Lord Carey admits ‘deep shame’ for fobbing off the victims of disgraced bishop
FORMER Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey yesterday told of his ‘deep shame’ after admitting the Church of England fobbed off victims of paedophile priest Peter Ball.
Lord Carey, 82, told an inquiry he failed to give the police six letters he received in the 1990s detailing grotesque abuse by Ball – who was eventually jailed in 2015.
He said the decision was a serious mistake, admitting he did not believe a bishop could ‘do such evil things’ at the time. ‘It is very clear now we should have handed those letters over,’ he told the London inquiry into child sex abuse.
‘I think it is awful behaviour. As a leader of the Church at the time, I am deeply ashamed by this. We mishandled this, that’s very clear. We have been fobbing people off.’
In one of the letters, a victim detailed how Ball had asked him to perform a sex act during a counselling session at a public school where he was a 17-year-old pupil.
Another writer warned Lord Carey: ‘Please do not close it down – talk to him, do something about it. I am fed up with all the coverups in and the abuse of power that goes on in the CofE. You know yourself that it is there.’
Disgraced Ball, now 86, a former Bishop of Gloucester, was jailed for 32 months for sexually abusing 18 young men over three decades.
The inquiry heard that at one stage Lord Carey asked worshippers to pray to ‘clear the name’ of Ball. He was accused at the inquiry of offering the paedophile ‘uncriti- cal’ support. Lord Carey, who was at the helm of the Church when accusations about Ball emerged in 1992, led the sex offender’s rehabilitation following his police caution for gross indecency a year later. His efforts involved lavishing Ball with money and reinstating his duties within the Church. Lord Carey was asked to quit his honorary assistant bishop role last year after a report found he ‘colluded’ with other Church leaders to stop Ball facing criminal charges. The report said he played a ‘lead role’ in allowing Ball to start undertaking baptisms and appearing at schools after his initial resignation over the scandal.
The independent inquiry yesterday heard how the former Archbishop delivered a personal message to churches in Ball’s former diocese of Gloucester while police were investigating him despite knowing about other allegations.
In the message, which was read to worshippers on December 23, 1992, Lord Carey said: ‘We hope and pray that investigations will clear his name and that he will be restored to his great work of Christian ministry.’ Lord Carey admitted yesterday this was a ‘very rare’ move for an Archbishop.
The former Church leader also wrote a private letter to Ball, in which he said: ‘Peter, I want you to know you are in my heart and constantly in my prayers.’
Addressing the inquiry, Lord Carey acknowledged receiving information about Ball after his initial arrest. While claiming that the six letters ‘influenced him’, Lord Carey sought to offload some of the blame on to the police by claiming they did not explicitly request information.
Fiona Scolding, counsel to the inquiry, said the Archbishop’s Lambeth Palace held enough evidence to ‘hang him (Ball)’.
Lord Carey said the Church was caught in a ‘perfect storm’ at the time, citing debate about women priests and the end of Prince Charles and Diana’s marriage. ‘There was so much going on so it was the very worst time to have something like this falling into my lap,’ he said.
The inquiry is this week investigating whether Ball’s network of influential friends contributed to his escape from prosecution until 2015. Lord Carey yesterday said he faced ‘great pressure’ to deny the allegations against Ball from his supporters.
He acknowledged speaking to Ball’s friend Prince Charles about the issue in 1994, but denied the royal sought to apply pressure.
The hearing was told there were questions over whether Lord Carey acted as an effective ‘episcopal cashpoint’ for Ball, with the Church giving him around £12,500 between 1992 and 1994.
The inquiry continues.