A retired Church of England bishop is among two
clergymen arrested by police investigating historic allegations of child sex
abuse within the scandal-hit Diocese of Chichester.
Peter Ball, 80, was held at his home near Langport,
Somerset, on suspicion of eight sex offences against eight boys and young men
aged from 12 to their early 20s in East Sussex and elsewhere in the late 1980s
and 1990s, sources said. A second man, an unnamed 67-year-old retired priest,
was also detained at his home near Haywards Heath, West Sussex, on suspicion of
separate sex offences against two teenage boys in East Sussex between 1981 and
1983, Sussex Police said.
The arrests follow a review and subsequent inquiry
over the past six months by a team of Sussex Police detectives. The
investigation followed receipt by police in May this year from Lambeth Palace
of two reports from a CofE safeguarding consultant. They contained reviews of
Church files relating to safeguarding matters of young people in the Diocese of
Chichester during the 1980s and early 1990s. Officers described it as a
"very complex inquiry" during which many people, who are all now
adults, have had to be traced along with witnesses and records.
Police said there were no allegations of recent or
current offending, and there was no suggestion that any young people are at
risk. Officers also said the claims are being treated separately and do not involve
the two men allegedly acting together. The arrest of Mr Ball, a former Bishop
of Lewes who resigned as Bishop of Gloucester in 1993, and a second retired
clergyman comes after the CofE issued an "unreserved apology" earlier
this year for historic cases of child abuse by some of its clergy.
The Rt Rev Paul Butler, Bishop of Southwell and
Nottingham and chair of the Churches National Safeguarding Committee, said:
"The Church of England takes any allegations of abuse very seriously and
is committed to being a safe place for all. To this end we have robust
procedures and policies in place. But we can never be complacent. We would like
to urge any victims or those with information to feel free to come forward
knowing that they will be listened to in confidence."
The Bishop of Chichester, Martin Warner, said the
arrests followed an investigation in which the Diocese of Chichester had been
working closely with Sussex Police. He said: "We can confirm that the
retired bishop has had no ministry in Sussex for many years and no longer lives
in this area. The retired priest has had his Permission to Officiate
suspended."
Source: Yahoo News
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