Former Safeguarding Officer Quits, Criticizes Church Response

0:00On April 10th, a former safeguarding officer at Whitewell Metropolitan Tabernacle, one of Northern Ireland's largest churches in Belfast, quit his. Role last year after raising concerns about protecting vulnerable people, Ambrose Dune says he and others got labeled Satanist for speaking up. The church holds up to 2,500 people and faced an investigation over an alleged inappropriate incident by a senior leader toward A, young man back in June 2023. That probe, triggered after the report in May 2024, uncovered a culture of indifference to safeguarding at the church. Trustees now claim they've rolled out fixes from the independent review, like better processes to shield kids and at-risk adults from harm. Dune and another ex-officeer, Stephen Spears, who served over 30 years there, felt totally let down by leadership's response. They say concerns got ignored, and the accused leader kept working during the probe. Other families, including longtime members, also bailed over serious safeguarding lapses.

1:01BBC News got church meeting minutes slamming critics as tools of Satan, plus reports of more issues, like a member sending explicit images to a young woman. Police are still digging into non-recent sexual assault claims linked to the place. While the church insists they handled it right with no need to sideline staff and denies any failure, these resignations and exits highlight deep. Rifts, folks like Dune urge real talk with believers to clear the air on what's next for safeguarding there.