Church of England Bishop George Bell Abused Young Child

The Guardian
October 22, 2015

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/22/church-of-england-bishop-george-bell-abused-young-child

George Bell in his study at Chichester Palace. Photograph: Topical Press Agency/Getty Images

The Church of England has issued a formal apology for sexual abuse committed by one of its most senior figures after settling a civil claim brought against George Bell, the late bishop of Chichester, who died 57 years ago.

The bishop abused a young child, whose identity and gender has not been disclosed, in the 1940s and 50s. The survivor first came forward 20 years ago, but the matter was not investigated or referred to police at the time.

Bell, who sat in the House of Lords, was once tipped as a possible archbishop of Canterbury, although his opposition to the bombing of German civilians by the RAF during the second world war was thought to have counted against him.

The church settled the claim at the end of September and on Thursday released a letter from the serving bishop of Chichester, Martin Warner, to the survivor expressing “deep sorrow” and apologising for a “devastating betrayal of trust”.

There has been a series of historical sex abuse cases involving clergy in the courts in recent years after church attempts to conceal criminal acts. The most recent was the jailing of Peter Ball, the former bishop of Lewes, earlier this month for sexual assaults against 18 boys. Ball had been permitted to resign and escape prosecution for 22 years after the complaints against him were first made.

Warner’s apology regarding the sexual abuse claim against Bell acknowledged that “the abuse of children is a criminal act and a devastating betrayal of trust that should never occur in any situation, particularly the church”.

He added that the response from the diocese of Chichester when the survivor first made claims in 1995 “fell a long way short, not just of what is expected now, but of what we appreciate you should have had a right to expect then”.

Police had confirmed that, following information obtained by the survivor, Bell would have been arrested and referred to the Crown Prosecution Service had he still been alive, a C of E statement said.

The survivor submitted a formal claim for compensation in April 2014, which was settled in late September. No details have been disclosed.

Tracey Emmott, the survivor’s solicitor, said in a statement: “The new culture of openness in the Church of England is genuinely refreshing and seems to represent a proper recognition of the dark secrets of its past, many of which may still not have come to light.”

She said her client remained bitter that the original complaint was not properly listened to or dealt with until they contacted the office of Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury, in 2013. “That failure to respond properly was very damaging, and combined with the abuse that was suffered, has had a profound effect on my client’s life,” she said.

The compensation represented a “token of apology”, she added. “For my client, the compensation finally received does not change anything. How could any amount of money possibly compensate for childhood abuse?”

Earlier this year, Welby promised a new investigation into sex abuse within the church if the independent inquiry led by Justice Lowell Goddard did not examine the C of E within its first six months.

In 2010, a three-year internal investigation into abuse in the church, covering a 30-year period, uncovered just 13 cases that needed reporting to the authorities. Survivors said the investigation was inadequate.

The George Bell Institute was founded in 1996 in honour of the former bishop and sponsors an annual lecture in his name. “Bell is often remembered as a friend of the oppressed, a patron of writers and artists, a scholar of distinction and as a generous advocate for humanity at large,” its website says.

The church commemorates the bishop each year on 3 October, the anniversary of his death. A C of E spokesperson said the formal removal of his name from its commemoration list was “an issue for another day and involves a full synodical process”. However, individual clergy and parishes could decide whether they wished to continue to mark the day.

Two years ago, Bell was the subject of a BBC Great Lives radio documentary.