UNITED KINGDOM
Independent
PAUL PEACHEY Author Biography CRIME CORRESPONDENT Sunday 13 July 2014
Disgraced vicars convicted of child sex attacks have abused their former Church titles by posing as respected members of society, victims claimed last night, after the Archbishop of Canterbury warned that new cases of abuse by clergy were likely to emerge.
Justin Welby said the Church had to be absolutely transparent, after learning from victims of cover-ups, bungled investigations and the devastating long-term impact of abuse, at a fringe meeting of the Synod of the Church of England. His comments came as the Pope described child abuse as “leprosy” that affected 2 per cent of clergy in the Roman Catholic Church and was determined to confront the problem.
The figure would represent some 8,000 out of a global figure of more than 400,000 priests worldwide.
The intervention of two of Christianity’s most prominent religious figures highlighted the damaging legacy of long-term child abuse and the failure of organised religion to confront the problem.
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