An “unreserved apology” by the Church of England to victims of child abuse

The Church of England has offered an “unreserved apology” to those who have suffered child abuse at the hands of their clergy. This apology came following a shocking report which addressed how the convicted paedophile Roy Cotton came to be ordained as a priest.

Cotton was convicted of indecent behaviour with a child in the 1950s whilst he was training to be a priest. Despite this, he was allowed to complete his training some 10 years later and was ordained as a priest in 1966. This meant that the church actively placed Cotton in a position of power and trust within the community, which in turn allowed him unsupervised access to children.

The Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham Paul Butler said, “It is a matter of great sorrow and deep regret for the church and we recognize the profound and damaging impact on all those affected.” He also said that the church is now confident that measures to protect children from abuse had been tightened up.

Unfortunately Bolt Burdon Kemp does not share Bishop Butler’s confidence that enough is being done to protect children from paedophiles within the church. As you can see from earlier blogs we have joined the campaign for a public enquiry into child abuse within the church in the hope that this will expose the full extent of the problem and protect children in the future.