George Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, resigned from his post in the Church of England as honorary assistant bishop in the diocese of Oxford in late June, over a report that criticised him for failing to take action against a bishop accused of abuse.
This followed an intervention by the current Archbishop, Justin Welby, who asked him to ‘consider his position’.
An independent report by Dame Moira Gibb found that church leaders had mishandled allegations of sexual abuse by Bishop Peter Ball by failing to offer his victims adequate support and by concealing evidence of his wrongdoing.
Lord Carey held the most senior role in the Church of England in 1993, when Ball's abuse of a young man, Neil Todd, initially came to light. Mr Todd killed himself in 2012.
Six letters
Ball accepted a caution for gross indecency in 1993. The Gibb Report found that Lord Carey was aware of six letters sent by members of the public making further allegations, but did not pass them on to police. He also wrote a letter to Ball’s twin brother, Bishop Michael Ball, following Ball’s caution, saying he believed he was ‘basically innocent’.
Peter Ball was convicted of misconduct in public office and indecent assault in 2015, after he admitted sexually abusing boys and young men.
He was released from prison in February this year.
Apology
Lord Carey said in a statement: ‘I accept the criticisms made of me. I apologise to the victims of Peter Ball. I believed Peter Ball’s protestations and gave too little credence to the vulnerable young men and boys behind those allegations. I regret that after Peter Ball was cautioned I did not place his name on the Lambeth list.’
