Carey’s return attacked in CofE abuse row

THE decision to allow former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey to resume preaching after accusations he ‘covered up’ child sex abuses by a former bishop has been criticised by Church figures.

Lord Carey, 82, was asked to step down as an honorary assistant bishop in Oxford last June but earlier this month was allowed to resume basic duties.

Bishop Peter Hancock, in charge of the Church of England’s anti-abuse team, said he was not consulted and would have advised ‘that was not the right action to take’. He said that the decision would be reviewed in light of the findings of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse (IICSA).

Lord Carey has repeatedly been criticised for failing to hand more than six letters to police investigating former Bishop of Gloucester Peter Ball in the 1990s. The letters detailed Ball’s abuses.

Lord Carey was part of an establishment ‘cover up’, the IICSA heard last week. Extraordinary letters by Prince Charles were also revealed as evidence, in which he said Ball was the victim of ‘monstrous wrongs’. Ball was jailed for 32 months in 2015 over the abuse of 18 teenagers and young men.