Diocese of Oxford misrepresents the President of Tribunals, leaving Martyn Percy ‘under a cloud’
by Martin Sewell and David Lamming, Archbishop Cranmer:
The statement posted belatedly on the Diocese of Oxford website on 18th June Decision by the President of Tribunals is a perfect illustration of the biblical proverb ‘As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly‘ (Prov 26:11).
When the CDM nightmare of Canon Paul Overend ended with a clear decision by the Deputy President of Tribunals His Honour Judge David Turner QC that he had no case to answer, both the Diocese of Lincoln and the Cathedral issued swift statements on their websites of admirable clarity, integrity, and simplicity:
After due process, a ruling has been made in the case brought under the Clergy Discipline Measure against the Revd Canon Dr Paul Overend, Chancellor of Lincoln Cathedral. It was determined by the Deputy President of Tribunals that there is no case to answer and no further steps should be taken…
That on the Cathedral website, added: “The determination of the Judge speaks for itself.”
The President of Tribunals Dame Sarah Asplin (a Court of Appeal judge), after considering the confidential report of the Designated Officer following his ‘due inquiries’, has made a similar determination in the case of Martyn Percy, Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, and one might have hoped that the Diocese of Oxford would equally own the consequences of the determination in its entirety. It does not do so. Instead, it prevaricates and misrepresents the import of the decision, quoting selectively from it. However, let everyone be clear about the consequences for the Dean, the Cathedral, its congregation, and the Diocese.
As the Clergy Discipline Measure 2003 expressly provides, following the President’s decision the complaint is at an end “and thereafter no further steps shall be taken in regard thereto”. It has been dismissed. It has ceased to be. It has departed to join the choir invisible. The core group of the Church of England has no further interest in the matter and has no further role. The status of the Dean within the Church has returned to that which he held before.
The President issued a decision of admirable conciseness and clarity, and there is not the slightest reason why, suitably redacted to preserve the anonymity of the female complainant, it should not be placed on the Diocesan website for all to read. In that way there would be no possibility of anyone misunderstanding or misrepresenting it. The Diocese does not choose to do so for reasons of its own which are not to its credit.
Please right-click links to open in a new window.
Related Posts
Tags
Share This
