Rt Rev Beverly Mason, The Bishop of Warrington, has called for a change in the Church of England after her allegation of abuse was mishandled. This call comes in the wake of the Bishop of Liverpool resigning. She reports being one of several women who filed abuses against Rt Rev Dr John Perumbalath, who resigned this week. He has contended every allegation.
In her letter, she addressed that the scandal was broken by Channel 4 news. She starts the letter by confirming she is a previously anonymous source used in the inquiry. “In March 2023… I was advised of a complaint raised against the Bishop of Liverpool and a subsequent investigation by the National Safeguarding Team, I raised what I believe were significant concerns,” she wrote.
“I have remained consistent and persistent in my pursuit of proper and appropriate ecclesiastical judicial process. A bishop cannot be above the law. A bishop cannot be dealt differently from a priest or a lay person,” she explained.” I am trusting in a fair and just process which must be for the law and the Bishop cannot be dealt differently from a priest or a lay person.”
She stated, “Our aim as an institution church should be to work together across dioceses and departments to ensure our church is a safe, grace-filled, loving, and welcoming place for all.” The Retired Bishop wrote, “I hope and pray, as we look to the future, that we can continue to support one another, acknowledging the pain and the trauma that many have experienced and are experiencing.”
She explained that this scandal explains her recent absence from church activities, ” I am only too mindful of the turmoil, shock and bruising that you will be reeling from as a result of these past days as you have tried to make sense of this and my long and terrible absence. For my part, I am deeply sorry for my absence and silence. It has been excruciating.”
During this time, the man she accused remained in his position. “I regret we as a church have not properly and satisfactorily addressed concerns that have been raised. My prayer is that now things have been brought into the light, there will be no more defendedness but an honest scrutiny of what we are doing, how we are doing it, where the gaps sit and how we address them,” she said, adding additional context.
Our aim as an institutional church should be to work together across disciplines and departments to ensure our church is a safe, grace-filled, Christ-centred, flourishing environment/workplace for all.’ She concluded by saying, ” I regret at this time I am unable to advise you of what the future holds for me. This will become clearer in the days ahead. What I know is God’s will be done. Please be assured of my constant support, love and prayers.”
Another preacher told reporters an investigation needs to happen. “Well, if it doesn’t happen, it will be a scandal. It needs to happen. The big story in the church over the past few months has been how appallingly we have treated victims of all kinds. And here we have a female cleric making a serious accusation of sexual harassment, and it’s just not dealt with. They added, “There hasn’t been proper process and there needs to be.”