The Bishop of Warrington, Bev Mason, has revealed that she was the feminine bishop who made a criticism of sexual harassment in opposition to the Bishop of Liverpool, Dr John Perumbalath, who resigned this week.
Dr Perumbalath resigned on Thursday after being accused of sexual misconduct by Bishop Mason and a girl within the Diocese of Chelmsford. He has denied the allegations.
In a pastoral letter to the Diocese of Liverpool on Thursday, Bishop Mason mentioned that in March 2023 whereas she performing Bishop of Liverpool, she raised “vital issues” about Dr Perumbalath, together with her personal disclosure, after being suggested of a separate criticism raised in opposition to him.
She mentioned she had spent the time since then pursuing “correct and applicable ecclesiastical judicial course of” however felt that the Church has nonetheless not “correctly and satisfactorily addressed issues which were raised”.
“A bishop can’t be above the regulation. A bishop can’t be handled in a different way from a priest. If something, a bishop should be held to higher scrutiny. This can be a biblical crucial,” she mentioned.
She went on to name for change within the Church of England.
“My prayer is that now issues have been introduced into the sunshine, there will likely be no extra defendedness however an sincere scrutiny of what we’re doing, how we’re doing it, the place the gaps sit and the way we tackle them,” she mentioned.
She added, “This, I hope and pray, will likely be a kairos second for the church – a time of honesty, humility, repentance, unity, hope and blessing – a time once we can tear down the idols which have disoriented us and lift up once more the incarnate God, who was crucified, is glorified and who’s the Lord of the Church – the Lord of all.”
Dr Perumbalath denied the allegations in a letter asserting he had taken the choice to retire so as to cease the allegations turning into a “distraction”.
“Earlier this week I used to be approached by Channel 4 Information, who knowledgeable me they’d be broadcasting a narrative containing allegations of inappropriate behaviour by me in opposition to two totally different ladies,” he mentioned.
“Since these allegations have been made, I’ve persistently maintained that I’ve not completed something improper and proceed to take action. For the reason that claims have been made in 2023, they’ve been investigated and thought of by consultants from the Nationwide Safeguarding Crew and had discovered them unsubstantiated.
“The primary allegation was additionally investigated by the police, leading to no additional motion. Regardless of this, media stories have handled me as responsible on all fees and handled these allegations as reality.”
He added: “This rush to judgement and my trial by media (be that social or broadcast) has made my place untenable because of the influence it would have on the Diocese of Liverpool and the broader Church while we await additional evaluations and subsequent steps.”
The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, has come below strain to resign over claims he tried to affect members of the Crown Nominations Fee (CNC) into approving Dr Perumbalath because the Bishop of Liverpool regardless of issues about him. Archbishop Cottrell has denied the claims.
