedral activity and holding the implementation group to account.

Professor Medwin Hughes, chair of the Oversight Board said:

“There is much to do to ensure that lasting changes are made and thoroughly embedded into the life and culture of Bangor Cathedral. I am grateful to those who have agreed to serve on the Board and for the breadth of skills and experience which they bring to this important task.”

The Oversight Board and the Implementation Group at Bangor Cathedral have now issued their first update report, and it is good to know that progress is already being made in restoring the life and witness of the cathedral.

“With this work now well in hand, this is an appropriate time for me to address the whole Church in Wales family regarding what they may have heard, and what has taken place, regarding the situation at Bangor Cathedral and Diocese.

Firstly, I wish to apologise for errors of judgement I have made that have caused anxiety and hurt. My apology to you all is heartfelt, unreserved, and unequivocal.

In the autumn of last year, I commissioned two independent reports into Bangor Cathedral. Abridged versions of both are now publicly available on our websites and reveal shortcomings and poor organisational practice which should not have occurred. I deeply regret that they happened under my episcopate and I recognize I ought to have done more to ensure such failings did not occur. I also take full responsibility that I did not address these matters quickly enough. I recognize our witness to Jesus Christ and our mission to Wales has been damaged and I repent and offer no excuses nor justifications. I am committed to an ongoing process of reflection to ensure these unacceptable events do not happen again.

I am grateful that the Church in Wales is seeking to assist both the cathedral and diocese in re-establishing proper governance arrangements and am also grateful to my episcopal colleagues for their challenge, their love and their support.

In response to the Archbishop of Wales’s heartfelt personal statement about the situation at Bangor Cathedral, I want to assure all those involved that the Representative Body of the Church in Wales will do all it can to help bring the best possible outcome from the processes which are now underway.

As Chair of the Representative Body of the Church in Wales, and mindful of our fiduciary duty, I will be seeking to ensure that all necessary support is provided by our Provincial teams and structures in order to resolve the issues at Bangor cathedral swiftly and thoroughly. The Representative Body will give the most careful consideration to whatever action and support may be required.

In addition, I am chairing the cathedral’s Oversight Board which is evaluating how to action the numerous recommendations presented within the two reports which the Archbishop has commissioned into the running of the cathedral, and which have already been published in summary form.

In order to build trust, accountability and resilience as we resolve these difficult issues, the Board can enquire without any hindrance about issues relating to the Diocese and the Cathedral,

This has been a particularly testing time for all those who have been involved in the cathedral and the diocese, and for all of those who care for the life of the Church in Wales. I am confident that, with the procedures now underway, and with the support and hard work of all those who have committed to this process, we will be able to ensure that the life of the cathedral will once more become all that it should be.