John Sentamu, the former archbishop of York, failed to act on disclosures that a Church of England vicar raped a 16-year-old boy, a report commissioned by the church has found.
Lord Sentamu immediately rejected the conclusions of the report, saying the author, an experienced safeguarding investigator, had a “fundamental misunderstanding” of the responsibilities of bishops and archbishops.
In 2013, Sentamu acknowledged a letter from the victim detailing the sexual abuse with the words: “Please be assured of my prayers and best wishes during this testing time.”
The C of E commissioned the report to examine how it handled allegations by Matthew Ineson that he was repeatedly raped as a teenager in the 1980s by Trevor Devamanikkam, who later killed himself.
The C of E is not expected to impose sanctions on any individual as a result of the review’s findings. Ineson said Sentamu, who retired in 2020 as the C of E’s second most senior official, should be banned from officiating within the church.
Ineson, who was ordained as a priest but no longer serves, refused to cooperate with the review on the grounds that it was not independent.
On Thursday he accused the C of E of hypocrisy. “Yesterday, the archbishop of Canterbury was lecturing on morality, but the church he leads is still covering up rape and abuse and protecting bishops at any cost,” he said.
Ineson said he reported the abuse verbally to various bishops and other senior clergy, whom he identified, in 2012 and 2013 but no action was taken.
He then wrote two letters to Steven Croft, the then bishop of Sheffield and now bishop of Oxford, copying them to Sentamu, in which he said he had “suffered sexual abuse as a youth by a priest” and complained that his disclosures had been ignored.
The review found there was evidence that Ineson had made disclosures to some of the senior clergy he had identified and they had “failed to act on them”.
In 2016, Ineson lodged formal complaints of misconduct against four bishops and the archbishop, which were dismissed by the church.
The following year, Devamanikkam was found dead at his home the day before he was due to appear in court on three counts of buggery and three counts of indecent assault relating to Ineson’s allegations.
The report says that although Devamanikkam did not face a trial, the reviewer “can confirm the survivor was sexually abused” by him.
Some senior clergy “prioritised their own involvement” relating to Ineson’s formal misconduct complaints against them over safeguarding issues.
The report adds: “There appears to be reluctance on the part of some senior clergy to formally apologise to the survivor.”
It recommends that the C of E make such an apology for its failings, and ensure Ineson “has the support and counselling he needs in order to rebuild his life”.
Jane Humphreys, the reviewer, said: “It takes a lot of courage to disclose abuse and to not receive the right support and guidance at the time he disclosed his abuse is inexcusable.”
Joanne Grenfell, the bishop of Stepney, who leads on safeguarding, said the church “should be ashamed” of its failure to respond properly, adding: “We are truly sorry.”
In a lengthy statement released by the C of E alongside the report, Sentamu said: “I find myself in an unenviable position of having to reject the opinions of the reviewer … This is due to a fundamental misunderstanding on her part of the jurisdictional, pastoral and legal responsibilities of diocesan bishops and archbishops in the C of E.”
He said the reviewer’s stated opinion that individuals must act on safeguarding issues regardless of church law was “odd and troubling”. He added: “Safeguarding is very important but it does not trump church law.”
On Thursday, Croft wrote to all clergy in the diocese of Oxford saying he had “made a mistake in my safeguarding practice. That mistake was costly for the survivor and for this I am very sorry.”
Since waiving his right to anonymity, Ineson has become one of the most persistent and outspoken critics of the church over its shortcomings in dealing with cases of sexual abuse. He previously gave evidence to the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse.
