Icon (Close Menu)

Bell Investigation Dropped

Further police investigation of alleged child abuse by the Rt. Rev. George Bell, a former Bishop of Chichester (1929-58), has been dropped. Sussex Police sources said the investigation was “not possible as Bishop Bell died 60 years ago.”

It is understood that the police probe involved fresh accusations. The first accusation against Bell was made in 1995, 37 years after his death. The complaint to the Rt. Rev. Eric Kemp, Bishop of Chichester (1974-2001), was not passed on to police, and a second complaint was made in 2013 to the office of Archbishop Justin Welby.

The Diocese of Chichester revealed in September 2015 it had made a financial settlement with the alleged victim. This drew accusations that the church had “rushed to judgment” and a concerted campaign seeking to clear Bell’s name. A review of its handling of the case by Lord Carlile claimed there were shortcomings in the church’s processes.

Archbishop Welby has stuck to his guns on his stating that Bell had a “significant cloud … over his name” after the publication of the Carlile review. “I cannot with integrity rescind my statement made after the publication of Lord Carlile’s review into how the Church handled the Bishop Bell case,” Welby said.

The Diocese of Chichester had a long history of failures in child protection practice. A submission by the national church’s Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse Chichester (March 5-23) said Chichester had fallen far short of what was to be expected, and that the church could and should have done better at the time, and that it failed to protect children and respond properly to survivors.

John Martin

Matt Townsend
Matt Townsend
Matthew Townsend is the former news editor of The Living Church and former editor of the Anglican Journal. He lives in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

Top headlines. Every Friday.

MOST READ

CLASSIFIEDS

Most Recent

Abuse Scandal Prompts Archbishop’s Resignation

Archbishop Justin Welby's resignation comes five days after a long-awaited report on serial abuser John Smyth cast doubts on how Welby responded to that scandal.

N. African Bishop to Direct Anglican Centre in Rome

Bishop Anthony Ball: “Establishing friendships was core to the founding vision of the Anglican Centre in Rome, and is as vital today as it was nearly 60 years ago.”

Abp. Welby Resists Calls for his Resignation

A lengthy and grimly detailed report about the late John Smyth, whom Archbishop Justin Welby knew as a young man, has led to multiple calls for him to resign.

Parochial Report Data Says Pandemic Era Has Ended

The Rev. Molly James, interim executive officer of General Convention, celebrated a 10.69 percent increase in average Sunday attendance across the Episcopal Church, and said the church’s long-term membership decline showed signs of plateauing.