97-517: Peter Ball may refer to: Peter Ball (bishop) (1932–2019), former Bishop of Lewes and of Gloucester and convicted sex offender Peter Ball (physician) (died 1675), English physician Peter Eugene Ball (born 1943), English sculptor Peter Ball (barrister) (died 1680), English lawyer, courtier, and member of parliament Peter William Ball (born 1932), English-born botanist, plant collector, and plant taxonomist [REDACTED] Topics referred to by
194-520: A Master of Arts (MA) degree in 1958. He entered Wells Theological College in 1954 and received two years of training in preparation for ordination. Ball was ordained in the Church of England : made a deacon on Trinity Sunday 1956 (27 May) and ordained a priest the Trinity following (16 June 1957), both times by George Bell , Bishop of Chichester , at Chichester Cathedral . He began his ministry as
291-603: A curate in Rottingdean . He then received basic monastic training at Kelham Theological College . In 1960 he and his identical twin brother, Michael , founded a monastic community, the Community of the Glorious Ascension (CGA), of which he was prior until his ordination to the episcopate . This brought many young boys who were novice monks into his care over the years. Whilst prior of CGA, he combined his duties as
388-511: A "superficial" understanding of the Holocaust , which was not a major concern for him. A supporter of Protestant ecumenism, Bell hoped after the war for a Europe united by common Christian values. Bell saw the Soviet Union as the principal enemy of Europe, which for him was an "Asian" nation that was not part of the "European family", calling for an Anglo-German alliance to be the cornerstone of
485-543: A better Archbishop of Canterbury than Fisher. Bell was opposed to the Nazi regime, but subscribed to an understanding of National Socialism that saw the Nazi regime as a freakish aberration from the norms of Western civilization, such that the traditional elites could not have been in any way involved in Nazi crimes. Hence when in 1949 the British government brought Field Marshal Erich von Manstein to trial for war crimes committed on
582-562: A bombing strategy. On 14 February 1943 – two years ahead of the Dresden raids – he urged the House of Lords to resist the War Cabinet's decision for area bombing, stating that it called into question all the humane and democratic values for which Britain had gone to war. In 1944, during debate, he again demanded the House of Lords to stop British area bombing of German cities such as Hamburg and Berlin as
679-544: A complaint was made to the then Bishop of Chichester, Eric Kemp , alleging that Bell had sexually abused a girl during the 1940s and 1950s. The complaint was not passed on to police until a second complaint was made to the office of Justin Welby , the Archbishop of Canterbury, in 2013, 18 years after the first complaint had been made and 55 years after Bell's death. This was a time of intense public concern over sexual abuse within
776-544: A condition of being ordained. There are allegations of serious corruption and cover-ups within the Church of England regarding Ball's abuse. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby , ordered an independent review of the way the Church of England dealt with Ball's case, but the Minister and Clergy Sexual Abuse Survivors group and Keith Porteous Wood were unsure if the investigation would be sufficiently far-reaching. Wood accused
873-576: A contentious decision by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). He was released on licence in February 2017 and died two years later. Ball was born on 14 February 1932. He was educated at Lancing College , a public school in Lancing, West Sussex . He then studied at Queens' College, Cambridge , and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1954; as per convention, his BA was promoted to
970-400: A disproportionate and illegal "policy of annihilation" and a crime against humanity , asking: How can the War Cabinet fail to see that this progressive devastation of cities is threatening the roots of civilization? He did not have the support of senior bishops. The Archbishop of York replied to him in the House of Lords: "it is a lesser evil to bomb the war-loving Germans than to sacrifice
1067-399: A former Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, of encouraging the cover-up and Carey has been quoted stating: I was worried that if any other allegations of past indecency were made it [criminal action against Ball] would reignite. I wanted some reassurance that this would not be the case. ... I was so troubled, that evening after dinner I went to my study. ... I was supplied with a number of
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#17328558775541164-464: A further 2,000 letters of support. The Reverend Graham Sawyer, an abuse victim, wants a full investigation and blames corrupt elements in the British establishment . Sawyer believes that the establishment is still too strong and its links with the church should be investigated. Phil Johnson, who claims Ball abused him when he was 13 years old, said it looked like a deal was done between the Church of England,
1261-481: A hearing starting on 23 July 2018. Charles, who had been in correspondence with Ball, indicated his willingness to assist. William Chapman, a barrister representing some of the survivors, said, “The story of Peter Ball is the story of the establishment at work in modern times. It is the story of how the establishment minimised the nature of Peter Ball’s misdeeds … and silenced and harassed those who tried to complain.... [Ball had the] willing assistance of members of
1358-745: A leader in the Ecumenical Movement and from 1938 as Lord Spiritual to influence public opinion in Britain and the Nazi authorities in Berlin, and back those persecuted by the Nazi regime. His public support is said to have contributed to Pastor Martin Niemöller 's survival by making his imprisonment in Sachsenhausen in February 1938 (and later in Dachau ) widely known in the British press and branded as an example of
1455-489: A man at the CPS I believed to be a director. I do not recall his name. ... I rang him and asked what might happen if allegations from the past were made. ... I was told quite categorically that the other allegations would not be taken further as far as we are concerned. Wood commended Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, for initiating the inquiry. The Guardian 's crime correspondent, Sandra Laville, also wrote that Carey knew of
1552-525: A member of a religious order with several other pastoral roles, including three years as vicar of the Church of the Holy Angels, Hoar Cross , in Staffordshire . Ball was suffragan Bishop of Lewes from 1977 to 1992. He was ordained a bishop on 18 October 1977, by Donald Coggan , Archbishop of Canterbury , at St Paul's Cathedral . Official inquiries into prolonged failure to prevent child abuse in
1649-552: A post-war Europe. Bell was also one of the first British bishops to protest against the inhumane treatment of approximately 14 million Silesian , Pomeranian , East Prussian and Sudeten Germans expelled from their homes in Eastern Europe. Around 15 August 1945, he signed an open letter of protest in The Spectator , and signed another protest to a London daily newspaper on 12 September that year alongside Bertrand Russell ,
1746-527: A priest in the Chichester diocese died in 2006 but allegations of abuse by him emerged shortly thereafter. In 2018, Pritchard, who had by then changed his name to Ifor Whittaker, was convicted of further sexual abuse that was carried out in collaboration with Cotton. In 2010, the past cases review was published. In 2011, the Diocese of Chichester asked Baroness Butler-Sloss to conduct an independent review of
1843-471: A process which would also give proper consideration to the rights of the bishop." The report also found that the available evidence did not suggest there would have been "a realistic prospect of conviction" in court, the standard that prosecutors in England and Wales use in deciding whether to pursue a case. The Church of England released a statement with the report, in which it apologized to Bell's relatives for
1940-560: A public declaration that the British would make a distinction between the Nazi regime and German people, so as the conspirators would be able to negotiate an armistice if they were successful. Yet after a month-long silence, Bell received a rough rebuttal, for the allies had concluded at the Casablanca conference to wage war until the unconditional surrender of Germany and to initiate area bombing. Such moves made Bell unpopular in some quarters. Noël Coward 's 1943 song " Don't Let's Be Beastly to
2037-452: A statement saying it had passed 'fresh information' on to Sussex Police that it had recently received concerning Bishop Bell. In April 2018 Sussex Police stated that a proportionate investigation had been carried out to clarify the circumstances. As there were no safeguarding issues and Bell had been dead for sixty years the matter was now closed as far as the Police are concerned. In March 2018,
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#17328558775542134-405: Is credible, given what they must have known or could easily have found out about Peter Ball, whether they were really as ignorant as they claimed they were about the nature of Peter Ball’s activities. Some claimed they did not know what a caution meant. Well, Prince Charles has many advisers; he only had to ask. So does the archbishop of Canterbury.” Chapman added that Ball's friends worked against
2231-462: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Peter Ball (bishop) Peter Ball CGA (14 February 1932 – 21 June 2019) was a British bishop in the Church of England and convicted sex offender . In 1960 he and his twin brother ( Michael Ball ) established a monastic community , the Community of the Glorious Ascension , through which Ball came into contact with many boys and young men. He
2328-497: Is inexcusable and shocking behaviour". A former vicar , Vickery House, was convicted in October 2015 and was sentenced to serve 6½ years in prison for sex assaults against men and a boy. House worked in the same diocese as Ball. House and Ball collaborated running a "Give a Year For Christ" scheme and both men abused three of the same victims during the scheme. If Ball had not pleaded guilty both men would have been tried together. There
2425-703: The Confessing Church in Germany. In April 1933 he publicly expressed the international church's worries over the beginnings of the Nazis' antisemitic campaign in Germany, and in September that year carried a resolution protesting against the " Aryan paragraph " and its acceptance by parts of the German Evangelical Church (Deutsche Evangelische Kirche, or DEK). In November 1933 he first met Dietrich Bonhoeffer , who
2522-622: The Diocese of Chichester , of which Lewes is part, brought up allegations against Ball, of which he was later convicted. After having been translated to the see of Gloucester in 1992, Ball resigned from his position as Bishop of Gloucester in 1993 after admitting to an act of gross indecency with a 19-year-old man and accepting a formal police caution for it. In 1993, Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) lawyers said that "sufficient admissible, substantial and reliable evidence" existed that Ball had committed indecent assault and gross indecency. At
2619-632: The Great Depression . He also took part in the meetings of the National Union of Public Employees , where he was welcomed as "brother Bell". From 1932 to 1934 he was the president of "Life and Work" at the ecumenical council in Geneva, at whose Berlin conference at the start of February 1933 he witnessed the Nazis' seizure of power at first hand. After 1933, Bell became the most important international ally of
2716-496: The House of Commons . Even as early as 1939, he stated that the church should not be allowed to become simply a spiritual help to the state, but instead should be an advocate of peaceful international relations and make a stand against expulsion, enslavement and the destruction of morality. It should not be allowed to abandon these principles, ever ready to criticise retaliatory attacks or the bombing of civilian populations. He also urged
2813-597: The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse began examining the handling of allegations of sexual abuse in the diocese of Chichester, including this matter, which it said would unfold over two years. In January 2019 the Church's National Safeguarding Team announced that new allegations by a "range of people", following publication of the Carlile Report, had been reviewed by ecclesiastical lawyer Timothy Briden whose terms of reference did not permit him to investigate
2910-507: The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse includes investigation of the Church of England, and specifically of the Ball case and other cases in the Diocese of Chichester . An independent review in 2017 found that the church's hierarchy, notably The Baron Carey of Clifton , a former Archbishop of Canterbury , colluded in concealing abuse by Ball over a 20-year period. Archbishop Carey had seven letters from individuals and relatives after Ball
3007-404: The 1990s. Michael Ball has said that those attending such occasions had been informed of the substitution, but the report An Abuse of Faith (sections 4.3.5-4.3.8) found cases where those attending were not informed, adding "we have received no evidence to corroborate the assertion that anyone was ever advised that Peter Ball was attending an event in the place of his brother". In early 2016, it
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3104-472: The British government as having made this failure a foregone conclusion, and reproached Eden for not sending help to the plotters in time despite having full knowledge of the plot. In 1944 the Archbishop of Canterbury , William Temple , died after only two years in the post. Bell was considered a leading possibility to succeed him, but it was Geoffrey Fisher , Bishop of London , who was appointed. Bishops of
3201-595: The British publisher Victor Gollancz and others. In the 1950s Bell opposed the atomic arms race and supported many Christian initiatives of the time opposed to the Cold War . In the last years of his life, he became acquainted with Giovanni Montini in Milan through his ecumenical contacts, who in 1963 became Pope Paul VI and brought the Second Vatican Council to its conclusion. In 1995, 37 years after Bell's death,
3298-621: The Chief Crown Prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service South East, announced that based on review of evidence gathered by Sussex Police, they would seek to prosecute Ball on three charges relating to the time when he served as a bishop: On 8 September 2015, Ball pleaded guilty to two counts of indecent assault and one of misconduct in a public office. His trial began on 5 October 2015. Two charges of indecently assaulting two boys in their early teens, perhaps
3395-565: The Church of England and especially in Chichester Diocese . In September 2015 the diocese paid compensation to the woman and Martin Warner , the Bishop of Chichester, issued a formal apology to her the following month. This led to a major controversy, as people who respected Bell's legacy found the claims to be incredible, and found the Church's apparent acceptance of them to be unjust. Due to
3492-518: The Church of England at the time were chosen, ultimately, by the British prime minister and it is known that Winston Churchill strongly disapproved of Bell's speeches against bombing. It has been asserted that Bell would otherwise have been appointed, but this is debatable; there is evidence that Temple had thought Fisher a likely successor anyway. Bell's high posthumous reputation may have coloured later opinion. For example, Archbishop Rowan Williams said in 2008 that he thought Bell would have made
3589-467: The Church of England held about Ball but investigations started only in 2012. Martin Warner , Bishop of Chichester , said he would call the above a cover up and, "in terms of our practice today, that would immediately be the trigger for disciplinary action." On 23 February 2016, the BBC published information about documents they discovered suggesting Ball's defence team tried during the 1990s to negotiate with
3686-636: The Church of England, which was carried out starting in 2008. The Diocese of Chichester and the Sussex Police also began investigating long-standing allegations of sexual abuse in East Sussex . In 2008, Colin Pritchard, a vicar in Bexhill-on-Sea , was convicted of sexually abusing two boys; The Guardian described it as the "breakthrough case" for dealing with sexual abuse in the diocese. Roy Cotton,
3783-532: The Church of England. In 1910 Bell returned to Christ Church, Oxford, as a student minister and as lecturer in Classics and English, 1910–14; he was a Student (Fellow), 1911–14. Here too he was socially engaged, as one of the founders of a cooperative for students and university members and sitting on the board of settlements and worker-development through the Workers' Educational Association (WEA). Bell's early career
3880-626: The Church of England] has been slow and continuing, faster improvement is still required". Archbishop Welby of Canterbury said that the church "colluded and concealed" instead of trying to help "those brave enough to come forward", and asked Lord Carey of Clifton to step down from his role assisting the Bishop of Oxford. Rowan Williams was also criticised. Abuse survivor Graham Sawyer said the church treated him and others with contempt. He said, "The church continues to use highly aggressive legal firms to bully, frighten and discredit victims ... In my own case, I continue to endure cruel and sadistic treatment by
3977-472: The Confessing Church – it proclaimed that Christian belief and National Socialism were incompatible, and condemned pro-Nazi German Christianity as "false teaching", or heresy . Bell reported on 6 June to a gathering of the bishops of the Church of England and clarified the difference between confessing and rejecting, and the separation between a lawful and an illegitimate calling on Jesus Christ. This
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4074-569: The Diocese of Chichester and Sussex Police on a complex enquiry with full information sharing. We pay tribute to those detectives whose work on this case over the past three years has led to this conviction and sentencing. The review ordered by Welby produced its report, An Abuse of Faith , on 22 June 2017, which found that senior figures in the Church of England had colluded over twenty years with Ball—Welby said it made harrowing reading, adding "The church colluded and concealed rather than seeking to help those who were brave enough to come forward. This
4171-474: The Director of Public Prosecutions and the CPS, and said, "I think there was great effort made to avoid bad publicity and to avoid the embarrassment of trying a bishop in public." David Greenwood, a solicitor acting for some victims, said that "With more power comes the ability to work in a culture where you feel that you can get away with it. It seems Peter Ball has been able to do that." Keith Porteous Wood ,
4268-469: The Eastern Front, Bell emerged as one of Manstein's leading champions, stating that it was self-evident that a German Army officer like Manstein could not possibly be a war criminal. For Bell, bringing to trial members of traditional elites in Germany like members of the officer corps and diplomatic corps was morally wrong as Bell simply could not accept that these men had been involved in Nazi crimes. Bell
4365-452: The European churches to remain critical of their own countries' ways of waging war. In November 1939 he published an article stating that the Church in wartime should not hesitate to condemn the infliction of reprisals, or the bombing of civilian populations, by the military forces of its own nation. It should set itself against the propaganda of lies and hatred. It should be ready to encourage
4462-596: The Germans ", which expressed hostility to any distinction between the Germans and the Nazis, commented "We might send [the Germans] out some Bishops as a form of lease and lend ". After the failure of the first attempt on Hitler's life and the arrest of some of the conspirators, Bell in vain tried to bring about a change in government attitudes to the German resistance. When the final failure came on 20 July 1944, Bell harshly criticised
4559-821: The Goßner missions in Chota Nagpur in India, after the missions' German missionaries had been interned. Until the end of the First World War, he also worked for the Order of Saint John , a supra-confessional group working to help those orphaned by the war and – together with the Swedish Lutheran archbishop Nathan Söderblom , one of his closest lifelong friends – for the exchange of prisoners of war. In this work, he came to see internal Protestant divisions as more and more insignificant. After
4656-761: The Island and later a canon at Norwich Cathedral ). His sister Margorie married Cecil Wood , Bishop of Melanesia (1912-19). He was elected as a Queen's Scholar at Westminster School in 1896. From there he was elected to a scholarship at Christ Church, Oxford , where he gained a First in Classical Moderations in 1903 and a Second in Literae Humaniores ('Greats') in 1905. He won the Newdigate Prize for English verse in 1904 for his poem, 'Delphi'. After Oxford he attended Wells Theological College , where he
4753-481: The Nazi regime's persecution of the church. Thus Hitler backed off from Niemöller's planned execution in 1938. In winter 1938/39 he helped 90 persons, mainly pastors' families (e.g. Hans Ehrenberg from the Christuskirche at Bochum ), to emigrate from Germany to Great Britain who were in danger from the regime and the 'official' church because they had Jewish ancestors or were opponents of the Nazi regime. During
4850-715: The Terms of Reference should ring alarm bells about the seriousness of its intentions to look at them with the requisite priority. Maintaining the refusal means the principal witness Graham Sawyer, and perhaps others, will not give evidence and this further undermines the validity of the Review. At least he will be able to give his evidence to the Independent (Goddard) Inquiry set up by the Government. Gibb published her report in June 2017. The remit of
4947-485: The allegations (not the truth of the allegations themselves) and in November it announced that Lord Carlile QC would be the reviewer. Carlile submitted his report to the Church of England in mid-October and on 15 December 2017 the church published it. Carlile found that "there was a rush to judgment: The church, feeling it should be both supportive of the complainant and transparent in its dealings, failed to engage in
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#17328558775545044-635: The church and the arts. This included supporting the creation of murals by the German refugee and artist Hans Feibusch at St Elisabeth's Eastbourne and Bloomsbury Group members Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant at Berwick, East Sussex . During the Second World War, Bell repeatedly condemned the Allied practice of area bombing . As a member of the House of Lords , he was a consistent parliamentary critic of area bombing along with Richard Stokes and Alfred Salter , Labour Party Members of Parliament in
5141-497: The concentration camps. In 1936 Bell received the chair of the International Christian Committee for German Refugees, and in that role he especially supported Jewish Christians, who at that time were supported by neither Jewish nor Christian organizations. In order to help them to emigrate, he dispatched his sister-in-law Laura Livingstone to Berlin and Hamburg and occasionally let exiles live in his own home. In
5238-461: The controversy, in February 2016 the woman spoke publicly for the first time under the pseudonym "Carol", in an interview with the Brighton Argus , saying that she was sexually abused from the age of five until her family moved away when she was nine. In June 2016 the Church of England announced that it would hold an independent review of the procedure used to investigate the church's handling of
5335-493: The cover-up. Ruth Gledhill , writing in Christian Today , said that Carey intervened personally over the matter. Carey insists he only contacted the CPS after Ball had been cautioned. Abuse survivor Graham Sawyer, who alleges decades of pressure from the Church of England to silence him, believes that the church should no longer police itself. The Church of England reported in 2015 that the operation leading to Ball's arrest
5432-529: The criminal process. “They went far beyond the normal obligations of friendship.” George Bell (bishop) George Kennedy Allen Bell (4 February 1883 – 3 October 1958) was an Anglican theologian , Dean of Canterbury , Bishop of Chichester , member of the House of Lords and a pioneer of the ecumenical movement . Bell was born in Hayling Island , Hampshire , as the eldest child of Sarah Georgina Megaw and her husband James Allen Bell (the vicar of
5529-436: The establishment. It included the heir to the throne, the archbishop and a senior member of the judiciary, to name only the most prominent....The alacrity and the extent of the response by Peter Ball’s friends to one of their own in trouble was impressive. It makes a horrible contrast to the way Peter Ball’s victims were treated....These establishment helpers claim they were duped by Peter Ball … But you will have to consider if it
5626-533: The executive director of the National Secular Society (NSS), believes this was an orchestrated campaign. Wood wants to find out who was behind the alleged campaign and also wants to see copies of relevant letters examined and a comprehensive list obtained of callers and writers, particularly of high profile and influential campaigners. There has been a call for the Goddard Inquiry to look into why Ball
5723-403: The lives of our fellow countrymen..., or to delay the delivery of many now held in slavery". As a close friend of the German pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer Bell knew precise details of German plans to assassinate Adolf Hitler . On 1 June 1942, Bell met Bonhoeffer in neutral Sweden, where the latter was acting as a secret courier for information on the German resistance. This information included
5820-405: The most serious alleged offences, were allowed to lie on file in a deal with CPS lawyers. Keith Porteous Wood sees this as yet another example of the law enforcement system repeatedly treating Ball leniently. I urge the prosecuting authorities to reconsider their decision and if appropriate charge him for all credible allegations using the same offences as they would for any ordinary member of
5917-538: The names of the participants from the armed forces in the planned assassination attempt on Hitler and coup against the Nazi regime. On his return, Bell passed this information on the German resistance movement on to Anthony Eden and tried to gain British government support for them. Bell also asked Eden, at the conspirators' request "to emphatically and publicly explain that the British government and its allies have no wish to enslave Germany, but only to remove Hitler, Himmler and their accessories" – in other words, to make
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#17328558775546014-401: The original complaint. He concluded that: "Concentrating exclusively upon the allegations remitted to me, I have decided that they were unfounded". Archbishop Justin Welby apologised for mistakes made after the original allegation while also stating that the original allegation cannot be "ignored or swept under the carpet". In November 2021, Justin Welby retracted his previous claim that there
6111-657: The persecution of the German Jewish community in the 1930s which escalated into a campaign of genocide against all European Jews in the 1940s. Like his ally and friend Pastor Martin Niemöller, what Bell objected to was not the antisemitism of the Nazi regime per se , but rather the attempt to apply the Aryan Paragraph to those German Jews who had converted to Christianity. Lawson argued that this understanding of Nazism as more of an anti-Christian movement than an anti-Jewish movement meant that Anglican clergymen like Bell had only
6208-552: The police and avoid a public trial. Ball promised to resign as bishop, leave Britain and retire to a French convent. Ball, however, stayed active as a priest until 2010 and remained in the United Kingdom. It looks like there was a deeply sinister, coordinated, but probably in the end rather inept attempt at a cover-up. (Graham Sawyer, abuse survivor and vicar who waived his right to anonymity) The Church of England confirmed that Ball stood in for his twin brother, Bishop Michael Ball, at services and official duties on several occasions in
6305-415: The police or to the media. Thirteen different bishops allegedly took no action after a person in the church raised concerns. Ball's housekeeper and gardener, Christine and Michael Moss, said that bishops ignored their concerns over Ball. Moss said, "What upsets me so much is the Church did nothing." BBC reporter Colin Campbell stated that during 20 years three different police forces tried to access information
6402-492: The public. This includes "indecent assaults on two other teenage boys, one in Eastbourne in the late 1970s and one in Litlington in the early 1980s. (Keith Porteous Wood) Bobbie Cheema, QC , said for the prosecution : [Ball] was highly regarded as a godly man who had a special affinity with young people. The truth was that he used those 15 years in the position of bishop to identify, groom and exploit sensitive and vulnerable young men who came within his orbit. For him, religion
6499-454: The questionable role played by the Church in bringing undue influence to bear on the administration of justice concerning Ball's abuse". I believe that the Church of England review should add bullying and silencing of victims and whistleblowers to the terms of reference and I shall be making this clear to Dame Moira before agreeing to take part. (Graham Sawyer, a vicar and abuse survivor speaking in Feb 2016) Sawyer stated in April 2016 that he
6596-418: The resumption of friendly relations with the enemy nation. It should set its face against any war of extermination or enslavement, and any measures directly aimed to destroy the morale of a population. In 1941 in a letter to The Times , he called the bombing of unarmed women and children "barbarian" which would destroy the just cause for the war, thus openly criticising the Prime Minister 's advocacy of such
6693-467: The review and historic files about Ball were given to the Sussex Police . Ann Lawrence from the Minister and Clergy Sexual Abuse Survivors organisation described the opening of the police investigation as "a major first step" for the Church of England. Abuse victim Neil Todd, who later died by suicide , said that: "It is an investigation which to be honest is well overdue. It [the abuse] stayed with me throughout my life's journey and even this far down
6790-404: The same term This disambiguation page lists articles about people with the same name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Peter_Ball&oldid=1112996234 " Category : Human name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
6887-416: The same year, he printed a prayer in his diocesan newsletter for Jewish and "non-Aryan" Christians: Pray for the Jews in Stepney, and Whitechapel, and Bethnal Green [where exiles were often accommodated]; pray for the German Jews; for all who suffer pain, who suffer shame, on account of their race. Pray for those who have a Jewish parent or grandparent and are Christian by belief... Bell used his authority as
6984-487: The time, the Director of Public Prosecutions , Barbara Mills , decided not to prosecute Ball though the CPS in 2015 said it believed that prosecution in 1993 would have been in the public interest. At Ball's trial in 2015, it was stated that a member of the royal family , a Lord Justice of Appeal , JPs , Cabinet ministers and public school headmasters—"many dozens" of people—had campaigned to support him in 1993. There were
7081-484: The track it doesn't feel like there's any real closure. The abuse was varied. The worst of it was mental abuse. Obviously there was a component of sexual abuse . But basically it was mind games and controlling behaviour . ... When it came to the abuse, the abuse was sexual, mental and physical. He was just not a very nice human being. After the police investigation of the 20-year-old matters, Ball and another priest, Vickery House, were arrested in November 2012. Ball
7178-630: The very highest levels of the church." Sawyer wants the police to investigate Carey's part in the Ball case. It was reported in 2017, after his release from prison, that Ball and his twin brother were seeking to join the Roman Catholic Church , in order to "live and worship in anonymity and without constant fear". The IICSA was investigating the Peter Ball case in 2018, and asked Prince Charles (later King Charles III ) and his principal private secretary to give witness statements about Ball, for
7275-623: The war, Bell became an initiator and promoter of the still-young ecumenical movement. In 1919, at the first postwar meeting of the World Council of Churches in the Netherlands, he successfully encouraged the establishment of a commission for religious and national minorities. At the world churches conference in Stockholm in 1925, he helped in the realisation of the "ecumenical advice for practical Christianity ( Life and Work )". From 1925 to 1929, Bell
7372-407: The war, Bell was involved in helping not only displaced persons and refugees who had fled the continent to England, but also interned Germans and British conscientious objectors . In 1940 he met with ecumenical friends in the Netherlands to unite the churches ready for a joint peace initiative after victory over Nazi Germany had been won. During the 1930s and 1940s, Bell encouraged engagement between
7469-433: The way it investigated child abuse claims made against him, acknowledged the mistakes highlighted by the report, and promised to implement all except one of its recommendations. Archbishop Welby rejected calls to state that the investigation had cleared Bell's name and said that the allegations were handled as a civil matter, not a criminal one. In late January 2018 the Church of England's national safeguarding team issued
7566-596: The way the Pritchard and Cotton cases were handled by the Chichester diocese; the report was published in 2012, and was severely criticized when it was released. In 2014 Phil Johnson, who by that time was a member of the National Safeguarding Panel for the Church of England, and who had been abused by Cotton and Pritchard and had given testimony to Baroness Butler-Sloss during her 2011 inquiry, made it public that he had told her about abuse by Ball and that she had chosen to omit that from her report. In May 2012,
7663-586: Was Dean of Canterbury . During this time, he initiated the Canterbury Festival of the arts, with guest artists such as John Masefield , Gustav Holst , Dorothy L. Sayers and T. S. Eliot (whose 1935 drama Murder in the Cathedral was commissioned by Bell for the festival). Later Bell also received Mahatma Gandhi at Canterbury. In 1929 Bell was appointed Bishop of Chichester . In this role he organised links between his diocese and of workers affected by
7760-519: Was a cloak behind which he hid in order to satisfy his sexual interest in those who trusted him. At the Old Bailey on 7 October, Mr Justice Wilkie sentenced Ball to 32 months in prison. He was eligible for parole after 18 months, and served under a month for each victim. The late Neil Todd's partner, Marc Hawley, said: two years and eight months – for 15 years of sexual exploitation, abuse and grooming of young men who came into his orbit while he
7857-507: Was a direct result of concerns raised by the church to the police in 2012: [The investigation] began as a direct result of the safeguarding officer at Lambeth Palace raising concerns about Peter Ball following a church initiated review of files. The approach to the police was a proactive step on the part of the national Church leading to a self-initiated referral via CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection centre) to Sussex Police in 2012. This led to active co-working between Lambeth Palace,
7954-546: Was a long delay between the first complaints to the police over House and a proper police investigation. Ball was released from prison on licence in February 2017, after having served half of his sentence. On 16 December 2015, the BBC published a report on the Ball affair. Cliff James had told the BBC that he informed a cleric in 1992 about abuse he had suffered. James alleges three bishops later telephoned his contact urging her to discourage him and another stated victim from going to
8051-438: Was announced that Dame Moira Gibb would chair a review into how the allegations against Ball were handled and why there was so little credence given to his victims, also whether the Church of England complied with its statutory duties. The review had been criticised because, among other reasons, it would take place behind closed doors and lack what was considered necessary transparency, and because it did not "specifically include
8148-439: Was cautioned by police in 1992, but passed only one (of least concern) on to the police. Carey did not put Ball on the "Lambeth List" of clergy whose suitability for the ministry is questioned. Concealing abuse was given higher priority than helping victims. The review stated that "The church appears to have been most interested in protecting itself." It also said that "progress [towards dealing satisfactorily with claims of abuse in
8245-525: Was convicted of three counts of sexual abuse of children, and police were concerned that there had been many more cases. In light of this event and the public airing of the church's bad handling of Halliday, as well as two other high profile sexual abuse convictions, the House of Bishops decided in May 2007 to ask the Central Safeguarding Liaison Group to hold a review of past cases throughout
8342-610: Was first influenced by ecumenism, and was ordained deacon at Ripon Cathedral in 1907. He went on to work as a curate for three years in the industrial slums of Leeds . His role there was the Christian mission to industrial workers, a third of whom were Indians and Africans from the British Empire. During his time there he learned much from the Methodists, whose connection between personal creed and social engagement he saw as an example to
8439-613: Was granted permission to officiate in the Diocese of Bath and Wells from 2001 to 2010. Peter Hancock , the Bishop of Bath and Wells , was critical of Ball being allowed to serve in the Langport area after his retirement. In 2007, Peter Halliday, a choirmaster in Guildford in Surrey , who had told the church that he had abused children in the 1990s but was allowed to continue working with children,
8536-581: Was in London for two years as representative of the foreign churches – the two became close friends, and Bonhoeffer often informed Bell of what was going on in Germany. Bell then made this information (and thus what was really happening in Germany) known to the public of Europe and America, for example through letters to The Times . On 1 June 1934 he signed the Barmen Declaration , the foundational manifesto of
8633-521: Was not prosecuted in 1993. After his resignation, Ball was given accommodation at Manor Lodge, Aller , Somerset , on the Duchy of Cornwall estate of Charles, Prince of Wales . George Carey , who was then Archbishop of Canterbury , allowed Ball to continue officiating as a priest after his resignation, but not as a bishop – he could still celebrate the Eucharist , but not ordain clergy or confirm . He
8730-412: Was part of an informal group headed by General Sir Maurice Hankey who strongly opposed war crimes trials of German and Japanese leaders, and campaigned very energetically for the end of war crimes trials and for freedom for those convicted of war crimes like Manstein. The British historian Tom Lawson wrote that Bell was principally concerned with the situation of the Confessing Church in Germany, not with
8827-412: Was refusing to co-operate with the review because alleged bullying by high-ranking current church office holders would not be investigated. Terry Sanderson of the National Secular Society said: The institutional bullying and silencing almost succeeded in preventing Bishop Ball ever being brought to justice. The Church's obdurate refusal at the highest levels to specify them [bullying and silencing] in
8924-423: Was released the same day on medical advice, to be interviewed by police at a later date for questioning about offences "allegedly committed against eight boys and young men, all of whom were at [the] time in their late teens or early twenties, except one who was 12". Three days later, police announced that a further seven people had come forward with allegations of abuse by Ball. On 27 March 2014, Jaswant Narwal,
9021-416: Was responsible for the related world youth conference. At one morning service, he addressed world Christianity as an "ecumenical council" and called on it to rise against the threatened war. On Bell's suggestion and against protests from the representatives of the pro-Nazi DEK, the world conference expressed solidarity with the Confessing Church and its struggle and again exposed the Nazis' policies, including
9118-516: Was shaped by his appointment in 1914 as chaplain to Archbishop Randall Davidson , one of the key figures in twentieth century church history. Bell subsequently wrote the standard biography of Davidson. Bell received a special commission for international and inter-denominational relations. In this office he ensured in 1915 that the Lutheran Indians be allowed to continue the work of the Leipzig – and
9215-536: Was the suffragan Bishop of Lewes from 1977 to 1992 and the diocesan Bishop of Gloucester from 1992 to 1993, when he resigned after being cautioned for sexual abuse; he continued to officiate at several churches after that. In October 2015, Ball was sentenced to 32 months' imprisonment for misconduct in public office and indecent assault after admitting the abuse of 18 young men over a period of 15 years from 1977 to 1992. Further charges of indecently assaulting two boys, aged 13 and 15, were allowed to lie on file in
9312-446: Was the bishop of Lewes. I am more than glad that Peter Ball now resides at Her Majesty’s pleasure even though the sentence is far too lenient for the gravity of his activities. Many victims have claimed severe lasting harm and Civil Court action against the Diocese of Chichester was lodged in October 2015. A Church of England priest said that when he was a teenager Ball had tried to make him have sex considered an "act of commitment" as
9409-498: Was the first reaction to the Declaration from the international church. From 1934 Bell functioned as a president of "Life and Work", when Bonhoeffer and Karl Koch as praeses of the synod of the old-Prussian Ecclesiastical province of Westphalia were invited as representatives of the Confessing Church to the world ecumenical conference in Fanø . As a selected youth secretary, Bonhoeffer
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