Bishop Alleges ‘Coercive Language’ from Senior Church of England Figures

A bishop has reported experiencing “coercive language” from two of the most senior leaders in the Church of England. Bishop Helen-Ann Hartley of Newcastle published a letter she received from the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and the Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell, which she claimed demonstrated “a complete lack of awareness of how power dynamics operate in the life of the church”. Bishop Hartley had previously called for Mr Welby’s resignation following a damning report into a prolific child abuser associated with the Church. Mr Welby declined to comment on Bishop Hartley’s recent statement, and a spokesperson for Mr Cottrell indicated that the letter was not intended to be coercive. Bishop Hartley’s disclosures emerged as Mr Welby was already facing calls to resign over a critical report by Keith Makin concerning the prolific child abuser John Smyth QC. Mr Welby has since announced his intention to step down. Bishop Hartley stated that on 31 October, she received a letter from the archbishops regarding Lord John Sentamu’s potential return to the Church of England, following a report on his handling of a child sex abuse allegation. In the letter, Mr Welby and Mr Cottrell stated: “To be candid, we would very much like to see a resolution to this situation which enables Sentamu to return to ministry.” Lord Sentamu, the Former Archbishop of York, was serving as an honorary assistant bishop in the Diocese of Newcastle in 2023 when he was instructed to cease his church duties. At that time, he rejected the report’s findings, which alleged he failed to act on a claim made by a victim. Bishop Hartley subsequently prohibited Lord Sentamu from preaching in Newcastle, following his rejection of the report. He did not respond to requests for a comment at the time. In a statement, Bishop Hartley asserted that the letter’s timing, sent so close to the Makin review, signified a “wider and systemic dysfunction of how the hierarchy of The Church of England has dealt with matters of safeguarding”. She commented: “The decision to make this letter and its response public has not been taken lightly.” She added, “Quite simply it is the right thing to do.” A spokesperson for the Archbishop of York conveyed that Mr Cottrell was “saddened that this letter is now being described as coercive”. The spokesperson further stated: “This was not his intention, nor did he wish to cause any distress to the Bishop of Newcastle.” A statement also affirmed his commitment “to further independence for safeguarding within the Church of England, the independent scrutiny of safeguarding and a much better victim-centred and trauma-informed approach to the culture of safeguarding”.