New Church of England head Sarah Mullally accused of mishandling abuse complaint
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The Church of England said on Dec 11 it was looking into a 2020 complaint made against Bishop of London Sarah Mullally's handling of allegations.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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- Bishop Sarah Mullally, the incoming Archbishop of Canterbury, faces a complaint over her handling of a 2020 abuse allegation.
- The complaint alleges she violated safeguarding measures by sending confidential information about the allegation directly to the accused priest.
- The Church of England acknowledges "administrative errors" in the initial handling; Mullally pledges reform and says the allegation was “fully dealt with”.
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LONDON – The incoming Archbishop of Canterbury will be the subject of a complaint regarding her handling of an abuse allegation, the Church of England said on Dec 11, months after her predecessor resigned over a serial abuse cover-up.
Bishop Sarah Mullally, 63, is set to become the first woman to lead the centuries-old mother church of the world’s 85-million-strong Anglican community
Currently the Bishop of London, she is due to succeed former Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, who stepped down from the top post
He failed to notify the authorities about the abuses when they came to his attention in 2013, a report found, triggering his resignation.
The Church of England, which has been struggling to shake accusations of years of sex abuse cover-ups and safeguarding failures, acknowledged on Dec 11 that it was looking into a 2020 complaint made against Bishop Mullally’s handling of allegations.
The Premier Christian News organisation on Dec 8 reported that a victim, referred to as “Survivor N”, said his abuse allegation against a priest were not investigated properly by the Diocese of London, which has been led by Bishop Mullally since 2018.
Premier reported that when Survivor N made the accusation, Bishop Mullally sent a confidential e-mail about the allegation directly to the priest concerned – violating safeguarding measures.
The newspaper did not report when the accusation was first made, but said the victim later filed a formal complaint against the bishop over her handling of the case, which was received by Church leadership in 2020 but was not addressed.
The victim also claimed he was later subjected to a “systematic campaign of harassment and retribution” in the Diocese of London.
‘Toxic’ culture
The Church of England said the complaint against Bishop Mullally was not taken forward due to “administrative errors and an incorrect assumption about the individual’s wishes”.
“The Bishop of London was unaware of the matter,” Lambeth Palace said in a statement shared with AFP.
“Urgent arrangements are now being made for the complaint to be considered,” it added.
Bishop Mullally said while the victim was “let down by the processes of the Church of England”, his allegation was “fully dealt with” by the Diocese of London.
“As Archbishop of Canterbury, I will do everything in my power to bring about much needed and overdue reform,” she added in a statement.
She has previously pledged to improve safety and “listen to survivors” in her new post.
Survivor N was also subject to a restraining order after a court found that he had been “harassing” the priest who was the subject of his allegations. AFP
