The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, has come under increasing pressure after he announced that he had twice received a priest for sexual abuse.
A BBC Inquiry found that Cottrell contracted David Tudor as an area dean in Essex twice during the time when Cottrell was Bishop of Chelmsford.
Tudor had been expelled from the ministry five years earlier for sleeping with a 16-year-old girl who was a student at the school where he was chaplain. He paid his compensation and was banned from being alone with his children.
Cottrell admits that things could have been handled differently.
The scandal is another high-profile crisis involving the Church of England in recent months.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, announced his resignation in November into the Makin case, which found Welby could have led to the 2013 police abuse of serial killer John Smyth.
Cottrell will take over from the church’s senior clergy when Welby steps down next month.
A spokesman for Cottrell said: “Although David Tudor was already dean when Stephen Cottrell came to the diocese in 2010, then the diocesan bishop of Chelmsford is taking over David Tudor’s responsibility as area dean.
“Reflecting, he recognizes that he could have been treated differently, and he does not regret it, but all the time his mind was on the bishopric of Chelms, helping the doctors to understand, evaluate and manage David’s risk. Tudor
“No one warned him that David Tudor would remain dean of the area.”
Tudor was banned for life from ministry this year after receiving what the Church of England described as serious sexual abuse of two girls aged 15 and 16.
He had previously been suspended from ministry for five years in 1988.
He admitted, according to court documents, to sleeping with a 16-year-old girl when he was a student at the school where he was chaplain. The victim is satisfied.
However, in 1994 he returned to work in the Church.
A BBC investigation found Tudor was designated as a senior member of the clergy in Essex in 2013 and 2018″. Cottrell knew that Tudor was forbidden from working one-on-one with children.
Cottrell said he was “unable” to remove Tudor from office until recent complaints against him were made in 2019.
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In the announcement before the new developmentHe said he faced a “horrific and intolerable” situation when he became bishop of Chelms, when he discussed the situation in 2010.
The spokesman added that “all the risks around David Tudor have to be reviewed again and again by safeguarding professionals and this was the main focus” and “when further action was taken in 2019, it was”.
Two bishops criticized Cottrell’s views. The Bishop of Gloucester, the Right Rev Rachel Treweek, said she felt “shocked and disturbed” by the latest revelations.
He told BBC Radio 4’s This World Turns: “I think there are a lot of conversations and processes that go on in it that won’t happen in the public media.
“I want to live the process well. I want to live the relationship well. In which it is that we have neglected ourselves, as much as the Church, in the relationship of the processes kept in our heart and I want to run through every aspect of the Church.
“If you’re interested in me. I think there are big issues to look at.”
“I heard that the news was shocked and shocked, but I want a proper process to take place in order to inform ourselves as a type of correct church moving forward, and that, for me, is a big problem.”
The Bishop of Newcastle, Helen-Ann Hartley, said at 10:00 that Cottrell’s news meant he would not be a credible voice as a leader of the Church of England.