Archbishop in cover-up over paedophile cleric
FORMER Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey colluded with senior clergy to protect a paedophile bishop, a damning report revealed yesterday.
As a result, serial sex offender Peter Ball – who boasted of being a confidant of Prince Charles – escaped prosecution for more than 20 years.
An independent inquiry into the scandal found the Church of England knew of a string of allegations against Ball, then bishop of Gloucester, but failed to alert the police.
Current Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby urged Lord Carey to step down from his role as an assistant bishop after the report covering his time as head of the Church of England.
Some of Ball’s victims called for a criminal investigation into senior clergy after the report found the Church was ‘more interested in protecting itself’ than helping those he had abused, and that at least nine bishops knew allegations had been made against him.
Ball, a former suffragan bishop of Lewes, was let off with a caution for molesting teenage novice monk Neil Todd in 1993. Mr Todd took his own life in 2012.
Although the Church knew of other allegations against him, it was not until 2015 Ball was finally prosecuted and jailed. He admitted abusing 18 teenagers and young men between 1977 and 1992. Ball was jailed for 32 months, serving half his sentence.
The report into the scandal by Dame Moira Gibb, titled Abuse of Faith, described the Church’s handling of the scandal as ‘lamentable’. It revealed that:
Lambeth Palace failed to pass on to police six letters of allegations about sex abuse ‘or worse’ by Ball in an apparent act of ‘deliberate concealment’;
Lord Carey lobbied police and prosecutors on Ball’s behalf during the 1993 investigation;
After Ball accepted a caution, Lord Carey declared him ‘basically innocent’, invited him to stay and paid for a holiday for him;
Lord Carey gave Ball £12,500 of Church cash and only three years later allowed him to preach in public schools despite knowing of numerous other allegations;
The failures continued under Rowan Williams, who succeeded him as Archbishop of Canterbury.
Ball went on to live in a ‘specially acquired’ rented cottage on the Prince of Wales’s Duchy of Cornwall estate.
Archbishop Welby said the report made harrowing reading.
He said: ‘The Church colluded and concealed rather than seeking to help those who were brave enough to come forward.
‘This is inexcusable and shocking behaviour. To the survivors who were brave enough to share their story and bring Peter Ball to justice, I once again offer an unreserved apology.
‘There are no excuses whatsoever for what took place and the systemic abuse of trust perpetrated by Peter Ball over decades.’
Last night Graham Sawyer, a survivor of Ball’s abuse, said: ‘The Church continues to use highly aggressive legal firms to bully, frighten and discredit victims.’
Lord Carey said in a statement that he accepted the report’s criticisms. He said: ‘I apologise to the victims of Peter Ball. I believed Peter Ball’s protestations and gave too little credence to the vulnerable young men and boys behind those allegations.’