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Funeral for ex-Bishop of Gloucester Michael Perham held

BBC News
May 6, 2017

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-39828968

Bishop Perham died in April after a battle with cancer

Bishop Perham's funeral took place at Gloucester Cathedral

More than 1,000 people have attended a funeral service for the former Bishop of Gloucester.

The Right Reverend Michael Perham died aged 69 last month after a battle with cancer.

He was appointed in 2004 and retired in November 2014.

People travelled from as far away as America and Sweden to attend the service at Gloucester Cathedral, which was presided over by current bishop the Right Reverend Rachel Treweek.

In 2015 Bishop Perham was cleared by both the Church of England and police of two allegations of historical sexual abuse.

Analysis - Richard Atkins, Faith and Ethics Producer, BBC Radio Gloucestershire

Bishop Perham served as a priest in the Church of England for more than 40 years before becoming Bishop of Gloucester in 2004.

During his time in the role, he was a member of the House of Lords, and served on the working party reviewing the Church of England's teaching on human sexuality.

Above all he was a strong advocate of the role of women in the church as priests and bishops.

In February 2014, Michael announced he would be retiring that November as bishop. But in the August, he stepped back from his ministry while allegations of sexual abuse in the 1980s were investigated.

He admitted to me in a interview that these totally unfounded allegations hit him hard and undermined his confidence.

Bishop Perham was a kind, thoughtful and intelligent man who also enjoyed the cut and thrust of interviews on the radio.

He was always very happy to pop along to BBC Radio Gloucestershire no matter what the time of day.

It was a privilege to have known and worked with him.




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