A DISCIPLINARY process against the Bishop of London and Archbishop of Canterbury-elect, the Rt Revd Sarah Mullally, has been dropped, after the Archbishop of York determined to take no further motion. It is open to the complainant to appeal to the President of Tribunals, Sir Stephen Males.
The grievance pertains to the alleged mishandling of a safeguarding grievance against a priest within the diocese of London. The translation to Canterbury of Bishop Mullally, who has held her present appointment since 2018, is as a result of take effect on 28 January with a ceremony in St Paul’s for the legal confirmation of her election.
Shortly before Christmas, Archbishop Cottrell accepted an updated witness statement from the complainant, Survivor N, within the Clergy Discipline Measure (CDM) process (News, 31 December).
Archbishop Cottrell, nevertheless, rejected the complainant’s request to incorporate further witness statements from other individuals, on the premise that they didn’t relate to specifics of the grievance. He also explained that the legal structure of the CDM meant that he couldn’t accede to Survivor N’s request for the case to be delegated immediately to the President of Tribunals.
On Thursday, a spokesperson for the Archbishop of York said that the determination had been made the day before, and that the Archbishop had decided “to not take any further motion”. “The complainant can under Section 13(3) of the Measure request this decision is independently reviewed by the President of Tribunals.”
On the identical day, Premier Christian News reported that a CDM case had been reopened against the priest against whom the unique grievance was made.
An statement from Bishop Mullally last month said that the allegations had been “fully handled” after they were made in 2020 (News, 11 December).
