UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News
A Church of England vicar said a former bishop tried to blackmail him into having sex if he was going to allow him to become ordained.
As a teenager, the Reverend Graham Sawyer visited the former Bishop of Lewes, Peter Ball, in the 1970s.
He said Ball tried to take off his clothes and wanted an “act of commitment” if he was to be ordained.
Mr Sawyer said Ball was a “monster” who controlled him with a “cloak of spirituality”.
Ball, 83, formerly Bishop of Gloucester and Bishop of Lewes, last month admitted abusing 18 young men, including Mr Sawyer, in the 1970s, 80s and 90s.
Now of Langport in Somerset, he will be sentenced on Wednesday.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.