Church was ‘sadistic’ over abuse claims, Peter Ball victim tells inquiry

The abuse he suffered at the hands of the bishop paled in comparison to the reaction from officials in the Church of England, Reverend Graham Sawyer said.

He told the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse that the church must stop what he called an “ecclesiastical protection racket” whereby he said people rally round to protect the church’s reputation above the interests of the individual.

Rev Sawyer, a vicar at St James’ Church, Briercliffe in the diocese of Burnley, told how Ball had demanded that the then teenager strip naked before he would recommend him to be ordained.

He refused to do so and withdrew from the ordination.

Some years later when he decided to apply again he was rejected, and a friend who looked into why told him there was a “big black mark against you in the Church of England”.

Rev Sawyer, who said Ball had had “the reputation of a living saint”, moved to New Zealand where he was ordained in 1998 in Wellington diocese.

The vicar, who has returned to the UK and waived his right to anonymity, told the inquiry: “The sex abuse that was perpetrated upon me by Peter Ball pales into insignificance when compared to the entirely cruel and sadistic treatment that has been meted out to me by officials, both lay and ordained.

“I know from the testimony of other people who have got in touch with me over the last five or 10 years that what I have…