Lord Carey directly addressed those who had been harmed at the hands of Ball, who was imprisoned in 2015 for sexually abusing 18 young men over 30 years.
Now aged 86, Ball, the former bishop of Lewes and then Gloucester, was released in February last year.
Giving evidence at the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, Lord Carey said: “They fell into the trap of a pretty wicked person, a deluded person who used his considerable influence to shape them wrongly.”
He added: “We failed the abused in a number of different ways and I want to say that if I were to do it now I think I would do it a number of different ways, with hindsight.
“We did not have safeguarding procedures in place then. One thing I could have done is to set up an action committee to delve into matters more individually as well.”
Lord Carey was archbishop of Canterbury between 1991 and 2002, and oversaw the Church of England at the time of Ball’s arrest in December 1992.
He told the inquiry that child protection was not an issue at the forefront of the CofE during his tenure and that the “cumbersome” institution was sometimes “behind the curve” when it came to addressing allegations of abuse.
Lord Carey added that revelations of sexual abuse around prominent figures in recent decades have made people more aware of the dangers which face young people…
… Read More
—
Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.