The Archbishop of York has said he is “deeply sorry” he was not able to take action earlier when dealing with sex offender David Tudor while he was Bishop of Chelmsford.
Stephen Cottrell, the Church’s second-most-senior bishop, is facing calls to resign over his handling of a sex abuse case within the church.
It comes just weeks before he was due to take charge of the Church of England as interim leader, after Justin Welby, the current Archbishop of Canterbury, quit over failures in the handling of a separate abuse case.
A BBC investigation reported that Mr Cottrell allegedly let priest David Tudor stay in post in the diocese, despite knowing he had been barred from being alone with children, and had paid compensation to a sexual abuse victim.
Responding to the report in a personal statement, Mr Cottrell said he was “deeply sorry we were not able to take action earlier”.
He said he faced a “horrible and intolerable” situation when he became Bishop of Chelmsford in 2010, and was originally briefed on the situation regarding David Tudor.
He said: “This morning’s news coverage incorrectly implies that no action was taken until 2024. That is not the case. In my capacity as Bishop of Chelmsford, I suspended David Tudor from office at the first opportunity, when a new victim came forward to the police in 2019. Up until 2019, there were no legal grounds to take alternative action.”
He said it was “not possible to remove David Tudor from office” until “fresh complaints were made” in 2019, “when a victim bravely spoke to the police”.
Mr Cottrell said once this happened, he “acted immediately.”
“I suspended David Tudor from all ministry pending the investigation and subsequent tribunal hearing in which he was removed from office and prohibited from ministry for life,” he said.
It was only in October of this year that Tudor was banned from ministry for life, after admitting what the Church described as serious sexual abuse including two girls aged 15 and 16, when he was a priest in the Diocese of Southwark.
Mr Cottrell said: “I want victims and survivors to know that everything was done to understand, assess and manage the risk. I also want them to know that I fully welcome the outcome of the Tribunal in October 2024.”
The Church of England said the BBC investigation had showed a “catalogue of past safeguarding decisions that allowed someone who was considered a risk in the 1980s to return to ministry in the 1990s.”
“This should never have happened,” it added.
A woman who was paid compensation by Tudor over claims he sexually abused her as a child told the BBC that Mr Cottrell’s failure to act when he was told about the payment means he should “leave the Church”.
Bishop of Newcastle Helen-Ann Hartley said she feels it is “impossible” for Mr Cottrell to remain in his position, or for him to lead the Church of England.
Asked by BBC Radio 4 about whether Mr Cottrell should resign, she said: “My personal view is that the evidence before us makes it impossible for Stephen Cottrell to be that person in which we have confidence and trust to drive the change that is needed.”
In his statement on Monday, Mr Cottrell pledged that he would “do what I can” to bring about independent scrutiny and safeguarding in the Church.
He said processes within the Church had changed, and that the Tudor case would be handled differently now.
“The Church of England now needs independent scrutiny of safeguarding so that those who do have understandable frustrations and concerns can have their voices heard and those of us who have responsibility for managing these situations can be helped to avoid them and resolve them,” Mr Cottrell said.
“I have publicly supported this for many years. I pledge myself to do what I can to achieve it.”
Mr Cottrell is due to take over temporarily as the Archbishop of Canterbury from January 6, when Justin Welby is due to quit.
Mr Welby announced last month that he would resign, after initially declining to do so, following the Makin Review into the handling of allegations against serial abuser John Smyth.
Following confirmation earlier this month that Mr Welby will not deliver the usual Christmas Day sermon from Canterbury Cathedral, it had been expected that Mr Cottrell’s sermon would instead be the focus on December 25.
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