A Church of England abuse survivor has told Premier Christian News he doubts the integrity of a newly reopened investigation into his complaint, saying significant inconsistencies in the Church’s response remain.
It follows a Premier Christian News investigation into the case of Survivor N who told us that the response and lack of investigation into his claims by the Diocese of London and Rt Rev Sarah Mullally as Bishop of London, caused him to have such a severe mental health breakdown that he made two attempts on his life.
Lambeth Palace now says it is making “urgent arrangements” to re-start a complaint against the Bishop of London and Archbishop of Canterbury-elect Dame Sarah Mullally into her handling of his complaint.
N, whose case has been described by one lawyer as the “worst example of post-abuse victimisation of a CDM [clergy disciplinary measure] complainant we have ever seen", brought a formal complaint under the Clergy Discipline Measure (CDM) against the Bishop of London Sarah Mullally in 2020. It followed evidence that Bishop Sarah had contravened the Clergy Discipline Measure code of practice by sending a confidential email about the allegations directly to the priest concerned, outside of the CDM process. She also wrote to him that the claims were “unsubstantiated”.
After he submitted the complaint, N’s solicitors made numerous requests for a follow-up response from Lambeth Palace and the Provincial Registrar Darren Oliver, but none was forthcoming.
Evidence challenges Lambeth account
Lambeth Palace told Premier that the reason N’s complaint hadn’t been followed up was because additional documents hadn’t been provided after July 2021 and the provincial registrar had believed N had decided not to proceed with the matter.
However, Premier has seen evidence that two bundles of documents dated 22nd August 2021 were sent to Lambeth Palace as well as to the ‘Designated Officer at the Church of England Legal Office’. A copy of the bundle was also sent to the President of Tribunals on the same date. They were all marked as having been delivered.
Lambeth Palace has told Premier that this hard copy documentation had previously been received from N in electronic form the previous month. However, N disputes this and said several bundles were sent in August 2021 including several witness statements which had not previously been sent via email. Lambeth Palace told Premier that the Office of the President of Tribunals has no record of receiving anything from the complainant in August or September 2021.
The first time N learned that the CDM against Sarah Mullally hadn’t progressed and was no longer outstanding, was when he was told by Premier Christian News earlier this month.
The provincial registrar has now written to N to clarify the “next steps” in relation to the complaint against Sarah Mullally. It blames “administrative errors and an incorrect assumption about the individual’s wishes” as the reason the complaint was not taken forward or appropriately followed up. It said the Bishop of London was “unaware of the matter, as the process never reached the stage at which she would have been informed of the complaint or its contents.”
Church reopens halted complaint
The Archbishop of York who will have oversight of a “preliminary scrutiny report” into Bishop Sarah’s handling of the case has also now written to Survivor N, assuring him his “allegation will be given full consideration and dealt with in the most appropriate way according to the procedures laid down by law.” Most Rev Stephen Cottrell acknowledged there had been a “considerable delay” in responding to his case.
However, N has told Premier that he would like the matter to be handled by the archbishop of another province as he has no faith in Archbishop Cottrell, who has himself been criticised for safeguarding failures, to oversee the process fairly.
Following the Premier investigation, Darren Oliver, the provincial registrar for Canterbury has also apologised in writing to N for the “misunderstandings and lack of communication which have contributed to this unsatisfactory position. I hope, with these misunderstandings corrected, that your complaints will be given the proper consideration that you had expected.”
Mullally admits process failures
Bishop Sarah, in her statement to Premier acknowledged that N has been “let down by the processes of the Church of England.” She also said the complaint he made against her in 2020 hadn’t been properly dealt with. However, N said claims by the Bishop and Lambeth Palace that “his abuse allegations against a member of clergy were fully dealt with by the Diocese of London,” are untrue.
He told Premier: “Most seriously of all, Sarah Mullally in her statement, has falsely claimed that the original CDM Complaint which I filed against [the priest] has been "fully dealt with" despite the fact that my solicitor representing me in that matter confirmed that he had never received any communication from the Bishop of London dismissing my CDM, and providing the stipulated guidance on how to file an appeal.”
In her statement Bishop Sarah said she was “seeking assurance that processes have been strengthened to ensure any complaint that comes into Lambeth Palace is responded to in a timely and satisfactory manner.
“The Church’s processes have to change, both for complainants, and for the clergy who are the subject of complaints. Today, I am one of those clergy. As Archbishop of Canterbury, I will do everything in my power to bring about much needed and overdue reform. We must have trust in our systems, or else we cannot expect others to put their trust in us.”
In his letter to N, Archbishop Stephen said he hoped to receive the Registrar’s report within 28 days. After that he will decide which course to take, ranging from no action to a formal investigation which could lead to a Bishop’s Disciplinary Tribunal.
Survivor N has told Premier: “In the face of this tissue of lies, collusion and the egregious breaches of the provisions of the Clergy Discipline Measure spanning years, I have absolutely no confidence that my CDM Complaint will be handled with any level of honesty and integrity. With Sarah Mullally's forthcoming Confirmation of Election as Archbishop of Canterbury in January, I believe the sole goal of Lambeth and London Diocese now will be reputation management and speedy dismissal of a CDM Complaint against an Archbishop- elect whose appointment has shocked survivors, whistleblowers and former diocesan staff.”