Archbishop of York faces calls to resign

There are calls for the Archbishop of York to resign - following reports of his handling of a sexual abuse case.

Stephen Cottrell is due to take temporary charge of the Church of England in the New Year, when current Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby stands down.

The reports regard Mr Cottrell when he was in his former role as Bishop of Chelmsford.

It's claimed he let a priest keep his job in 2010 - despite knowing he'd been barred from being alone with children.

A spokesperson for Mr Cottrell said it had been a "highly unsatisfactory and problematic case".

They said Mr Cottrell had been in "an invidious situation (he) lived with every day that he was Bishop of Chelmsford until he was able to take action in 2019" in suspending the priest "following new information".

The priest was banned for life by the Church of England in October - after admitting historical sex abuse allegations.

In a statement - the church said;

"Safeguarding decisions and all appointments today are subject to very clear guidance issued by the House of Bishops, which was not in place at the 1990s.

"It is currently being strengthened further. This involves a clear process, both around safer recruitment and in assessing risk, even when no further action is taken by statutory services, to ensure the Church is a safe place for all.

"The current Bishops of Chelmsford and Southwark have apologised for the hurt and harm caused by his offences and an independent Safeguarding Practice Review will now take place to ensure lessons are learnt from this case.

"Support continues to be offered to the survivors and those affected by this case."

Mr Welby announced last month he would resign, after initially declining to do so, in the wake of the Makin report, which concluded John Smyth - the most prolific serial abuser to be associated with the Church - might have been brought to justice had Mr Welby formally reported him to police in 2013.

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