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| Church of England failed child victims of sexual abuse while 'colluding' with disgraced bishop, report finds | Church of England failed child victims of sexual abuse while 'colluding' with disgraced bishop, report finds |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The Church of England “concealed” evidence of child abuse by a former bishop stretching over two decades, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has said, following a major independent review. | |
| The report, Abuse of Faith, found senior figures in the church “displayed little care” for the victims of disgraced Peter Ball, who was jailed for 32 months in October 2015 after admitting carrying out a string of historical sex offences against teenage boys and young men in the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s. | The report, Abuse of Faith, found senior figures in the church “displayed little care” for the victims of disgraced Peter Ball, who was jailed for 32 months in October 2015 after admitting carrying out a string of historical sex offences against teenage boys and young men in the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s. |
| Dame Moira Gibb, its author, said the Church's "failure to safeguard so many boys and young men still casts a long shadow". | Dame Moira Gibb, its author, said the Church's "failure to safeguard so many boys and young men still casts a long shadow". |
| "Ball's priority was to protect and promote himself and he maligned the abused," the report said. | "Ball's priority was to protect and promote himself and he maligned the abused," the report said. |
| "The Church colluded with that rather than seeking to help those he had harmed, or assuring itself of the safety of others." | |
| Responding to the report, Archbishop Welby said: "Abuse of Faith makes harrowing reading: the Church colluded and concealed rather than seeking to help those who were brave enough to come forward. | |
| "This is inexcusable and shocking behaviour and although Dame Moira notes that most of the events took place many years ago, and does not think that the Church now would conduct itself in the ways described we can never be complacent, we must learn lessons." | |
| Prosecutors had considered charging Ball with some offences in 1993 but the then-Bishop of Gloucester avoided a trial by accepting a caution for the abuse of one young man and resigned his post. | |
| After Ball was convicted last year, former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey denied presiding over a cover-up in the 1990s but said he regretted failing to deal properly with Ball’s victims. | |
| More follows… | More follows… |