WARNING, DISTRESSING CONTENT: Anthony Pierce admitted 5 counts of indecent assault towards a male underneath 16, offences dedicated whereas he was a parish priest
Former bishop Anthony Pierce who has been jailed (Picture: PA)
A former bishop was elevated to senior positions inside the Church in Wales regardless of identified allegations of sexual abuse towards him, an impartial overview has concluded. Anthony Pierce, 85, who served as Bishop of Swansea and Brecon from 1999 to 2008, was imprisoned final yr for sexually abusing a boy. He admitted 5 counts of indecent assault towards a male underneath 16, offences dedicated whereas he was a parish priest in Swansea in the course of the Nineteen Eighties.
The Church in Wales commissioned a overview into Pierce and the dealing with of issues about him. It discovered senior clergy have been conscious of sexual abuse allegations when he was appointed Archdeacon of Gower in 1995 and later Bishop of Swansea and Brecon in 1999. The claims, mentioned to narrate to an incident round 1990 involving a teenage boy, weren’t reported to police till 2010. By then, the sufferer had died, and officers took no additional motion.
Report writer Gabrielle Higgins mentioned: “Numerous people inside the Church in Wales knew of safeguarding issues about Pierce on 4 events between 1993 and 2016.”
Gabrielle Higgins wrote: “At no level did anybody know what it was alleged Pierce had carried out, merely that it was sexual and concerned a boy variously described as 15 or 16 years previous.”
4 Archbishops of Wales, together with Dr Rowan Williams, later Archbishop of Canterbury, have been referenced. The report mentioned that, when he grew to become Archbishop of Wales in 1999, Dr Williams was handed a 30-page handwritten doc ready by a good friend of Pierce and containing an “obvious admission of a prison offence,” however he didn’t learn it.
Ms Higgins mentioned: “Though he had beforehand been advised some form of allegation existed, he didn’t perceive it to be a authorized or prison matter and there was no indication he was knowledgeable it concerned a baby.”
“I don’t think about it unreasonable that he didn’t learn the prolonged handwritten doc, given the dearth of briefing and the restricted info that may have stood out at a look.”
Former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams (Picture: Getty)
Responding to the findings, the present Archbishop of Wales, the Rt Revd Cherry Vann, apologised to these “failed by the Church up to now”.
The Rt Revd Cherry Vann mentioned: “The overview laid naked missed alternatives, flawed assumptions and insufficient processes that formed the Church’s response to abuse allegations for too lengthy. This catalogue of failures can solely be a supply of disgrace for the Church and can have prompted additional trauma to abuse victims and their households.”
Whereas safeguarding procedures had improved considerably for the reason that interval examined, she mentioned there was no room for complacency and pledged to totally implement the report’s suggestions.
The day’s largest headlines in UK and World information Subscribe Invalid electronic mail
We use your sign-up to supply content material in methods you’ve got consented to and to enhance our understanding of you. This may increasingly embrace adverts from us and third events primarily based on our understanding. You possibly can unsubscribe at any time. Learn our Privateness Coverage
The Bishop of Swansea and Brecon, the Rt Revd John Lomas, mentioned: “The trauma suffered by victims was compounded by institutional failings and breaches of belief. Whereas previous wrongs couldn’t be undone, the Church hoped publication of the overview and dedication to reform would assist restore confidence.”
Since his imprisonment, Pierce has been faraway from holy orders and is not permitted to function a priest.
Leave a Reply