An unusual update on our top story from yesterday morning.
Arise, the church facing widespread allegations of harassment, racism and more, still won’t comment on the findings of an independent investigation despite it being released by the media.
The report included comment from over 500 people who came forward with allegations about the church and was leaked to journalist David Farrier, who released it via his Webworm blog yesterday. That broke a non-publication order from the Employment Relations Authority which has since been dropped.
The church, however, has released a statement saying it still cannot comment on the report for legal reasons. “While frustrated by the delay, Arise is legally prohibited from releasing or commenting on any of the content,” the statement on the church website reads.
“The most important thing we can do now as a church is to listen to those who had the courage to share. We are committed to ensuring that the issues that have caused hurt do not continue.”
In a new post to Webworm, Farrier has called for the church to comment – because there is now nothing stopping it from doing so. “No more excuses. No more gaslighting. No more obfuscation. No more running,” he wrote.