The former Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, has had his permission to officiate (PTO) removed by the Diocese of Oxford. The cause, according to the diocese:
A planned independent review into the Church of England’s handling of allegations against the late John Smyth QC is currently underway. In the course of that review, new information has come to light regarding Lord Carey, which has been passed to the National Safeguarding Team for immediate attention.
The Church Times reports:
Smyth was accused of violent abuse of boys during his time in the 1970s and ’80s as chairman of the Iwerne Trust, now the Titus Trust, a charity running evangelistic camps for children (News, 10 February 2017).
The [Diocese of Oxford] statement read: “Lord Carey’s PTO was revoked by the Bishop of Oxford on Wednesday 17 June. Lord Carey is currently unauthorised to undertake any form of ministry in the diocese until further notice.
The full statement from the Diocese of Oxford is available here. It ends with notes for editors, including:
- In the wake of Dame Moira Gibb’s review, Lord Carey stood down from the role of Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of Oxford in June 2017, and withdrew from public ministry for a season. Lord Carey accepted the criticisms made of him at the time and apologised to the victims of Peter Ball.
- In February 2018 Lord Carey contacted the Diocese of Oxford to request PTO (permission to officiate). Following senior legal opinion, PTO was granted by the Bishop of Oxford later the same month to allow Lord Carey to undertake his priestly ministry at the church where he worships. The granting of PTO was conditional on no further concerns coming to light.
- As with all granting of PTO’s, Lord Carey was subject to a fresh DBS check and appropriate safeguarding training at the time.