Bishop accused of bullying by Dean of Llandaff
THE Dean of Llandaff has made a formal complaint of bullying against his Bishop, accusing her of wanting to force him out of his post.
It is understood that while it has reservations about the Dean’s allegations, a Church in Wales preliminary inquiry has decided that the Bishop, Rt Rev June Osborne, has a case to answer.
The Very Rev Gerwyn Capon, who was appointed Dean in 2014 by the current Bishop’s predecessor, Dr Barry Morgan, submitted a 31-page complaint about Bishop Osborne to the Church last year.
In it, the Dean alleges that after Bishop Osborne took up her post in 2017, she quickly made it clear that she had no confidence in him, stating that she believed allegations relating to the running of an organ appeal.
These allegations had been investigated by the then Archbishop of Wales, Dr Barry Morgan, in conjunction with the Charity Commission shortly before Dr Capon had been appointed Dean. The conclusion of the inquiry was that the allegations were unfounded. Dr Capon subsequently reviewed the allegations and came to the same conclusion.
Earlier ths month we reported how the Chapter [ruling body] of Llandaff Cathedral had just published on its website claims that the Dean had misspent more than £30,000. The allegations were included in Llandaff Cathedral’s annual report and financial statements for the year 2020. In fact an earlier inquiry which reported in October 2020 had concluded that the Dean was innocent of such allegations.
In a statement, the Dean alleged: “I had been in post for a number of years before the new Bishop arrived in 2017 since when she subjected me to an atmosphere which has felt increasingly unsafe and threatening.”
He went on to claim that by April 2020 he was exhibiting signs of stress and had subsequently been diagnosed with clinical depression.
The Dean alleged: “Immediately upon being diagnosed with work-related stress in May 2020, the Bishop took the opportunity to visit me whilst on sick leave to threaten me further into resignation.
“It was then that I decided to invoke the complaints procedure set out in the Constitution of the Church in Wales, through which appeal may be made to the Archbishop.
“Once I submitted my complaint against Bishop June Osborne for bullying me, the then Archbishop of Wales referred the matter to the Provincial Disciplinary Tribunal.
“No sooner had the Archbishop acknowledged receipt of my complaint than I received notice that I myself was being referred by the Bishop of Llandaff to the Disciplinary Panel following a complaint she had received from the Cathedral Chapter.
“This concerned questions they raised which related to expenditure at the Cathedral.”
The Dean stated that while still on sick leave, he was required to appear before the Committee of the Disciplinary Tribunal to respond to the allegations.
He said: “The Tribunal Committee found I had no case to answer and exonerated me.
“I have tithed my stipend back to the Cathedral since my arrival in post – between 2016 and 2019, I have, with gift aid, given the Cathedral over £19,000.
“Painting me therefore as a thief is personally wounding and untrue.
“Yet despite the decision of the tribunal committee, I soon afterward received documentary evidence that a member of the Chapter, disappointed by the result, wrote to the Bishop to say that there is ‘more than one way to skin a cat’.”
The expression appears in an email sent by the then Archdeacon of Llandaff, the Venerable Peggy Jackson. She retired in July this year.
Prior to publication we put the contents of that email to the Church in Wales and the Bishop, but we have not received a response.
The Dean said that in October 2020 he was invited to submit details of his complaint against the Bishop of Llandaff.
The preliminary adjudication confirmed in May 2021 that, on the balance of probability, Bishop June Osborne has a case to answer.
It went on to recommend mediation between the Bishop and the Dean, but he claimed that had not proven fruitful, alleging: “Rather, it seems clear to me that my refusal to drop my complaint has now led to the Cathedral Chapter rehearsing allegations that have already been dealt with and where I have been found to have no case to answer.”
The Dean said he was calling on the Church authorities to abide by their anti-bullying and harassment stance and address what he described as “unacceptable leadership behaviours”.
It is understood the Dean’s formal complaint against the Bishop was assessed by James Davenport, the diocesan registrar for Swansea and Brecon, who determined the Dean’s complaint should be examined at a full hearing.
Neither the Church in Wales nor the Bishop of Llandaff wished to comment.