Church Removes Sign Warning Visitors of Bishop's Child Abuse Settlement

The Argus
January 15, 2016

http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/14209438.Church_removes_sign_warning_visitors_of_bishop_s_child_abuse_settlement/


A MONUMENT to a disgraced bishop has regained pride of place in Chichester Cathedral after a notice about his involvement in a sexual abuse case was removed this week.

Meanwhile an Eastbourne school named after the churchman has notified parents that it will rebrand, and sever any association with George Bell, who served as Bishop of Chichester from 1929 until just before his death in 1958.

The Bishop Bell Church of England School in Eastbourne joins a growing list of Sussex institutions which have moved towards breaking ties with the twentieth century prelate.

They include a lodging house, a Chichester school and a university institute.

The bishop’s formerly unimpeachable reputation as a man of peace and patron of the arts was shattered last October when the Church disclosed it had apologised and paid a settlement in a child abuse case concerning Bell.

The Church failed to act on the allegations when they were made to then-bishop Eric Kemp in 1995.

Current Bishop of Chichester Martin Warner issued an apology to the victim, saying: "The abuse of children is a criminal act and a devastating betrayal of trust that should never occur in any situation, particularly the church."

The Diocese of Chichester - which covers most of Sussex - has so far failed to deliver on promises to rename George Bell House, a property it owns adjacent to the cathedral.

The building is now referred to as 4 Canon Lane online, but retains a prominent plaque bearing George Bell’s name next to its front door.

And information signs around the cathedral still direct tourists to George Bell House.

Yesterday a spokeswoman for the diocese said it could not currently answer The Argus’ questions of when - or if - the house and signage would be changed.

The Bell-Arundel Screen, a stone-and-brass monument to Bell in the centre of the cathedral, had a laminated safeguarding notice displayed in front of it following the announcement.

The notice repeated Bishop Warner's apology and gave details on how to contact an NSPCC helpline.

But Chichester churchgoer Peter Billingham told the Argus that it was removed on Wednesday of this week, adding: “My wife and I are very pleased that it has gone, and a large number of the congregation share our feelings.”

A letter distributed to Cathedral volunteers on Thursday gave a page of guidance on the “tone and content” of how they should answer questions about George Bell.

It advised tour guides: “If you prefer to leave Bishop Bell out of your conversation or guided tour, this is perfectly acceptable.

“The Bell memorial will remain in the Cathedral, with its eloquent summary of his wide-ranging ministry.”

In a letter sent home on Thursday, Bishop Bell school in Eastbourne offered parents two options for a new name for the institution.

Headmaster Mark Talbot said: “When choosing to become an academy schools have the opportunity to review their name.

“This was our intention and, with the news relating to Bishop George Bell, this was accelerated.”

A spokesman for the University of Chichester could not confirm the fate of the scholarly George Bell Institute.