Two Church of England dioceses have been given official warnings by the Charity Commission over their “mismanagement” of safeguarding complaints against the former Bishop of Liverpool.
It is the first time the charity regulator has taken such action against the Church at either a national or diocese level.
Former bishop John Perumbalath resigned at the end of January last year after media reporting about accusations from two women, one of whom was a fellow bishop. He has continued to deny the allegations.
The Commission found there had been a “failure to properly handle” the allegations and maintain “appropriate oversight of safeguarding”.
The first woman had accused the bishop of kissing her without consent and groping her in Chelmsford, Essex, where he was Bishop of Bradwell, on separate occasions between 2019 and 2023.
A female bishop also said she was sexually harassed by him when he was Bishop of Liverpool.
The Charity Commission investigated the Liverpool Diocesan Board of Finance and the Chelmsford Diocesan Board of Finance, and has issued official warning to both.
It found that a “lack of appropriate procedures and processes” meant that proper action was not taken and said failings in handling allegations amounted to mismanagement.
The boards of finance, which exist to assist and promote the work of the Church of England and the dioceses, are registered charities.
Commission chief executive David Holdsworth said: “Trustees must be able to effectively challenge the behaviour of powerful individuals, including where that power derives from spiritual leadership.”
In a statement, the Liverpool Diocesan Board of Finance apologised for the errors identified by the Commission.
“We accept the commission’s findings and apologise for the shortcomings identified,” its chair of trustees said.
“We have already made changes to strengthen reporting and governance processes, and we commit to ongoing learning, accountability and continuous improvement”.
But the Bishop of Chelmsford the Right Reverend Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani and the Chelmsford diocesan safeguarding officer Amanda Knight said they “respectfully disagree” with some of the Commission’s conclusions.
In a joint statement, they said: “We take safeguarding in the Diocese of Chelmsford extremely seriously and our response to this complex case involving a former bishop in the diocese was robust and survivor-led”.
They added that they were “committed to working with the regulator to improve our procedures” and many of the recommendations have already been or are in the process of being enacted.
Late last year the Charity Commission issued a statement saying the Church of England nationally needed to work faster to implement the changes it had promised to make the Church a safer place.
