UNITED KINGDOM
Christian Today
Ruth Gledhill CHRISTIAN TODAY CONTRIBUTING EDITOR 22 August 2016
Bishops in the Church of England were instructed to give partial apologies to victims of clergy child sex abuse to help minimise the cost of being sued, it has been disclosed.
Confidential legal advice to bishops seen by The Telegraph said the furthest the bishops should go was to “express regret”. It warns bishops to be careful before meeting victims, and not to do so without first talking to a lawyer.
It warns of the “unintended effect of accepting legal liability” for sex abuse and the danger of “inadvertently” conceding guilt.
The advice, issued in 2007 and replaced last year, indicates that any apology to a victim of clergy sex abuse should be drafted in a way that would avoid making the Church liable for compensation.
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