UNITED KINGDOM
Leigh Day
United Kingdom October 8 2015
Andrew Lord from the abuse team at Leigh Day asks whether we can have faith in the Church of England investigating its own failures which many believe led to the abuse of children
Earlier this week the Archbishop of Canterbury commissioned an independent review of the Church’s own handling of allegations of sexual abuse against Peter Ball, former Bishop of both Lewes and Gloucester.
But with such public interest in understanding the true extent of the ‘cover up’ the review will be charged with investigating, can or should the Church of England be charged with investigating its own failures in tackling sexual abuse?
Bishop Ball is beginning a 32-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to two counts of indecent assaults on two complainants in their late teenage years, and also misconduct in public office relating to abuse of 16 more teenagers and young men between 1977 and 1992.
He stood accused of manipulating the complainants, who were either considering future ministerial positions or exploring their spirituality, into engaging in sexual acts by informing them he needed to test their commitment.
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