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The Church of England is currently reviewing a complaint directed at the incoming Archbishop of Canterbury concerning her management of an abuse allegation. Dame Sarah Mullally, who is set to assume the position on January 28, has been accused of mishandling a complaint involving a priest during her tenure as Bishop of London.
According to church officials, the complaint was initially reported to Lambeth Palace—the residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury—in 2020. However, the matter was not pursued due to what has been described as “administrative errors and an incorrect assumption about the individual’s wishes.” At that time, Dame Sarah was not informed of the complaint against her. She has acknowledged that the victim was “let down” by the process.
In a statement, Dame Sarah said, “While his abuse allegations against a member of clergy were fully dealt with by the Diocese of London, it is clear that a different complaint he subsequently made against me personally in 2020 was not properly dealt with.” She added that she is seeking confirmation that improvements have been made to ensure complaints received by Lambeth Palace are addressed promptly and appropriately. The complainant himself spoke to the Premier Christian website recently, revealing that the mishandling of the case severely affected his mental health. Premier reported having evidence that when the complainant initially filed his case against the accused priest, Bishop Mullally directly contacted the priest involved, which violated the Church’s disciplinary protocols.
The complaint lodged against Dame Sarah was never formally addressed. Lambeth Palace officials have stated that they assumed the complainant no longer wished to take the issue further but apparently did not verify this with him. A Lambeth Palace spokesperson confirmed that the complainant, identified only as “N,” has been contacted with information about the forthcoming steps. The spokesperson further clarified, “The Bishop of London was unaware of the matter, as the process never reached the stage at which she would have been informed of the complaint or its contents.” The provincial registrar has issued an apology to those involved, and immediate plans are underway to have the complaint evaluated according to the appropriate statutory procedures.
Dame Sarah Mullally, who began her career as an NHS chief nurse before becoming a priest in 2006, made history as the first female Bishop of London in 2018, ranking third in clergy seniority within the Church of England. She was announced as the next Archbishop of Canterbury—the first woman to hold this post—in October, following the resignation of Justin Welby amid a safeguarding controversy. Welby stepped down after a scathing report revealed his failure to report known abuse by John Smyth, a prolific child abuser linked to the Church, which should have been flagged to the police in 2013. Welby’s final day was in January last year, leaving the Church without a permanent Archbishop for nearly a year. In the interim, the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, has assumed many of Welby’s duties.
Stephen Cottrell was also a voting member on the committee responsible for selecting Welby’s successor. However, he himself has faced criticism and calls to resign over his handling of a separate abuse case
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