Archbishop rejects calls for probe of diocese
THE Archbishop of Wales has rejected calls that he should launch an inquiry into the running of the Llandaff diocese following allegations of bullying against Bishop June Osborne.
In November we revealed how the Dean of Llandaff, Gerwyn Capon, had made a formal complaint of bullying against the Bishop, accusing her of wanting to force him out of his post.
In 2020 he submitted a 31-page complaint about Bishop Osborne to the Church in Wales about her alleged conduct. While it had reservations about the Dean’s allegations, a Church in Wales preliminary inquiry decided that the Bishop has a case to answer.
The matter remains unresolved, partly because the Dean has been on extended sick leave since May 2020.
After the Dean went public, others came forward to express their concerns. More than 20 members of the congregation at Llandaff Cathedral called on the recently elected Archbishop of Wales, Andy
John, to commission an independent inquiry into the senior leadership of the Llandaff diocese. And the Vicar of Radyr, Cardiff, Rev Vicki Burrows, called for the Bishop of Llandaff to be suspended pending an investigation.
In a letter to the cathedral worshippers who called for an inquiry, the Archbishop stated: “I am acutely aware, in the names of those who have signed the letter, that the group is composed of sincere and well-intentioned members of the cathedral community.
“In the light of the anxiety and distress recorded, I am sorry that they have experienced such a measure of concern that they feel compelled to write to me and to publish in the Church Times.
“I hear the concern for the good name of the cathedral and diocese and understand the anxiety expressed. In your letter to the Church Times, you are very critical of the role of Bishop June Osborne and the cathedral chapter.
“When your complaint was received, Bishop Osborne asked the Chancellor of the Diocese, His Honour Judge Andrew Keyser, to investigate. I have had the benefit of reading Judge Andrew Keyser’s judgement in response to your complaint and Bishop Osborne’s subsequent letter to you following that judgment.
“In her letter, dated October 25, 2021, the Bishop quotes extensively from the Chancellor’s judgement, which is clear and unambiguous.
“He has reviewed the issues, the supporting letters and has seen the YouTube recording of the Annual Vestry Meeting [of worshippers] and has advised the Bishop that there is no case to answer.
“In the light of the clarity of his judgement and the accurate recording of that judgement by Bishop Osborne, I am satisfied that there is no further material complaint to be considered.
“However, Judge Keyser makes the point, wisely in my view, that a pastoral note and tone – ‘ conciliatory’ is the phrase he uses – would have been helpfully offered at the vestry meeting and ought still to be the primary response to the difficulties b being experienced.
“You ask me to ‘institute a comprehensive, transparent and fully independent’ – ie from outside of the Church in Wales – inquiry into the senior leadership of Llandaff diocese since the appointment of Bishop Osborne. This is a serious request but one which I cannot meet. As Archbishop, I do not have authority over any diocese other than my own unless the see is vacant.
“An archiepiscopal visitat tion (or an archbishop com
missioning another form of inquiry) of the sort you propose would be unprecedented in the history of the Church in Wales and I am advised there are serious questions about the lawfulness of me doing so. In any event, were I do to so, I would not have power to implement any findings or recommendations it might make. I therefore am unwilling to do so.”
Meanwhile, 17 members of the congregation at St Isan Church in Llanishen, Cardiff, have written to the Church Times, supporting the calls for an inquiry.
Their letter states: “We obviously cannot, and do not, speak for members of the clergy, but know of several occasions when lay members of our church were subjected to the autocratic diktats of the Bishop, the Rt Rev June Osborne. We therefore endorse an independent investigation, as suggest
ed by the Rev Vicki Burrows.
“We support the 23 congregation members at Llandaff Cathedral in their request to the Archbishop of Wales to institute a comprehensive, transparent, and fully independent inquiry – from outside the Church in Wales – into the senior leadership of Llandaff diocese.”
Bishop Osborne did not wish to comment.