Church officer called a 'satanist' for raising safeguarding concerns
BBCA former safeguarding officer at one of Northern Ireland's biggest churches has said he was called a satanist for raising safeguarding concerns.
Ambrose Doone resigned as a designated safeguarding officer at Whitewell Metropolitan Tabernacle in Belfast in 2024.
In a statement, the church trustees said they took "the matter of safeguarding very seriously" and have implemented improvements highlighted by the investigation.
BBC News NI has obtained minutes of a church board meeting at which it was said that "Satan may have used" some of those raising concerns.
At the same meeting, another church trustee is recorded as saying a letter of concern about safeguarding at the church could be "seen as an act of rebellion and quoted 1 Samuel 15:23 - For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft".
Doone and another former safeguarding officer, Stephen Spiers, told the BBC that they felt "let down" by the church leadership's attitude to safeguarding.
Safeguarding is the process of protecting children, young people, and adults at risk from abuse, harm, or neglect.
The church in north Belfast has capacity for 2,500 people.
What did the previous safeguarding investigation find?
The investigation was prompted by an "alleged incident of inappropriate behaviour by one of the senior leaders" in the church.
The senior leader was not named but was referred to as "WMT4" in the safeguarding report and details of the alleged incident, which took place at the Men's Fellowship in June 2023, were included.
The incident had been reported to the church in May 2024.
The investigation, carried out by a pastor in a different church, concluded that "an incident of inappropriate behaviour occurred against a young man".
In a statement the church trustees said that the areas for improvement highlighted in the independent report had been implemented, or were "in the final stages of implementation".
BBC News NI has also obtained a number of other safeguarding complaints that were submitted in the church, including that a male member of the church had sent a young women explicit images over a social media app, including "a picture of his penis".
The PSNI has confirmed that it is continuing to investigate "a number of non-recent sexual assault allegations" connected to the church.
Stephen Spiers was a member of Whitewell Metropolitan Tabernacle for more than 30 years, but said he felt "so let down" by how the church acted when concerns were brought forward.
"Safeguarding is for the protection of vulnerable people, and that's the most important thing within any institution and especially within a church," he said.
But he resigned as safeguarding officer due to what he claimed was the leadership's failure to adequately address the allegation which was the subject of the report.
He said he made the leadership aware of other allegations but got "no answer".
He was also critical of the church's failure to stand the senior leader down from their duties while the investigation took place.
"The alleged perpetrator was allowed to continue for the next year-and-a half in the church," he said.
"Safeguarding has still not been addressed within the church.
"To have to leave a church where you've worshipped, where you've put your heart into, and belonged to, it's a hard step to have to leave and to uproot."
Ambrose Doone also resigned as a safeguarding officer in 2024 after three years in the role due to what he claimed was the failure of the leadership to act.
"Anyone who came over the threshold of a church was supposed to be safeguarded irrespective of their age or gender or background," he said.
Doone was interviewed as part of the report into safeguarding in Whitewell, but he said a "false narrative" had been spread about the incident and the safeguarding team.
"Myself and a number of the other men who were involved in the safeguarding were referred to as Satanists, we were called liars and we were called rebels," Doone said.
Doone has now also left the church, in part to care for his wife who is suffering from dementia.
"We want the people of Whitewell, the good brothers and sisters that belong to us in the faith and believe that we are genuine men and women who belong to the Lord, if they have questions come and ask us and we will tell them the truth."
Other members have also left the church, including Peter Hirthe whose family had been attending the church for over a decade.
"We found a home there," he said.
"As years went by our son got baptised, I got baptised there, my wife as well.
"Over the last two years, last year, it's just got really difficult.
"We found these issues that came up with safeguarding - and they were serious failings in safeguarding.
"Because my wife was on the safeguarding team at the time we were aware of this.
"It wasn't taken seriously and we just couldn't be part of that no more."
In a statement the church said it took safeguarding very seriously and that "the alleged inappropriate behaviour of a staff member in 2024 was thoroughly investigated".
"The advice of the independent report investigator, and a legal advisor, was that there was no requirement to stand down the member of staff during or after the investigation," it continued.
"Upon conclusion of the investigation, the matter was followed up through a staff disciplinary process.
"We therefore thoroughly disagree with any suggestion that the church 'failed to adequately address the safeguarding allegation'."
They also said that other "historical concerns" raised about safeguarding "have been examined and, where appropriate, action taken".
"It has been very concerning that an issue as important as safeguarding is being used to attempt to unsettle the church's leadership and divide its congregation," the statement added.