Bishop of Truro Left Appalled by Report into Abuse Cover up by the Church of England
Cornwall Live
The Bishop of Truro has admitted feeling 'appalled and deeply saddened' after an independent report was published showing how the Church of England "colluded" with and helped to hide the long-term sexual abuse of young men by one its bishops. The report says the church showed little care for the victims of abuse and tried instead to support Peter Ball, the former Bishop of Lewes, who was jailed for 32 months at the Old Bailey in 2015 after pleading guilty to a string of historical offences, including two counts of indecent assault. Peter Ball's identical twin brother Michael was Bishop of Truro from 1990 to 1997, and Peter served as a priest in Truro for six months in 1995 - two years after he had accepted a police caution for gross indecency. The church today published Abuse Of Faith, an independent review chaired by Dame Moira Gibb, which found that "Ball's conduct has caused serious and enduring damage to the lives of many men". It stated: "Peter Ball betrayed his Church and abused individual followers of that Church. "The Church at its most senior levels and over many years supported him unwisely and displayed little care for his victims. "Much of what we have described took place in different times and should be viewed from that perspective. "But such perverse and sustained abuse by a senior figure in the Church and the Church's failure to safeguard so many boys and young men still casts a long shadow." During his time as bishop, Ball hand-picked 18 vulnerable victims to commit acts of "debasement" in the name of religion, such as praying naked at the altar and encouraging them to submit to beatings, his trial heard.
The Archbishop described the report as "harrowing reading", adding: "The Church colluded and concealed rather than seeking to help those who were brave enough to come forward. "This is inexcusable and shocking behaviour and, although Dame Moira notes that most of the events took place many years ago, and does not think that the Church now would conduct itself in the ways described, we can never be complacent; we must learn lessons." He restated his "unreserved apology" to the victims who had been brave enough to come forward, adding: "There are no excuses whatsoever for what took place and the systematic abuse of trust perpetrated by Peter Ball over the decades." There is criticism in the review of Lord Carey, who was the Archbishop of Canterbury at the time, and senior figures in the Church, saying that their Church was "most interested in protecting itself". The review states that Lambeth Palace's actions, especially in failing to pass on six letters of allegations to the police, while giving them one which was of "least concern" - "must give rise to a perception of deliberate concealment." The review points out that the Church's management of those seven letters, containing allegations against Ball, is perhaps "its greatest failure in these events." It states: "The letters came from a range of families and individuals quite independently of each other. They raised concerns which were all either indirectly or precisely suggestive of sexual impropriety, or worse, by Ball. "These were not people who were at war with the Church or had any axe to grind. In fact, some of the correspondents go to great lengths to try to avoid rancour and find a constructive way forward." The report found that Lord Carey was significantly involved in the way the Church treated victim Neil Todd in 1992-1993. Despite years of abuse in Sussex, Ball was able to leave the diocese in 1992 to take up his post as Bishop of Gloucester. A year later, the then 16 year-old trainee monk Neil Todd prompted a police investigation which led to Ball's resignation from the clergy. Ball escaped with a police caution in 1993 for a single act of gross indecency against Mr Todd who persisted to be haunted by his treatment and took his own life in 2012. Ball had an identical twin brother called Michael who was also a bishop. Lord Carey described the paedophile bishop as "basically innocent" and said he had a "very high" regard for him in a September 1993 letter to his brother, Bishop Michael. The review, which said Lord Carey had played a leading role in enabling Ball to return to ministry, described this comment as "alarming". It added: "Ball was basically guilty and had admitted that. Lord Carey was also aware that the Church had received further allegations of potentially criminal actions by Ball."
The Bishop of Truro, the Rt Revd Tim Thornton, said: "Dame Moira's review makes painful reading. Peter Ball's sustained abuse of young men who looked to him for spiritual guidance was abhorrent. I was also both appalled and deeply saddened to learn how the church and several individuals within undeniably failed the survivors of his criminal, and deeply immoral, actions. "It is right that we acknowledge and apologise for what went wrong. A comprehensive review such as this gives us clear insights into where there were institutional and personal failings. "Despite the report's acknowledgement that much has changed in the intervening years, it also makes it clear that the pace of change has been slow and we still need to make improvements and be quicker to do so. We are grateful to Dame Moira and her team for the report and its recommendations. "I am fully supportive of both Archbishop Justin Welby and Bishop Peter Hancock, the lead safeguarding bishop, in their endorsement of all the report's recommendations, and welcome the opportunity to work with my colleagues in the House of Bishops to ensure these are implemented as soon as possible. "Of course, as a diocese we will do all that we can to support the implementation of change as a result of those recommendations. We continue to listen and learn, and to do our best to improve upon all our safeguarding practices. We are committed to making our church a safer place for all. "If anybody feels they have suffered any form of abuse within a church context with the Diocese of Truro we would urge them to come forward and speak to our Diocesan Safeguarding Advisor, Sarah Acraman, who can be contacted on 01872 274351 or via email at sarah.acraman@truro.anglican.org. "Sarah will be keen to listen, and will be able to offer appropriate support, advice and suggestions, as well as a referral to our authorised, independent listening service if that would be helpful."
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