THE Bishop of Aberdeen & Orkney, the Rt Revd Anne Dyer, provided a reference for Venessa Pinto, a former member of the Church of England’s General Synod who who was prosecuted for stalking in her subsequent employment within the diocese of Leicester (News, 4 July), it was reported this week.
An article in The Sunday Times said that Ms Pinto was installed as a “pioneer evangelist”, funded by the Church Army, and personally licensed by Bishop Dyer.
The former Rector of St Devenick’s, Aberdeen, where Ms Pinto worked, the Revd Gerry Bowyer, told The Sunday Times that it “quickly became clear that Venessa was not suited to this sort of role”, and was “liable to outbursts of anger”.
Mr Bowyer made an official grievance about Ms Pinto, who in turn accused him of racism and bullying, the newspaper reported. The complaints led to 2 investigations, which didn’t uphold Ms Pinto’s allegations, and concluded that she had anger-management problems, but in addition that Mr Bowyer could have done more to support her.
Mr Bowyer said that he left his post within the Scottish Episcopal Church consequently of the stress that the episode caused. “I used to be exhausted, my wellbeing was suffering and I just didn’t have the emotional capability to hold on,” he said.
Of Bishop Dyer’s involvement, he said that there was “absolutely no way” that she “didn’t know what was happening”.
The Sunday Times quoted a “Church of England insider” as saying that Bishop Dyer “effectively vouched” for Ms Pinto when she applied for the job in Leicester.
Representatives for Bishop Dyer were approached for comment.
In May 2024, Ms Pinto pleaded guilty to stalking Jay Hulme, a churchwarden at St Nicholas’s, Leicester. She resigned from the General Synod along along with her elected position on the Crown Nominations Commission.
Bishop Dyer has herself been accused of bullying, but disciplinary proceedings against her were terminated last 12 months by the SEC’s Procurator, Paul Reid KC. In his ruling, nonetheless, Mr Reid wrote: “I remain of the view that there may be sufficient evidence to offer a practical prospect of conviction in respect of every allegation.” He opted to not proceed with the case, citing the harm that it’d cause to the alleged victims (News, 11 October 2024).
Bishop Dyer subsequently returned to work within the diocese, after being suspended for nearly two years.
