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Church of England clergy ‘paid off to keep quiet about racism’

<span>Photograph: Jenny Smith/Alamy</span>
Photograph: Jenny Smith/Alamy

Clergy and staff who complained of racism in the Church of England were paid off to “buy their silence”, according to the church’s former race adviser.

Dr Elizabeth Henry, who resigned from her post last year, said some of those who received compensation had to sign non-disclosure agreements.

In the BBC One Panorama programme Is the Church Racist?, to be broadcast on on Monday, she recalls a “really shocking” incident in 2019 concerning a “young black man who received a picture of a banana. But that banana had his head superimposed upon it – and underneath it said: Banana Man. That is a deeply offensive and deeply racist image.

“He took it to HR [human resources department] and he did file a grievance. And the decision was that it wasn’t racist. That person left, and he received a very small compensation – however he was forced to sign a non-disclosure agreement.”

On Thursday, the C of E is due to publish a report from an internal anti-racism taskforce, set up last year by the archbishops of Canterbury and York. It is expected to make recommendations on how the church must tackle racism within its parishes, dioceses and national bodies.

One in 25 serving clergy are from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds. In recent years the C of E has sought to recruit more black and minority ethnic people to train for the priesthood. There are only a handful of black and minority ethnic bishops, mostly in more junior suffragan roles.

Last year, the Rev Arun Arora, a member of the C of E’s anti-racism taskforce and the vicar of St Nicholas’ church in Durham, wrote in the Observer that “the one-colour nature of the senior leadership of the C of E” was “perilously archaic” and “an alarmingly retrograde trend”.

One of the clergy interviewed by Panorama says he was told that if he complained about racism within the church, he would not find a job.

Peterson Feital, who was born in Brazil, was told by a manager “your English is not very good. I don’t like your preaching, and you are too Brazilian in your compassion, you’re not very coherent.”

He says he repeatedly complained to senior staff at the Diocese of London about the racism and bullying he experienced over seven years. He claims he was told to “keep his head down, no one is going to be able to prove there’s any racism”, and that if he created a problem “you’re not going to get a job anywhere”.

In March this year, after 10 years in the C of E, Peterson’s contract was not renewed and he was given a £2,000 redundancy payment. He is now unemployed.

The Diocese of London said it was “appalled at what Peterson has experienced”.

Michelle Delves, a curate of mixed-race heritage in Hartlepool, told Panorama that when she started her training to become a priest “I felt like I’d landed on an alien planet”.

She wrote to Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury, about her experiences. In a response, Welby’s office said “much more needs to be done about institutional racism in the church”.

In February last year, speaking in a debate on the Windrush scandal at the C of E General Synod, Welby said: “I am sorry and ashamed …. I’m ashamed of our history and I’m ashamed of our failure. There is no doubt when we look at our own church that we are still deeply institutionally racist.”

Twenty reports have examined the issue of racism within the C of E over the past 35 years, making a total of more than 160 recommendations.