An alleged abuse victim at the centre of a complaint against Sarah Mullally, the incoming archbishop of Canterbury, has said she is not fit for the job after the church dismissed his case.
The alleged victim, known as N, told the Guardian he would exercise his right of appeal against a decision on Thursday to take no further action against Mullally, whom he accused of colluding with his alleged abuse.
Mullally is due to take up the post on 28 January, after Justin Welby was forced to resign over the way he dealt with a safeguarding scandal.
N had accused Mullally of mishandling a complaint against a serving vicar in London, where she serves as bishop. On Thursday the archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, who was asked to review Mullally’s handling of the complaint, said he had decided to take no further action against her.
In response, N said: “She’s not fit to be archbishop. This represents a betrayal of the Christian gospel. British public conscience will understand that while the crown may have appointed Sarah Mullally and Stephen Cottrell, Jesus Christ gave them their P45 years ago. They should both step down.”
The decision to appoint Cottrell to assess the complaint prompted criticism within the church because he had faced calls to resign last year over his handling of a separate sexual abuse case when he was Bishop of Chelmsford – allegations against the priest David Tudor.
Critics have said Cottrell’s dismissal of the complaint does not put a stop to questions of trust and accountability in the church.
N said the abuse started in 2005 and 2006 when he alleged the vicar “groped my bum, put his hand between my legs” and asked him to perform a sexual act.
Mullally became bishop of London in 2018.
N claimed that after he made a formal complaint in 2019 about the alleged abuse, Mullally breached a church disciplinary code by sending a confidential email about the allegation to the priest concerned.
N said: “That resulted in the course of absolute horrific harassment that drove me to suicide attempts. And that constituted the basis for my next CDM [church disciplinary measure] complaint in March 2020 against Mullally.”
The diocese of London said proper processes had been followed and that there was no outstanding complaint against Mullally.
N claimed it was wrong for the diocese to suggest his complaint had been dealt with. He said he had made CDM complaints against Mullally and Cottrell that were still in process.
Officials at Lambeth Palace, the official London residence of the archbishop of Canterbury, said N’s complaint was not followed up because of “administrative errors and an incorrect assumption about the individual’s wishes”.
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