DISCIPLINARY proceedings against the Bishop of Aberdeen & Orkney, the Rt Revd Anne Dyer, have been dropped, despite the fact that the Scottish Episcopal Church’s Procurator said that there had been a “realistic prospect of conviction”.
In a “note of reasons”, published on Tuesday evening, the Procurator, Paul Reid KC, wrote that proceeding with the prosecution was not in the general public interest. The allegations, he wrote, were of “bullying and the abuse of a position of trust and responsibility”.
The alleged behaviour “is claimed to have caused [the complainants] harm”, he said, and this was one factor “in favour of a prosecution being in the general public interest”.
The Procurator is formally independent of the Church, and is chargeable for deciding whether a case proceeds to tribunal.
Regarding the case against Bishop Dyer, Mr Reid wrote: “I remain of the view that there’s sufficient evidence to offer a practical prospect of conviction in respect of every allegation.”
Nevertheless, he weighed this against the effect that continuing the method may need on the complainants, for whom, he said, the prospect of giving evidence was a “source of tension”.
A complainant and potential witness, the Revd Professor David Atkinson, told the Church Times that an alleged victim whom he had been supporting had been prepared to offer evidence on the tribunal, after being reassured by Mr Reid that there have been “powerful protections in place” for complainants.
“The concept that justice shouldn’t be done because it would make a victim anxious is extraordinary. A horrifying range of several types of abuse could possibly be swept under the carpet on the identical basis,” he said.
A spokesman for the SEC said on Wednesday that pastoral support had been offered to complainants throughout the dispute.
In addition to concerns about those called to offer evidence, Mr Reid also cited “the length of time before the accusations would go to trial” as an additional reason that it will not be in the general public interest to proceed.
Bishop Dyer had been attributable to face a disciplinary tribunal in September (News, 24 May), but this had been postponed after she made an application for more time to arrange (News, 23 August).
Details of the allegations have never been made public, but a document shown to the Church Times show that certainly one of the costs that Bishop Dyer was attributable to face was that she “did bully, harass and discriminate against” a diocesan worker, who, it is known, has a disability, over a period of just about two years.
The charge said that this was “in breach of SEC safeguarding policies”, and included “conducting an improper and ultra vires review” of the worker’s role.
The worker was signed off work, the charge says; and, after the review in query, was made redundant throughout the first Covid lockdown, despite the Government’s furlough scheme.
In a press release circulated to journalists on Tuesday evening, Bishop Dyer said that “justice has been served,” and that “all allegations against me have finally been dismissed.”
Bishop Dyer said that her legal team “had full confidence that not one of the allegations would have withstood examination by a good and impartial tribunal”, and that she was “extremely pleased” that “after such an extended and trying time for everybody involved, this very unlucky episode has been delivered to a successful conclusion.”
The statement concludes: “I sincerely hope that those whose claims instigated this episode will now engage meaningfully in a technique of mediation to enable the Church to heal and concentrate on its wider mission. They will find me a ready and willing partner in that healing process.”
An announcement from the diocese says that Bishop Dyer will resume her duties within the diocese sooner or later. In her statement, she said that she was looking forward to resuming her duties “in the times and weeks ahead”.
In his note of reasons, Mr Reid reveals that, on 24 September, he gave Bishop Dyer, and the Church a sign of his intention to dismiss the accusations. This, he writes, was to “provide space for the Bishop and the Church to rearrange an orderly return to work”.
An announcement from the diocese, released on Tuesday evening, says that “all parties involved are being informed today of the Procurator’s decision.”
On Wednesday, a lay representative of the diocese of Aberdeen & Orkney on the Episcopal Church’s General Synod, and a complainant within the case, Dr Stephen Goodyear, said that complainants and alleged victims within the proceedings had not been given advance notice of Mr Reid’s decision.
He said that it was “profoundly concerning and makes a mockery of the Church’s disciplinary process” that the case was not being delivered to a tribunal.
The Primus, the Most Revd Mark Strange, said in a press release on Tuesday: “This has been an extended and difficult process for everybody involved, and I recognise that the consequence can be welcomed by some but will disappoint others.
“The College of Bishops calls on all within the Diocese of Aberdeen & Orkney, and the broader Church, to work together to attain reconciliation and healing as we glance to the longer term.”
A spokesman for Bishop Dyer said that she was not available for interview.
