UNITED KINGDOM
Telegraph
The Archbishop of York is to set up an independent inquiry into allegations that a senior Church of England clergyman abused choirboys and school pupils.
By Josie Ensor
7:13PM BST 11 May 2013
The Very Rev Robert Waddington, a former dean of Manchester Cathedral, who died in 2007, is said to have groomed and sexually assaulted a number of young choristers in the 1980s.
It is alleged that David Hope, the former Archbishop of York, failed to report the abuse claims to police or child protection authorities after he was made aware of them in 1999 and 2003.
The Office of the Archbishop of York today said it was taking the allegations of abuse with the “utmost seriousness” and would launch an investigation into Dean Waddington and the Church.
Following the accusations, Lord Hope, who was then the second most senior bishop in the Church, revoked Waddington’s right to conduct church services and also ordered internal investigations into the alleged abuse.
However, concerns over Waddington’s state of health meant the Archbishop failed to report the case to the authorities. He now admits there “ought to have been” a report.
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