Church of England rules 'not fit for purpose', bishop says, amid calls for Archbishop of York to resign
17 December 2024, 08:58
The Church of England’s rules are “not fit for purpose”, its deputy head of safeguarding has warned.
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It comes after the Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell said he is "deeply sorry" action was not taken earlier over a sexual abuse case.
Julie Conalty, the bishop of Birkenhead, has warned there is a “lack of accountability” within the church amid calls for Cottrell to resign.
Conalty, the deputy head of safeguarding within the CoE, said the Church fails to act like other organisations would when faced with allegations of historic sexual abuse.
"So the way in which clergy are appointed as office holders not employees, and the laws and rules that we have around imposing clergy discipline, are not really fit for purpose," she told Sky News.
"And yet we as a church have allowed them to be the rules under which we operate and it doesn't feel fit for the 21st century, maybe not even for the late 20th century."
Stephen Cottrell will temporarily take over from Justin Welby next month following the Archbishop of Canterbury’s resignation.
However, safeguarding officials have called Cottrell’s position into question with some calling from him to resign.
It comes after a BBC investigation found Cottrell allowed priest David Tudor to stay in post despite knowing he had been banned from being alone with children and paid compensation to a sexual abuse victim.
Shelagh Fogarty is outraged by Church of England's response to historic sexual abuse
Despite calls for him to resign, Cottrell has argued he "acted immediately" upon finding out about the case.
He said: "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.
"When I joined the Chelmsford diocese in 2010, I worked closely with its very professional safeguarding team to ensure the risk was managed.
"But it was not possible to remove David Tudor from office until such time as fresh complaints were made, which happened when a victim bravely spoke to the police.
"Once this happened in 2019, I acted immediately. I suspended David Tudor from all ministry pending the investigation and subsequent tribunal hearing in which he was removed from office and prohibited from ministry for life."
