UNITED KINGDOM
Gloucestershire Live
BY ANDREW MERRELL
4 AUG 2017
Ecclesiastical Insurance has vehemently denied it advised the Church of England to sever ties with sex abuse victims after compensation has been paid and stressed its independence.
The Church withdrew support for victims of abuse on the advice of its insurers, Ecclesiastical, according to an independent report by child safeguarding specialist Ian Elliot.
Mr Elliot’s independent review into the case said the insurance firm’s advice has “directly conflicted” with the pastoral and compassionate duties of the church and “financial interests were allowed to impact practice”.
One victim who was paid £35,000 compensation after being raped by a member of the clergy in the 1970s blamed the Gloucester-headquartered insurer for the church cutting ties with him.
Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury – the most senior bishop of the Church of England – is said to have accepted in full the findings of the review.
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.