The topline priest who was supposed to take temporary charge of the Church of England after the last Archbishop of Canterbury resigned in shame has called to resign over his handling of the case of a clergyman accused of sexual misconduct. Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell is accused of allowing a priest to remain in his post despite knowing he had been barred by the church from being alone with minors and had paid damages to one of his accusers.
The incident happened when Cottrell was a bishop in eastern England. He was due to take over as the COE head after the last leader resigned for mishandling separate abuse claims. The Archbishop of York said he was in a “horrible and intolerable” situation with disgraced priest David Tudor. He explained “I suspended David Tudor from office at the first opportunity when a new victim came forward to the police in 2019,” he said. “Until 2019, there were no legal grounds to take alternative action.”
Tudor was eventually fired and barred for life from working in the Church again. He has acknowledged that he had affairs with two teenage girls in the 1980s. Cottrell stated his inaction. “I am deeply sorry that we were not able to take action earlier, but that was the situation I inherited,” Cottrell recalled. “It is extremely disappointing that this story is being reported as if it was an abuser being ignored or even protected. Nothing could be further from the truth.”
Helen-Ann Hartley, the Bishop of Newcastle, has publicly criticized how these allegations were handled. She felt “incredulity” at this latest round of accusations. “My personal view is that the evidence before us makes it impossible for Stephen Cottrell to be that person in which we have confidence and trust to drive the change that is needed,” she relayed to the BBC.
The scandal comes just a few days after the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Head of the Church of England was forced to shamefully resign. Justin Welby, The Archbishop of Canterbury, has landed in hot water after two disastrous public appearances. He recently resigned from his position due to how poorly the Church of England handled an abuse scandal. Shortly afterward, he delivered an in-fated address to the House of Lords. Welby will officially leave office on January 6th but will make no more public appearances.
Welby’s position as the head of the COE also qualifies him as a member of the House of Lords. In his farewell remarks, he focused on other issues, such as homelessness, and gave little time to the allegations that have defined his career. The Archbishop seemed to make light of the situation when he said “If you pity anyone, pity my poor diary secretary, who has seen weeks and months of work disappear in a puff of a resignation announcement.”
In a statement, one of Smyth’s victims replied that he was shocked by the speech, saying, “I have never come across anyone so tone-deaf.” While some of the politicians in attendance seemed to enjoy the remarks, most seemed uncomfortable. Those who viewed the speech remotely were angered by his tone and within a few hours angry emails began to flood in.
The Arch Bishop himself issued a statement, where he expressed his regrets. “I understand that my words – the things that I said, and those I omitted to say – have caused further distress for those who were traumatized, and continue to be harmed, by John Smyth’s heinous abuse and by the far-reaching effects of other perpetrators of abuse,” he wrote.
He added “I did not intend to overlook the experience of survivors or to make light of the situation – and I am very sorry for having done so. It remains the case that I take both personal and institutional responsibility for the long and retraumatizing period after 2013, and the harm that this has caused survivors.” Welby also insisted that “I continue to feel a profound sense of shame at the Church of England’s historic safeguarding failures.”
The Church is now scrambling to find a successor to Welby. Normally the process takes at least 6 months, but the chaos surrounding this early retirement might extend the search. Both the King and the Prime minister are required to make a recommendation. As of current writings, there are no confirmed nominations, but several bishops have signaled their intentions to run.