A victim of an alleged sex abuser priest has called for the Archbishop of York to step down over his “insulting and upsetting” response to his handling of the case. The anonymous woman questioned the “moral compass” of Stephen Cottrell, the Church of England’s second most senior bishop, saying the Church “deserves better”.
Mr Cottrell is under increased pressure after new revelations that David Tudor was twice reappointed under him while he was serving as bishop of Chelmsford. Tudor was suspended from ministry for five years in 1988 having admitted, according to a tribunal document, having sex with a 16-year-old girl he met when she was a pupil at a school where he was chaplain.
He returned in 1994 until more abuse claims were made against him in 2019. Tudor was banned from ministry for life this year after admitting what the Church of England described as serious sexual abuse involving two girls aged 15 and 16. Mr Cottrell, who will become the Church’s most senior figure when Justin Welby steps down as Archbishop of Canterbury in January following criticism of his own handling of an abuse case, said he was “deeply sorry” that action was not taken earlier.
However, a victim of Tudor told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Monday: “It is quite clear that he knew a great deal and I find it really insulting and upsetting that he has just said ‘oh, well, I feel regret’, and I feel that he is backtracking considerably.
