A former Archbishop of York has resigned as an honorary bishop after a damning report found “systemic failures” in the Church of England’s handing of abuse allegations in Manchester. Lord Hope of Thornes, who was archbishop between 1995 and 2005, ended his 50-year ministry yesterday after “much prayerful and considered thought”.
“This ends my nearly 50 years of formal ministry in the Church of England, which I have always sought to serve with dedication,” he said in a statement. “I will certainly continue to pray for the important ongoing work with survivors [of abuse].”
Lord Hope was among those singled out for criticism by an independent inquiry by Judge Sally Cahill for how he responded to allegations against a former Dean of Manchester Cathedral, Robert Waddington.
Complaints were made against Waddington between 1999 and 2004, relating to incidents that took place in Australia in the 1960s and when he was Dean of Manchester in the 1980s.
Judge Cahill found that the allegations made against Waddington, who died in 2007, had not been adequately responded to by the Church, and put forward a series of recommendations for improvement.
Archbishop John Sentamu, who commissioned Judge Cahill’s report, said the inquiry had shown “systemic failures” by the Church.
Criticisms levelled at Lord Hope included not taking advice from his child protection officer, failing to take action that might have led to a prosecution, not establishing the risk to children and the fact that he interviewed Waddington about the allegations himself.
The report said: “We consider the failings of Lord Hope were cumulative over the period, and arose as a result of Lord Hope not following the Church’s policies and instead dealing with a child protection issue in what appears to have been the way he would deal with a disciplinary matter or complaint.”
When the report was published, Lord Hope issued a robust response to the inquiry saying he was “disappointed” by its findings and that throughout his ministry believed that safeguarding concerns should be dealt with “professionally and swiftly.” He said the allegations regarding Waddington, whom the inquiry found no evidence of abuse against after 1999, were “unspecific” and the sources were unwilling to go to the police.
The report sets out eight recommendations for the Church of England to adopt including a national child protection service – a full-time national safeguarding adviser is currently being recruited – and a national approach to child protection. Archbishop Sentamu also said that one of those who reported abuse to the inquiry believes that disclosures made in the confessional should not be confidential. The archbishop said he had sympathy with this view and announced that the Church has commissioned theological and legal work on the question.
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