Anglican Church dismisses abuse mishandling complaint against new leader

Church leaders have dismissed a complaint against Sarah Mullally, the incoming leader of the Church of England, which had accused her of mishandling an abuse allegation, the church confirmed Thursday.

The 63-year-old bishop of London will become the first woman to helm the mother church of the world’s Anglican communion on January 28, when she becomes archbishop of Canterbury.

Her predecessor Justin Welby resigned last year over his role in covering up a 1970s serial abuse case, the latest in a string of abuse allegations and safeguarding failures which have shaken the church.

In December, the Premier Christian News organisation reported that Mullally was the subject of a 2020 complaint made by a victim, referred to as “Survivor N”, over the mishandling an abuse case.

Survivor N said his abuse allegation against a priest was not properly investigated by the Diocese of London, which Mullally has led since 2018.

Premier also reported that when Survivor N initially made the accusation, Mullally sent a confidential email about the allegation directly to the priest concerned — violating safeguarding measures.

However, the office of the archbishop of York — the interim head of the Church of England — on Wednesday decided “not to take any further action” on the complaint filed against Mullally.

The survivor has two weeks to appeal the decision.

The complaint against the priest was still being looked at, the archbishop of York’s office, said Lambeth Palace, the London centre for the archbishop of Canterbury.

Lambeth Palace had earlier said that Mullally was not informed of the complaint when it was received in 2020, blaming “administrative errors”.

She has pledged to improve safety and “listen to survivors” in her new post.

AFP

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