Ex-Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey was asked to step down as an honorary assistant bishop in Oxford last June but earlier this month was allowed to resume basic duties
The decision to allow former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey to start preaching again after ‘colluding’ to help a disgraced former bishop has been criticised by senior church figures.
The bishop in charge of the Church of England’s anti-abuse team said that the decision to allow Lord Carey’s return after being forced to resign last year was wrong.
It comes after an inquiry last week heard claims that the former archbishop was part of an establishment ‘cover up’ into former bishop of Gloucester Peter Ball.
Extraordinary letters written by Prince Charles were revealed as evidence in which he told Ball that he had been the victim of ‘monstrous wrongs’.
Lord Carey has been repeatedly criticised for failing to hand over six letters to police investigating Ball in the 1990s that contained details of his sexual abuse.
His failure to act on the information was followed by providing Ball with money and championing his return to ministry.
Ball was handed a police caution for gross indecency regarding one victim in 1993, forcing him to resign his post, but he was not prosecuted until 22 years later.
Lord Carey has repeatedly been criticsed for failing to hand more than six letters to police investigating former Bishop of Gloucester Peter Ball (pictured during his time in post, left, and more recently, right) in the 1990s
He was jailed for 32 months in 2015 over the abuse of 16 young men and was released from prison in January last year after serving half of his sentence.
The current Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, took the unprecedented step of asking his predecessor to step down as an honorary assistant bishop in Oxford last June.
But earlier this month the 82-year-old was allowed to start undertaking basic duties again after being granted ‘permission to officiate’ by the Bishop of Oxford.
Bishop Peter Hancock, who leads safeguarding issues for the church, said he was not consulted on the decision and would have advised against it.
He said: ‘My understanding is the national safeguarding team were not consulted, I’m sure that’s right.
‘I think both I and the national safeguarding team would have advised that that was not the right action to take.’
The bishop said the decision had caused more ‘distress’ to sex abuse victims, adding that he ‘regretted’ the decision had been taken.
Dr Steven Croft, the Bishop Of Oxford, last week apologised for causing ‘additional distress to some survivors of abuse’ over his decision to welcome back Lord Carey.
He said that the decision would be reviewed in light of the findings of the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse.
Dr Croft said there were no legal grounds on which to deny for former archbishop’s request, adding: ‘There has never been any suggestion that he is himself a risk to children, young people or vulnerable adults.’
During a five-day hearing at the inquiry last week, partly focusing on how the church dealt with the Ball affair, Lord Carey and other bishops were accused of thwarting a police investigation in 1992 and 1993.
It follows the publication of an independent review by Dame Moira Gibb last year found that senior church figures including Lord Carey helped Ball avoid the full force of justice for decades.