Bishop of Truro apologises to survivor of abuse

West Briton
February 27, 2016

http://www.westbriton.co.uk/8203-Bishop-Truro-apologises-survivor-abuse/story-28819736-detail/story.html

The Bishop of Truro

THE Bishop of Truro has apologised to a survivor of abuse by clergy who claimed he failed to act after he revealed his suffering to him more than a decade ago.

The victim of the abuse, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said he named Garth Moore as his abuser to the Right Reverend Tim Thornton in 2003 when he was Bishop of Sherborne in Dorset.

Moore, who was an authority on ecclesiastical law and chancellor of the dioceses of Southwark, Gloucester and Durham, died in 1990.

The alleged victim said the abuse by Mr Moore took place when he was a teenager.

But after he made the disclosure to The Bishop no record was made and nothing happened, he said, adding that The Bishop suggested he could come in and inform the diocese but there was no further help offered.

The Bishop is one of several senior Church of England figures he told who said they had no recollection of his disclosure to them, according to his solicitor David Greenwood.

In a statement The Bishop said he was "genuinely very sorry" to hear that the individual has been subjected to abuse and "further saddened" that it was from within the church.

It continued that he remembered the man during his time as Bishop of Sherborne and the several conversations they had, mainly about his faith.

However, he added, he was "sorry to say that I simply do not recall the conversation that he has referred to".

The man had written to him at the beginning of last year and said he had made a disclosure to The Bishop in 2002/2003.

The Bishop's statement continued: "Had I been party to a conversation of that nature, I would either have referred him to somebody who would have been well placed to help him, or would have told somebody myself about such a serious disclosure.

"I realise that my not remembering - set against his clear recollection of the conversation - may reinforce the perception of inaction that continues the hurt for him, and for other survivors of abuse. I am sorry about this.

"I have written to him to express these sentiments directly and to say that I hope he may be able to accept this impasse in terms of our differing recollections, and that my apology for his hurt is earnest."

The Bishop concluded it was to the abuse victim's "great credit that he is determined to right the wrongs of the past, and I am only sorry that doing so has necessitated him to recall and re-tell incidents of abuse that he suffered".

The man has said he was glad his courage has been credited but remained sad that The Bishop did not recollect their conversation, adding: "I find it hard to accept that the senior people genuinely have no recollection – and will always find it hard to believe."

The abuse survivor wants to meet with the Bishop of Truro personally ahead of next month's preliminary hearing of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, set up partly investigate the extent of any institutional failures to protect children from sexual abuse within the Anglican Church.