UNITED KINGDOM
Telegraph and Argus
by Will Kilner
The Honorary Assistant Bishop of Bradford has resigned from his position after a report into allegations of child abuse by a former cathedral dean found “systemic failures” by the Church of England.
Last week’s report by Judge Sally Cahill QC said Lord Hope of Thornes failed to follow policy and take advice after he was informed of complaints against Robert Waddington relating to boys in Manchester and Australia.
The judge outlined failures by the Church to respond properly to allegations of sex abuse against the late Robert Waddington, who was Dean of Manchester between 1984 and 1993.
She said Lord Hope’s actions meant “opportunities were missed” to start an investigation which may have led to a prosecution before Waddington’s death seven years ago.
Lord Hope stepped down as Archbishop of York in 2005 when he returned to being a parish priest in the Bradford district. At that stage known as Dr David Hope, he spent several years in charge at St Margaret’s Church on Queen’s Road, Ilkley.
In a statement today, Lord Hope said: “After much prayerful and considered thought I wrote at the beginning of the week to the Bishop of Leeds and in the light of the Cahill Inquiry Report I have submitted my resignation as Honorary Assistant Bishop of Bradford, now West Yorkshire and the Dales, with immediate effect.
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