UNITED KINGDOM
Christian Today
Ruth Gledhill CHRISTIAN TODAY CONTRIBUTING EDITOR 13 July 2016
The Church of England today defended its approach to the case of Bishop George Bell, who was accused of being a paedophile 37 years after his death.
Despite demands to publish the evidence against him, the Church cannot do this because of a “moral duty” to safeguard the victim, it says.
Supporters of Bishop Bell, who achieved international recognition for his opposition to the Nazis and his work on behalf of the Jews during the war, have protested repeatedly at the damage caused to his reputation by allegations that have not been proven in court.
The Chichester diocese paid compensation to the complainant, Carol, in September 2015. The Bishop of Chichester Martin Warner also formally apologised to her.
Bell’s condemnation as a paedophile was then challenged by a group of lawyers, academics, politicians and senior Church figures. They wrote to the Archbishop of Canterbury earlier this year, and also circulated a document in defence of Bell to members of the General Synod meeting in York last weekend.
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