The Rt Rev Wallace Benn, the C of E bishop who addressed C of I Evangelicals on same-sex partnerships recently, is involved in an enquiry which has been set up by the Archbishop of Canterbury into the operation of child protection policies in the Diocese of Chichester.
On 22nd December 201, Dr Rowan Williams appointed Bishop John Gladwin and Chancellor Rupert Bursell QC to conduct the inquiry, which Lambeth Palace said had the backing of Bishop of Chichester, the Rt Revd Dr John Hind.
In a statement, Lambeth Palace said: “The Archbishop of Canterbury today set up an inquiry into the operation of the diocesan child protection policies in the Diocese of Chichester.
“He has appointed Bishop John Gladwin and Chancellor Rupert Bursell QC to carry out the inquiry. They will advise the Archbishop on any steps that need to be taken to ensure the highest possible standards of safeguarding in the diocese.
“This will involve examining current child protection arrangements as well as making recommendations for the future. They will make a preliminary report to the Archbishop by the end of February 2012.”
In May, a review found serious failings in the senior clergy after two priests, Collin Pritchard Roy Cotton, were allowed to continue working despite being accused of serious child abuse offences.
Collin Pritchard was the vicar of St Barnabas, in Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, until 2007, despite having been first reported to police for sex offences 10 years earlier. He was later jailed for sexually abusing two young boys. Pritchard served as the vicar of St Barnabas, Bexhill, until after he was arrested over sex abuse claims. In 2008 he pleaded guilty to sexually abusing two boys and was jailed for five years.
One of the boys was also abused by Roy Cotton, who worked as a parish priest in Brede near Rye, but prosecutors decided there was not enough evidence to charge him before he died in September 2006. Cotton died in 2006, two weeks before Pritchard was arrested. Cotton was ordained in 1966, despite having a conviction for indecently assaulting a choirboy in the 1950s, and went on to abuse at least 10 boys from Eastbourne. In 1999, the year when Cotton retired as a priest, Bishop Benn gave him permission to continue with his priestly duties.
BBC Report
On 3 November 2011, BBC News carried a report, “Bishop of Lewes, the Rt Rev Wallace Benn may face misconduct probe”.
The BBC report stated:
“The Bishop of Lewes may face disciplinary proceedings for alleged misconduct, the BBC has learned.
“The safeguarding advisory group to the Diocese of Chichester has written to Lambeth Palace stating its intention of making a complaint.
“BBC South East Today’s Colin Campbell said the complaint against Bishop Wallace Benn was being made under the Clergy Discipline Measures.
“The bishop said he was not aware a complaint was being made against him.”
Bishop Benn apologised in June following a Church-commissioned report by Baroness Butler-Sloss, which examined how senior clergy dealt with historical claims of abuse by the two paedophile priests, Roy Cotton and Colin Pritchard.
The Diocese of Chichester’s safeguarding advisory group had written to Lambeth Palace about the Rt Rev Wallace Benn.
The BBC states it was told the complaint against the bishop had been made under the clergy discipline measures and the Archbishop of Canterbury had to decide whether to dismiss the complaint or continue the disciplinary process.
In 1999, the year when Cotton retired as a priest, Bishop Benn gave him permission to continue with his priestly duties.
Apparent inaccuracies in the Butler-Sloss review came to light after a BBC investigation.
The bishop told the baroness that he had given Cotton permission to officiate in 1999 to permit him to celebrate communion in the nursing home where he was then living.
But the BBC discovered he was not admitted to the nursing home until September 2003.
The complaint against the bishop was compiled by the safeguarding advisory group of the Diocese Of Chichester, an independent group responsible for scrutinising the diocese.
The clergy discipline measures cover allegations of misconduct and came into effect in 2006.
More at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-15582875
The Butler-Sloss report and a letter co-signed by Bishop Benn are at:
http://www.diochi.org.uk/index.cfm?fuseaction=activities.content&cmid=520
Note:
Wallace Parke Benn (born 6 August 1947) is an Anglican suffragan bishop. He is the current suffragan Bishop of Lewes in the Diocese of Chichester in the Church of England. He was educated at St Andrew’s College and University College, Dublin. After studying at Trinity College, Bristol he was ordained in 1973.