THE Bishop of Liverpool, Dr John Perumbalath, has resigned with immediate effect. He wrote to the clergy of the diocese on Thursday morning that, having sought permission from the King, he had taken the decision “to retire from active ministry in the Church of England”.
In the statement, Dr Perumbalath continued to deny the allegations made public on Channel 4 News on Tuesday evening (News online, 28 January). “I have consistently maintained that I have not done anything wrong, and I continue to do so.” He went on: “This is not a resignation occasioned by any fault or liability”; however, he did not want this story to be “a distraction for this incredible diocese and its people whom it has been an honour and joy to serve”.
Dr Perumbalath suggested that he had been subject to a “trial by media”, which had made his position untenable, owing to “the impact it will have on the Diocese of Liverpool and the wider church whilst we await further reviews and next steps”.
His senior colleagues in the diocese — who described Dr Perumbalath’s position as “untenable” last night — said in a statement: “We acknowledge his decision in taking this step for the good of the Diocese of Liverpool. This is a deeply painful situation, and we hold all concerned in our prayers.
“We will be liaising with the Archbishop of York in the coming days to establish interim episcopal oversight for the diocese. We continue working hard to support all those who have been affected by this story; and to support our clergy, congregations and staff as their ministry continues.”
In a statement, the Archbishop of York said: “I acknowledge the decision made by the Rt Revd Dr. John Perumbalath to resign from active ministry in the Church of England. I respect his decision and thank him for his ministry. My thoughts and prayers continue to be with all those who have been affected by this situation.”
Speaking to the Church Times, he said that Dr Perumbalath’s decision to resign was “the right thing to do”, and had come after some “difficult conversations”.
Archbishop Cottrell knows Dr Perumbalath personally and well: when he was Bishop of Chelmsford, he appointed Dr Perumbalath both Archdeacon of Barking and then Bishop of Bradwell. On Thursday, he emphasised that he had had “no concerns” and “no reason to have concerns” about Dr Perumbalath’s behaviour with women at the time.
“When I heard of the first allegation — which, just to be clear, was after he’d become the Bishop of Liverpool — I was very shocked,” he said. “And it’s been a painful and difficult case to deal with. I fully understand that the victims and survivors need to be given time to tell their story. As we speak, the first complainant has not made a formal complaint, which is their prerogative, but it does make it very difficult to act when those things don’t happen.”
There was “a gap between safeguarding practice, disciplinary practice, and what in most other organisations you’d think of as HR practice”, he said. “I’ve heard some people say recently that there are huge safeguarding challenges [in the Church of England], but there’s also a big HR challenge, and we don’t have the processes that can deal with these things adequately, transparently, with our current processes.”
He was, he said, “very committed” to renewing and changing those processes, some of which will come before the General Synod next month. “But my own personal view is that the complainant should make a formal complaint, and that that would be the right thing to do.”
The complainant in Chelmsford diocese has told the Church Times that she felt let down by Archbishop Cottrell: he recused himself from any involvement when her complaint came to light, because he knew both Dr Perumbalath and the woman herself.
“Obviously that pains me, because she’s somebody I know,” he said. “I felt that it was the right thing to do, for proper transparency and accountability, to pass the complaint on, which is what I’m bound and required to do: to pass it on to the NST and to others and not to be directly involved. I’m sorry that that’s what she feels. It is my practice always to reach out to victims and survivors, to offer to meet them. As this is somebody I know. I hope the day will soon come when that can happen.”
Channel 4 News reported that Dr Perumbalath “failed” the safeguarding part of the selection process as Bishop of Liverpool, and that Archbishop Cottrell overrode the committee, to push through his appointment. Neither of these claims is true, he says.
“First of all, it is the practice on every CNC that, before somebody is interviewed, there is an interview with the director of safeguarding. And it is actually a ‘pass/fail’ interview. So if you had failed the interview, if there was sufficient concern about your ability to oversee safeguarding, you wouldn’t be interviewed at all. As for overruling the CNC. . . I’m afraid that simply isn’t true. I don’t know why someone would suggest that. I chair the CNC in the Northern Province, but I’m one vote in a secret ballot. I think people will know from other CNC processes that the CNC has its own mind.”
In the light of the Bishop’s resignation, there would now need to be “proper interim arrangements” in the diocese of Liverpool, he said. An Acting Bishop would be put in place.
“Bishop John’s resignation is the right thing to do, and therefore helps move things forward. But there are still things which are unresolved. There may be things that we need to do to help and support [both complainants], and I will play my part in working towards a resolution.”