The Daily Telegraph reports (Dec. 17, 2024):
Lord George Carey, 89, has given up his permission to minister after being contacted by the BBC about assistance he provided to enable a child abuser to return to the priesthood. On Monday, the BBC reported that Stephen Cottrell, the Archbishop of York, was under pressure to step down after he let priest David Tudor stay in post despite knowing he had been jailed for sex abuse. It was also reported that Lord Carey – who was in post between 1991 and 2002 – agreed that Tudor could return to ministering in 1993. The Telegraph can now reveal that Lord Carey contacted the Diocese of Oxford on Dec 4 to surrender his permission to officiate (PTO).
The PTS Chairman remarks:
Whatever one can say about the situation itself, from the denominational point of view it seems to be a foolish mess easily avoided – if only the CofE had done the sensible thing, and ensured that every such accusation was passed on to those who should be investigating it, the police.
It is difficult to avoid the suspicion that the CofE, even back in George Carey’s day (who has at least now done the decent thing in the circumstances), was so overcome with the desire to be ‘fair’ that it erred again and again in favour of those who were egregious sinners. Furthermore, it becomes clear that in insisting on dealing with these issues itself, not only did they give themselves a task that they were unable to adequately manage, but they failed to do that which the church is supposed to do. And that is to preach the Gospel.
In a denomination, if the leader’s time is taken up in dealing with matters such as this, which others should be dealing with, they will also fail to ensure doctrinal discipline. They simply won’t have the time to do so, and will probably find other matters a great excuse as to why they should not do so. But if doctrine matters (which it undoubtedly does), and if it is at the heart of the nature of the church (which it undoubtedly is), then this failure will ensure the demise of that denomination.
That there are no great doctrinal fights in the CofE over matters such as the nature of salvation or the meaning of the sacraments, or even over Bible translations, betrays a sad truth. And this is that it has long given up any pretence of claiming (as Christ does) that there is one Truth, which is revealed in the inerrant Word of God. This is Protestant truth, this is what they should be addressing, or at least debating – but instead they ignore it in favour of taking up other matters which they are simply not equipped to deal with.
I have said before, and I will say it again here, the CofE is institutionally apostate. But that is inevitable if doctrine is not held as important, and if church leaders busy themselves with other matters. The apostles understood this and therefore they appointed others to do other things – today we have secular authorities whose job it is to deal with the sad issues which are damaging the very fabric of the CofE.
For our part (looking in from the outside, as most Protestant Christians are) let us at least pray for a resurgence of true faith within what is supposed to be, and should be, the Protestant Church of our nation.