We Deserve an Explanation
By Adam Trimingham
THE Catholic Church in Sussex has found itself at the centre of controversy again, following the resignation of Kieran Conry, the Bishop of Arundel and Brighton. Parishioners were told in churches on Sunday that the Bishop was quitting because he had been unfaithful to his promises. It was bad enough that he should have set such an appalling example to thousands of Catholics who previously regarded him with admiration. But what made it worse was that the Bishop felt unable to tell them exactly how he had broken his clerical vows. Churchgoers would understand some restraint on his part in naming any names, but they surely have a right to a clear and honest statement from him. It is not enough simply to say no children were involved and that he has not broken the law. Instead, they will have to rely on speculation in some newspapers that the man, who has been their bishop for 13 years, had an affair. His predecessor, Cormac Murphy O’Connor, was so well regarded by the establishment that he was eventually appointed head of the Catholic Church in this country. But during his tenure as Archbishop of Westminster, details emerged of a series of sex scandals alleged to have taken place in Arundel and Brighton. In one case of a priest known to be a child sexual abuser, the Bishop moved him to Gatwick Airport chapel where he was unlikely to repeat his offences rather than report him to the police. Things have been no better in the Church of England in Sussex. Bexhill vicar, the Reverend Colin Pritchard, was jailed in 2008 for abusing choirboys in the 1970s and 1980s. A review for the Church of England was critical of senior clergy for being slow to act on information available to them. In 2011, the then Archbishop of Canterbuy Rowan Williams ordered an inquiry into long-running child protection issues in the diocese. This found there had been “an appalling history” over two decades of child protection problems. Many children had suffered hurt and damage. None of this makes happy reading for the dwindling number of people who attend churches in Sussex. Many of them may feel that their leaders have been unable to deal with sexual abusers among their own number. What is more, the bishops often seem hopelessly out of touch with public opinion on other issues. It is extra-ordinary that there should still be opposition to women bishops many years after women were given the vote in Britain. Yet less than two years ago, those who voted against it at the General Synod of the Church of England included the current Bishop of Chichester Martin Warner. John Hind, the last Bishop of Chichester, had a long history of opposing various gay reforms. He did not seem to realise that the Church of England would collapse in cities such as Brighton if gay clergy were restricted. Bishop Hind succeeded Dr Eric Kemp, one of the most reactionary and inflexible senior churchmen of the last century. Kemp’s implacable hostility to reform and his refusal to quit his post when clearly too old and out of touch, set the diocese back many years and it has not yet recovered. Both the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches face huge problems as Britain rapidly becomes a godless country and nowhere is this more apparent than in places such as Brighton where the proportion of those with no religious commitment approaches 50%. There is much good work going on by dedicated members of both churches in helping those in need, particularly with housing and social care. But much more needs to be done both to fill the empty pews and to make better use of historic buildings in pivotal positions. Progressive parishioners must despair at the quality of leadership being shown at this time of crisis by church leaders. Kieran Conry cannot have been able to concentrate hard on the church crisis while facing one of his own but his weasel words were probably worse than his deeds.
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