Church abuse survivor wants archbishop to resign

A former priest who was raped as a teenager by a vicar has called for the Archbishop of York to resign.

Matthew Ineson was abused in the 1980s by Trevor Devamanikkam, who was a priest at St Aidan's Church in Bradford at the time.

Mr Ineson told senior clergy, including the then Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, about his experiences in 2013, but the Church of England's own review later found it had failed to act on his claims and Lord Sentamu was removed from ministry last year.

Current archbishop Stephen Cottrell, who, in October, called for Lord Sentamu to be re-admitted, told the BBC he took his "commitment" to survivors of child sexual abuse "very seriously".

Devamanikkam was charged with six sex offences after Mr Ineson told the police the vicar had raped him as a 16-year-old, but took his own life in June 2017 before the case reached court.

An independent review, commissioned by the National Safeguarding Team of the Church of England, later found Mr Ineson, who himself became vicar before later leaving the church, had been sexually abused by Devamanikkam.

Mr Ineson had told Lord Sentamu and the then Bishop of Beverley, Glyn Webster, about the abuse in an email in 2013, but the same review found the clergy "failed to act" on that information and that Mr Ineson was "not supported to refer the disclosures to the police".

Lord Sentamu who became a prominent national figure during his time as archbishop, rejected the review's findings however, and he was later removed from ministry.

However, Archishop Cottrell co-authored a letter alongside then Archishop of Canterbury Justin Welby in October, asking the Bishop of Newcastle to reinstate Mr Sentamu as a minister.

That has angered Mr Ineson, who waived his right to anonymity as a sexual abuse victim.

He told the BBC: "To disclose abuse takes tremendous courage and affects the lives of survivors throughout their lives.

"To then sort of be ignored, not believed, not trusted, or pushed to one side only adds to that abuse when it goes on for years, as in the case of (mine) with the church.

"It really can be damaging to people's lives and I know it's changed mine irreparably."

Mr Ineson said that Archbishop Cottrell, who has also faced calls from others working with survivors of abuse within the church to resign, "needs to go".

He added: "He hasn't taken action against those who've ignored disclosures of abuse and those who just will not apologise for their actions, such as Sentamu."

In a statement, the archbishop's office said: "Archbishop Stephen takes his commitment to survivors very seriously and met privately with Mr Ineson not long after taking office, being aware of the background to the case and the awful abuse he suffered.

"The Archbishop remains committed to engaging constructively with survivors and apologises if anyone who comes forward does not receive the response they should."

Mr Ineson also emailed the Right Reverend Glyn Webster, who left his role as Bishop of Beverley in 2022 and now ministers at All Saints Church in York, to urge him to step down.

He received a reply he believed was meant for someone else, in which Mr Webster said he was "half expecting the witch hunt to knock on my door".

Approached for comment by the BBC, Mr Webster said: "I have been horrified by the abuse suffered by Matthew Ineson since I first learned of it, and I am extremely sorry that his past experience continues to affect his wellbeing.

"I am also deeply sorry for the additional pain caused to Matthew by the terms I used in my email received by him last week; my email was intended for a friend with whom I have shared my personal experience and I'm sorry for any offence caused."

Lord Sentamu did not respond to the BBC's request for comment.

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