Church Review into Allegations of Child Sex Abuse by an Anglican Bishop Is Branded "a Joke" by Former Victims
By Tom Kelly
An Anglican investigation into its handling of child abuse allegations against a predatory Bishop was branded a ‘joke’ by former victims yesterday. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, ordered an independent review into how the church examined accusations against former Bishop of Lewes Peter Ball, who will be sentenced tomorrow after admitting a string of offences against teenagers and young men from the 1970s to 1990s. It is expected to examine the role of one of his predecessors, Lord Carey, who sought assurances from prosecutors in 1993 that there would be no further action against Ball after he received a caution for gross indecency, despite police knowing about more complaints. Survivors have accused the clergy of a ‘cover up’ over the case, which was finally reopened in 2012 following a review by the Church. Ball, 83, a friend of Prince Charles, pleaded guilty last month after the Old Bailey heard how he used religion as a ‘cloak’ to prey on teenagers after they came to his home to explore their spirituality. The Church said its review will examine its co-operation with the police and other professionals, and whether information was shared ‘in a timely manner’. But Rev Graham Sawyer, who was abused by Ball and now heads the Church Reform Group which campaigns for victims of abuse by the clergy, claimed the Archbishop was belatedly responding to events. He said: ‘It was not a proactive step to inform the police: they had just been caught out. '"‘Independent review" is a joke, let’s hope the independent reviewer doesn’t have a strong Anglican faith and is employed by the church.’ David Greenwood, head of child abuse cases at Switalskis Solicitors, which is representing four of Ball’s victims, said: ‘The church should no longer be allowed to police itself and the introduction of mandatory reporting is long overdue. ‘I will be advising the Goddard inquiry to recommend the establishment of an independent body to accept and investigate allegations of abuse without meddling by the country’s institutions.’ A Church of England spokesman said: ‘Since Peter Ball’s guilty plea questions have been raised about the Church’s handling of this case. ‘As a result the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has today commissioned an independent review of the way the Church responded. ‘The independent review will examine the Church of England’s co-operation with the police and other statutory agencies and the extent to which it shared information in a timely manner, identifying both good practice and shortcomings alike.
‘It will also assess the extent to which the Church both properly assessed the possible risk that Bishop Ball might pose to others and responded adequately to concerns and representations submitted by survivors.’ Between 1977 and 1992 Cambridge-educated Ball, who now lives in Langport, Somerset, misused his position in authority to ‘manipulate’ 16 men for his own sexual gratification. He also admitted indecently assaulting two men in their late teens between 1980 and 1983 and between 1990 and 1991. Two other counts of indecent assault on a boy of 12 or 13 and a 15-year-old youth were denied and will lie on file.
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