If the state of the world doesn't bring you to tears, you have not yet begun to know the heart of God.
Loosely quoted from Charles Price
Archbishop of York pushes back against
calls to quit amid abuse scandal
Dec. 16 (UPI) -- The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, the Church of England's second-highest bishop, hit back Monday at calls for him to resign over alleged failings in dealing with a historical sex abuse case saying he did everything he could, suspending the priest in question at the first legal opportunity.
Cottrell, who is in the running to take over from Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby as the interim head of the church after Welby quit over his handling of a similar scandal, in a news release rejected allegations in a BBC investigation that he did nothing for more than a decade despite the priest, David Tudor, serving a five-year suspension in 1988 and paying $12,650 to a woman who alleged he sexually abused her as a child.
"This morning's news coverage incorrectly implies that no action was taken until 2024. That is not the case. In my capacity as Bishop of Chelmsford, I suspended David Tudor from office at the first opportunity, when a new victim came forward to the police in 2019. Up until 2019, there were no legal grounds to take alternative action," said Cottrell who insisted he worked closely with the diocese's professional safeguarding team after being appointed Bishop of Chelmsford to ensure the risk posed by Tudor was "managed" until the fresh complaint was made.
There might not have been legal grounds before 2019, but there were lots of moral grounds. Cottrell is not a lawyer, he's a Bishop.
He said he immediately suspended Tudor from all ministry pending the investigation and subsequent tribunal hearing in which he was removed from office and barred from ministry for life.
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"I am deeply sorry that we were not able to take action earlier, but that was the situation I inherited. It is extremely disappointing that this story is being reported as if it was an abuser being ignored or even protected. Actually, nothing could be further from the truth," said Cottrell.
However, Tudor was only finally barred for life by a Bishops Disciplinary Tribunal in October, 37 years after the first allegations about his behavior began to emerge.
Bishop of Newcastle, the Rt. Rev. Helen-Ann Hartley said Cottrell's position was no longer tenable because he had done too little, too late and that he should go the same way as Welby.
"How can you have the moral and ethical authority to lead an institution with that? she told the BBC. "One archbishop has resigned over a safeguarding failure, and now the remaining archbishop has a very serious matter that calls into question his ability to lead on the urgent change that is required.
Hartley told BBC Radio that her "personal view is that the evidence before us makes it impossible for Stephen Cottrell to be the person in which we have confidence and trust to drive the change that is needed."
The unnamed woman paid a settlement by Tudor also demanded Cottrell "leave the church."
The BBC said a further seven women were alleging abuse at the hands of Tudor, one of whom was paid a six-figure sum in compensation by the Church in 2019. Others are pursuing their claims through the civil courts.
The Guardian reported that Tudor had been subject to church safeguarding restrictions from 2008 onward under which he was banned from being alone with children and barred from all schools in Essex.
The Church of England, in a news release, stressed that the safeguarding decisions and guidance by the House of Bishops to which all appointments are now subject did not exist in the 1990s.
"It is currently being strengthened further. This involves a clear process, both around safer recruitment and in assessing risk, even when no further action is taken by statutory services, to ensure the Church is a safe place for all."
It added that the sitting Bishops of Chelmsford and Southwark had apologized for the hurt and harm caused by [Tudor's] offenses and that an independent Safeguarding Practice Review would now take place to ensure lessons were learned from the case.
Welby, who is due to leave office in three weeks, resigned as head of the Church of England on Nov. 12 after a critical independent report of the church's handling of the late John Smyth, a barrister and preacher, who abused boys and young men groomed at Christian camps.
The report alleged a decades-long cover up.
When victims came forward in 2013 shortly after Welby became Archbishop of Canterbury he failed to act and later insisted he had no previous knowledge of the abuse claims that had followed Smyth around for decades.
The report found Welby "could and should" have reported Smyth to authorities in 2013 but that he and other senior church leaders "showed a distinct lack of curiosity" and played down the issue.
Smyth died in 2018 before any charges could be laid.
Cottrell's attitude seems equivalent to that of Welby. Did Welby lie outright when he said he had no prior knowledge of Smyth's abuse? Did Cottrell lie when he said he did all that he could? Is he exaggerating?
Instead of playing down the failure of the church regarding Tudor, it would be far better for the AB to exhibit outrage. But there's none of that!
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