UNITED KINGDOM
Christian Today
James Macintyre 26 July 2016
The Archbishop of York and four bishops have been accused of misconduct by a Church of England priest who claims they failed to act on allegations that he was repeatedly raped by another vicar in 1984, when he was 16.
The Guardian reported that the anonymous priest filed the written and verbal complaints under the CofE’s clergy disciplinary measure (CDM) against John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York; Peter Burrows, the bishop of Doncaster; Steven Croft, a former bishop of Sheffield, and now bishop of Oxford; Martyn Snow, the bishop of Leicester; and Glyn Webster, the bishop of Beverley.
All five have contested the complaints on the grounds that they were made after a one-year time limit for complaints that is required by the church.
The priest, known only as ‘Michael’, has filed a misconduct complaint against the alleged rapist, who is currently the subject of a police investigation into Michael’s claims.
The alleged rapist, who continued to work as a CofE priest for at least a decade after the alleged offences, is now retired, though he is still licensed to officiate as a priest.
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