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The Bishop of Liverpool, the Right Reverend Dr John Perumbalath, has announced his retirement from active ministry following allegations of sexual assault and harassment made against him by two women. The bishop emphasised that this decision was not a resignation occasioned by fault or any admission of liability. The bishop was accused of kissing and groping one woman without consent during separate occasions between 2019 and 2023 while he was the Bishop of Bradwell in Chelmsford. A female bishop also claimed she had been sexually harassed by him. The bishop had consistently denied the allegations.
Although the police concluded that no further action was needed, the Church of England had found no case to answer, and the allegations had been investigated and considered by the National Safeguarding Team and found to be unsubstantiated, calls for Bishop Perumbalath to step aside had been widespread after a Channel 4 News investigation aired. The bishop stated that there had been a “rush to judgment” and a “trial by media”. He also highlighted the potential long period of uncertainty that stepping aside and waiting for further reviews would mean for the diocese. Consequently, he said that he had made the decision to retire from active ministry “for my own wellbeing, my family and the best interests of the Diocese”.
Bishop Perumbalath was installed as Bishop of Liverpool in 2023. It is not yet clear when he will formally end his role. The Archbishop of York, who has faced his own calls to resign over separate alleged safeguarding failures, respected Bishop Perumbalath’s decision and thanked him for his ministry. The Archbishop also stated that he was committed to ensuring stability during the transition and that an acting bishop would be announced in the coming days.
The bishop’s resignation followed a letter from a group of diocesan leaders who called for Bishop Perumbalath to step aside, stating that his position was untenable. They wrote that the allegations against him should be “fully and properly” investigated since the Church of England’s own inquiries had fallen short. The letter was signed by clergy including Sue Jones, Dean of Liverpool, Pete Spiers, Archdeacon of Knowsley & Sefton and Miranda Threlfall-Holmes, Archdeacon of Liverpool
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