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   You get drivel about aliens, abduction etc from all sorts of people, not just Christians – there are atheists, agnostics…

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   […] last time I had had occasion to write about Rowan County clerk Kim Davis, above, was three years ago…

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   Whatever is presented on the BBC, and I must admit I do not watch the TV, the fact is that…

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   “The curriculum had already drawn tensions among the county’s religious parents, with some worrying about appropriateness and arguing the material…

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   As someone who produced dozens of nativity plays as a teacher and a Sunday School leader, that title ‘A Gay…

DESPITE having been subjected to FIVE police investigations, including into allegations of sexual assault, Canon Andrew Hindley, above, who worked in Blackburn diocese from 1991 to 2021 was never charged.

However, it was reported by the BBC yesterday (Tuesday) that the C of E, after imposing restrictions on the priest, had finally rid itself Hindley by paying him off with a six-figure sum.

The BBC said it understands that in 2022, Hindley was offered £240,000,

We do not know the final amount paid because the parties signed non-disclosure agreements keeping it secret.

He has never been charged with any criminal offences and claims he has never presented any safeguarding risk to anyone.

A senior member of staff at Blackburn Cathedral resigned over the settlement and says concerns about the priest were “an open secret” among senior clergy.

The former Bishop of Blackburn Julian Henderson described the financial settlement when he was in post as the “only option” left for the Church “to protect children and vulnerable young people from the risk Canon Hindley posed”.

The archbishops of Canterbury and York have told the BBC they are “still working” to get Church processes right and “must learn” from past mistakes.

Hindley was offered £240,000, the BBC understands.

We do not know the final amount paid because the parties signed non-disclosure agreements keeping it secret.

The Church of England said it was settling legal action brought by the priest in response to an earlier Church decision to force him to retire.

But the BBC said it has seen evidence the Church tried several times over the years to pay off Canon Hindley.

Rowena Pailing, who quit as the cathedral’s vice-dean and head of safeguarding, said the message the payment sends to victims and survivors is “absolutely horrific… I was devastated”. Referring to her resignation, she added:

I couldn’t work for an organisation which put its own reputation and the protection of alleged abusers above the protection and care and listening to victims and survivors.

Pailing says that when she was offered the job in 2018 she was warned of “serious safeguarding concerns and allegations” over a priest, spanning “a long period of about 25 years”.

She says she was assured there was a plan to deal with it. But after taking up the post “it became quite clear there was no plan” and quickly realised the Church of England was sitting on an open secret.

Recalling an event at Lambeth Palace, home of the Archbishop of Canterbury, she says:

There was a bishop from another diocese who referred to the particular canon by name and asked if he was still up to his old tricks.

Internal Church of England documents, seen by the BBC, show there had been concerns about Blackburn Cathedral for years.

A 2009 cathedral inspection concluded Canon Hindley “may pose a threat to young men” and to the cathedral’s name.

Lancashire Police says it assessed all available information and “where evidence was available investigations were undertaken and advice sought from the Crown Prosecution Service” but that “this did not result in any charges being brought”.

Pennsylvania priest found guilty under Catholic Church law of sexually abusing two children

Image via Facebook

Hindley’s pay-off comes just two weeks after the Diocese of Scranton announced that Monsignor Joseph P Kelly, above, had been permanently prohibited from exercising priestly ministry and barred from wearing clerical attire or presenting himself as a priest.

While guilty under canon law, Kelly has not faced criminal charges.

The Vatican authorised the Most Rev Joseph C Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, to impose a permanent penalty on Kelly but did not authorise his dismissal as a priest due to his age, according to the diocese. Kelly is 83 years old.

In October 2020 the Diocese added Kelly to its list of individuals who have been credibly accused of sexually abusing children. He was placed on administrative leave at the time, which prohibited him from publicly celebrating the sacraments or presenting himself as a priest, according to the diocese.

By October 2020, seven individuals had come forward alleging Kelly sexually abused them as children, some of whom were compensated through the Independent Survivors Compensation Program, the diocese said. The diocese established the compensation fund in 2019 for victims of clergy sexual abuse.

The diocese received an additional allegation of sexual abuse of minors against Kelly in January 2023.

The Diocese of Scranton, in consultation with its Diocesan Review Board, determined five of the eight allegations had credible evidence.

The diocese investigated those five credible allegations and, as required by canon law, submitted the findings to the Vatican.

Hat tip BarrieJohn (BBC report).

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