Church of England: Another Abuse Scandal

Church of England: Another Abuse Scandal

by TIM HICKS

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Introduction

[Note: The NYE’s crime correspondent TIM HICKS is a practicing Christian and a member of the Church of England. He has an impressive record of exposing sexual abuse in the Church of England and the misuse of church funds by venal members of the clergy.

This article from February 2025 – “The defrocking of Justin Welby” – describes various Church of England scandals, one of which he was instrumental in exposing and his efforts to bring members of the clergy to book for their misconduct.  

On 26th June 2017, the NYE published this article – “Bishop Peter Ball case and the need for a new offence of failing to report child abuse” – in which Tim called for the exclusion of the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord George Carey, from the clergy. This turned out to be prophetic. On 4^th December 2024 Carey resigned as a member of the Church of England clergy in disgrace.

The NYE takes no pleasure in assisting in forcing a cleric to resign. Carey’s resignation was a necessary act in the public interest and the best interest of the Church of England, to force him to publicly accept responsibility for misusing church funds and failing to confront abuse by the clergy.

We can only hope that our coverage helped inform and mobilise public opinion about Carey’s misconduct leading to his resignation. That is the role of a free press in a democratic society. The NYE is proud to support Tim’s efforts to safeguard children by forcing reform on the Church of England and will continue to do so.]

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Is there a decent Bishop or Archbishop in the Church of England?

As narrated above, the former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord George Carey was forced to resign from the Church of England clergy, over his role in a cover-up into a sex scandal. Carey still holds twelve honorary degrees, a life peerage and a member of the prestigious Royal Victorian Chain, although following the example of Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, it is difficult to justify not stripping him of these honours.

He is not the only Archbishop to be involved in a cover up into an abuse scandal:

• An investigation found that Archbishop of York John Sentamu – and incredibly five Bishops – had failed to investigate sexual abuse by a member of the clergy. He was banned from preaching after his retirement in 2020. He refused to accept the outcome of the investigation or to apologise for his conduct.
• Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby (pictured above left) was forced to resign in November 2024 for failing to properly investigate the horrific abuse perpetrated on boys by Peter Smyth QC. Worse than that, his attitude to the scandal demonstrated throughout, most particularly in a speech in the House of Lords in which he made light of the reasons for his resignation.
• The resignation of Archbishop Welby left the Archbishopric of Canterbury vacant while a successor was chosen. In the interregnum – unbelievably – the Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell (pictured above right) was appointed as caretaker Archbishop of Canterbury in January 2025. I say unbelievable, because Cottrell was involved in the cover up into David Tudor, a Church of England clergyman who was convicted of abusing three children and jailed for six months in 1988. He had previously had Permission to Officiate (PTO) withheld for five years, paid a £10,000 settlement to a fourth victim who alleged he sexually abused her as a child. The Church of England made a six-figure compensation payment to a fifth victim. He was only suspended in 2019 when the Police started investigating him over allegations by a sixth victim. Tudor’s PTO was only permanently withdrawn in 2024, although he had been known as a child abuser since at least 1988.
• The Bishop that has been selected to replace Welby as Archbishop of Canterbury is the Bishop of London Sara Mullalley. She is a liberal theologian and feminist. She is also the subject of a complaint for failing to investigate child abuse. BBC article here.

Is there no Bishop in the Church of England who is not free of this type of allegation?

The Church of England is the established religion of the state. The Archbishops of Canterbury and York have a duty to set an example of the correct moral tone to the clergy and members of the Church of England, but also to the rest of the country. I just find it astonishing that being implicated in a cover up into sexual abuse is not sufficient to require your removal from the clergy. Let alone be promoted to the highest position in the church. I have investigated a number of cases of clerical misconduct and I regret to say that as a result of this experience, I have concluded that the Church of England routinely suppresses and ignores complaints. It is this policy that allows these scandals to keep occurring.

If the Church of England is to prosper, it must confront the issue of abusive clergy. This issue will dominate the ministry of whoever is the next Archbishop of Canterbury. How can an Archbishop who -like almost all of her predecessors- is also accused of this type of crime, have the moral authority to confront this issue?

If you are affected by clerical abuse

If you are affected by the issues raised in this article, you can obtain support from https://www.macsas.org.uk/