The Archbishop of York has dismissed a renewed version of a complaint brought against Archbishop of Canterbury-elect Sarah Mullally in a safeguarding case.
Archbishop Stephen Cottrell had announced just before Christmas that he would consider an updated witness statement from a man identified by the Church of England only as Survivor N.
Survivor N asked that the church accept witness statements from other individuals. Cottrell rejected this request, saying the additional statements did not relate to the specifics of Survivor N’s complaint.
“After having very carefully reviewed the matter, I have determined that no further action will be taken in respect of this complaint,” Cottrell said. “Accordingly, I am entirely satisfied that there is no misconduct.”
Survivor N told Premier it was a “blatant conflict of interest that Stephen Cottrell should judge a Clergy Discipline Measure complaint when he himself is the subject of a CDM complaint in the very same matter.”
Survivor N also told Premier that he has received a letter from the Diocese of London informing him that the allegations he made against a priest in the complaint will now be looked into. Premier said Bishop Jonathan Baker of Fulham will handle the matter, and it should be resolved within 28 days.
In 2020, Survivor N accused a priest in the Diocese of London of sexual abuse. The man has said the church’s weak response to his complaint drove him to a mental breakdown and two attempts at suicide.
Bishop Mullally was accused of circumventing any inquiry by sending email about the allegations directly to the accused priest. The church did not take the issue further because it was believed that Survivor N did not want to proceed with it.
Church Times reported that Survivor N is free to appeal Cottrell’s finding. “The complainant can, under Section 13(3) of the Measure, request this decision is independently reviewed by the President of Tribunals,” a representative of the Diocese of York said.
The Rev. Paul Williamson has launched a petition through Change.org asking Bishop Mullally to resign because of safeguarding failures. He aimed for receiving 200 signatures, but as of January 9 the petition has drawn 113 verified signatures.
Williamson’s petition centers on the Rev. Alan Griffin, who committed suicide in August 2020 “after a prolonged period of suffering, resulting from the false allegations of a sexual nature, and the Safeguarding Failures, Breach of GDPR revealing his medical HIV condition with two attempts at suicide, and the lack of proper pastoral care and professional response from Bishop Sarah Mullally.”
Williamson, a retired Anglo-Catholic priest, has a long history of filing controversial lawsuits against modernizing changes in the Church of England, including the ordination of women, the marriage of the current King and Queen, and the church’s compulsory retirement age.
Bishop Mullally will legally become the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury on January 26 at St. Paul’s Cathedral. Her enthronement is scheduled for March at Canterbury Cathedral.
