Peter Ball
CGA (14 February 1932 – 21 June 2019) was a British bishop in the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
and convicted
sex offender. In 1960 he and his twin brother (
Michael Ball) established a
monastic community, the
Community of the Glorious Ascension The Community of the Glorious Ascension (CGA) is an Anglican monastic community in the United Kingdom, co-founded in 1960 by twin brothers Michael Ball and Peter Ball who both later became bishops. It was founded in Stratford Park in Stroud, Glouce ...
, through which Ball came into contact with many boys and young men.
He was the
suffragan
A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations.
In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdictiona ...
Bishop of Lewes
The Bishop of Lewes is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Chichester, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after Lewes, the county town of East Sussex. The bishops suffrag ...
from 1977 to 1992 and the diocesan
Bishop of Gloucester from 1992 to 1993, when he resigned after being cautioned for sexual abuse; he continued to officiate at several churches after that.
In October 2015, Ball was sentenced to 32 months' imprisonment for
misconduct in public office
Malfeasance in office is often grounds for a just cause removal of an elected official by statute or recall election. Malfeasance in office contrasts with "misfeasance in office", which is the commission of a ''lawful'' act, done in an officia ...
and
indecent assault after admitting the abuse of 18 young men over a period of 15 years from 1977 to 1992. Further charges of indecently assaulting two boys, aged 13 and 15, were allowed to lie on file in a contentious decision by the
Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). He was released on licence in February 2017 and died two years later.
Early life
Ball was born on 14 February 1932.
He was educated at
Lancing College, a
public school
Public school may refer to:
* State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government
* Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...
in
Lancing, West Sussex
Lancing is a large coastal village and civil parish in the Adur district of West Sussex, England, on the western edge of the Adur Valley. It occupies part of the narrow central section of the Sussex coastal plain between smaller Sompting to the ...
.
He then studied at
Queens' College, Cambridge
Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the oldest colleges of the university, founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. The college spans the River Cam, colloquially referred to as the "light s ...
, and graduated with a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
(BA) degree in 1954; as per convention, his BA was promoted to a
Master of Arts
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
(MA) degree in 1958.
He entered
Wells Theological College in 1954 and received two years of training in preparation for ordination.
Ordained ministry
Ball was
ordained
Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...
in the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
: made a
deacon
A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...
on
Trinity Sunday 1956 (27 May)
and ordained a
priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...
the Trinity following (16 June 1957), both times by
George Bell George Bell may refer to:
Law and politics
* George Joseph Bell (1770–1843), Scottish jurist and legal author
* George Alexander Bell (1856–1927), Canadian pioneer and Saskatchewan politician
* George Bell (Canadian politician) (1869–1940) ...
,
Bishop of Chichester, at
Chichester Cathedral. He began his ministry as a
curate
A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...
in
Rottingdean. He then received basic monastic training at
Kelham Theological College
Kelham is a small village and civil parish in Nottinghamshire about northwest of Newark on a bend in the A617 road near its crossing of the River Trent. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 207.
Historical
Kelham i ...
. In 1960 he and his
identical twin
Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two em ...
brother,
Michael
Michael may refer to:
People
* Michael (given name), a given name
* Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael
Given name "Michael"
* Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...
, founded a monastic community, the
Community of the Glorious Ascension The Community of the Glorious Ascension (CGA) is an Anglican monastic community in the United Kingdom, co-founded in 1960 by twin brothers Michael Ball and Peter Ball who both later became bishops. It was founded in Stratford Park in Stroud, Glouce ...
(CGA), of which he was
prior
Prior (or prioress) is an ecclesiastical title for a superior in some religious orders. The word is derived from the Latin for "earlier" or "first". Its earlier generic usage referred to any monastic superior. In abbeys, a prior would be l ...
until his ordination to the
episcopate
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
.
This brought many young boys who were
novice
A novice is a person who has entered a religious order and is under probation, before taking vows. A ''novice'' can also refer to a person (or animal e.g. racehorse) who is entering a profession
A profession is a field of work that has ...
monk
A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...
s into his care over the years.
[ Whilst prior of CGA, he combined his duties as a member of a ]religious order
A religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious practi ...
with several other pastoral roles, including three years as vicar
A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...
of the Church of the Holy Angels, Hoar Cross
The Church of the Holy Angels is an Anglican church in Hoar Cross, Staffordshire, England. It is a Grade I listed building.
History
It was built by the pious Anglo-Catholic, Emily Charlotte Meynell Ingram (sister of Charles Wood, 2nd Viscount ...
, in Staffordshire
Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...
.
Bishop of Lewes
Ball was suffragan
A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations.
In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdictiona ...
Bishop of Lewes from 1977 to 1992.[ He was ordained a bishop on 18 October 1977, by Donald Coggan, ]Archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...
, at St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...
.
Official inquiries into prolonged failure to prevent child abuse in the Diocese of Chichester, of which Lewes is part, brought up allegations against Ball, of which he was later convicted.[
]
Bishop of Gloucester, police caution and resignation
After having been translated
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...
to the see
See or SEE may refer to:
* Sight - seeing
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Music:
** ''See'' (album), studio album by rock band The Rascals
*** "See", song by The Rascals, on the album ''See''
** "See" (Tycho song), song by Tycho
* Television
* ...
of Gloucester
Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...
in 1992, Ball resigned from his position as Bishop of Gloucester in 1993 after admitting to an act of gross indecency Gross indecency is a crime in some parts of the English-speaking world, originally used to criminalize sexual activity between men that fell short of sodomy, which required penetration. The term was first used in British law in a statute of the Br ...
with a 19-year-old man and accepting a formal police caution
A police caution is a formal alternative to prosecution in minor cases, administered by the police in England and Wales. It is commonly used to resolve cases where full prosecution is not seen as the most appropriate solution. Accepting a caution ...
for it. In 1993, Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) lawyers said that "sufficient admissible, substantial and reliable evidence" existed that Ball had committed indecent assault and gross indecency.[ At the time, the ]Director of Public Prosecutions
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is the office or official charged with the prosecution of criminal offences in several criminal jurisdictions around the world. The title is used mainly in jurisdictions that are or have been members o ...
, Barbara Mills, decided not to prosecute Ball[ though the CPS in 2015 said it believed that prosecution in 1993 would have been in the public interest.]
At Ball's trial in 2015, it was stated that a member of the Royal Family
A royal family is the immediate family of kings/queens, emirs/emiras, sultans/ sultanas, or raja/ rani and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term ...
, a Lord Justice of Appeal
A Lord Justice of Appeal or Lady Justice of Appeal is a judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, the court that hears appeals from the High Court of Justice, the Crown Court and other courts and tribunals. A Lord (or Lady) Justice ...
, JPs, Cabinet ministers and public school headmasters—"many dozens" of people—had campaigned to support him in 1993. There were a further 2,000 letters of support. The Reverend Graham Sawyer, an abuse victim, wants a full investigation and blames corrupt elements in the British establishment
''The Establishment'' is a term used to describe a dominant social group , group or elite that controls a polity or an organization. It may comprise a closed social group that selects its own members, or entrenched elite structures in specific ...
. Sawyer believes that the establishment is still too strong and its links with the church should be investigated.[ Phil Johnson, who claims Ball abused him when he was 13 years old, said it looked like a deal was done between the Church of England, the Director of Public Prosecutions and the CPS, and said, "I think there was great effort made to avoid bad publicity and to avoid the embarrassment of trying a bishop in public."
David Greenwood, a ]solicitor
A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...
acting for some victims, said that "With more power comes the ability to work in a culture where you feel that you can get away with it. It seems Peter Ball has been able to do that."["Bishop Ball sex charges caution 'wrong' admits CPS"](_blank)
BBC News. Keith Porteous Wood
Keith Porteous Wood (born November 1947) is the president of the National Secular Society in the United Kingdom. From 1996 until November 2017 he held the paid position of general secretary which was later re-titled executive director.
In 2007, ...
, the executive director of the NSS, believes this was an orchestrated campaign. Wood wants to find out who was behind the alleged campaign and also wants to see copies of relevant letters examined and a comprehensive list obtained of callers and writers, particularly of high profile and influential campaigners. There has been a call for the Goddard Inquiry
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) in England and Wales was an inquiry examining how the country's institutions handled their duty of care to protect children from sexual abuse. It was announced by the British Home Secretary ...
to look into why Ball was not prosecuted in 1993.["Former Anglican bishop Peter Ball jailed as victims sue Church of England over 'cover-up'"](_blank)
Secularism.org website.
Retirement
After his resignation, Bishop Ball was given accommodation at Manor Lodge, Aller
Aller may refer to:
Places Rivers
* Aller (Germany), a major river in North Germany
*Aller (Asturian river), a river in Asturias, Spain
*River Aller, a small river on Exmoor in Somerset, England
Inhabited places in the United Kingdom
*Aller, Devo ...
, Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
, on the Duchy of Cornwall
The Duchy of Cornwall ( kw, Duketh Kernow) is one of two royal duchies in England, the other being the Duchy of Lancaster. The eldest son of the reigning British monarch obtains possession of the duchy and the title of 'Duke of Cornwall' at ...
estate of Charles, Prince of Wales. George Carey
George Leonard Carey, Baron Carey of Clifton (born 13 November 1935) is a retired Anglican bishop who was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1991 to 2002, having previously been the Bishop of Bath and Wells.
During his time as archbishop the Ch ...
, who was then Archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...
, allowed Ball to continue officiating as a priest after his resignation, but not as a bishop – he could still celebrate the Eucharist
The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...
, but not ordain clergy or confirm
In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief. It involves laying on o ...
.["Former bishop admits sexually abusing young men"]
''The Guardian'' (London), 8 September 2015. He was granted permission to officiate in the Diocese of Bath and Wells from 2001 to 2010. Peter Hancock
Peter Hancock (born 26 July 1955) is a retired Church of England bishop. He served as the Bishop of Bath and Wells from 2014 to 2021, having previously been the Bishop of Basingstoke, a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Winchester, from 2010 to ...
, the Bishop of Bath and Wells, was critical of Ball being allowed to serve in the Langport
Langport is a small town and civil parish in Somerset, England, west of Somerton in the South Somerset district. The parish, which covers only part of the town, has a population of 1,081. Langport is contiguous with Huish Episcopi, a separate ...
area after his retirement.
Trial and conviction for sexual abuse
In 2007, Peter Halliday, a choirmaster in Guildford
Guildford ()
is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...
in Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
, who had told the church that he had abused children in the 1990s but was allowed to continue working with children, was convicted of three counts of sexual abuse of children, and police were concerned that there had been many more cases.
In light of this event and the public airing of the church's bad handling of Halliday, as well as two other high profile sexual abuse convictions, the House of Bishops decided in May 2007 to ask the Central Safeguarding Liaison Group to hold a review of past cases throughout the Church of England, which was carried out starting in 2008. The Diocese of Chichester and the Sussex Police
Sussex Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing in the whole of Sussex. Its jurisdiction covers the ceremonial counties of East Sussex and West Sussex. The force is headquartered in Malling House, Lewes, East Sussex.
His ...
also began investigating long-standing allegations of sexual abuse in East Sussex
East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...
.[
In 2008, Colin Pritchard, a vicar in ]Bexhill-on-Sea
Bexhill-on-Sea (often shortened to Bexhill) is a seaside town and civil parish situated in the county of East Sussex in South East England. An ancient town and part of the local government district of Rother, Bexhill is home to a number of arc ...
, was convicted of sexually abusing two boys; ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' described it as the "breakthrough case" for dealing with sexual abuse in the diocese.[ Roy Cotton, a priest in the Chichester diocese died in 2006 but allegations of abuse by him emerged shortly thereafter.][ In 2018, Pritchard, who had by then changed his name to Ifor Whittaker, was convicted of further sexual abuse that was carried out in collaboration with Cotton.
In 2010, the past cases review was published.][
In 2011, the Diocese of Chichester asked The Baroness Butler-Sloss to conduct an independent review of the way the Pritchard and Cotton cases were handled by the Chichester diocese; the report was published in 2012,][ and was severely criticized when it was released.] It emerged in 2014 that Phil Johnson, who by that time was a member of the National Safeguarding Panel for the Church, and who had been abused by Cotton and Pritchard and had given testimony to Baroness Butler-Sloss during her 2011 inquiry, made it public that he had told Butler-Sloss about abuse by Peter Ball, and that she had chosen to omit that from her report.[
In May 2012, the review and historic files about Peter Ball were given to the ]Sussex Police
Sussex Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing in the whole of Sussex. Its jurisdiction covers the ceremonial counties of East Sussex and West Sussex. The force is headquartered in Malling House, Lewes, East Sussex.
His ...
.[
Ann Lawrence from the Minister and Clergy Sexual Abuse Survivors organisation described the opening of the police investigation as "a major first step" for the Church of England. Abuse victim Neil Todd, who later died by ]suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...
, said that:
After the police investigation of the 20-year-old matters, Bishop Ball and another priest, Vickery House, were arrested in November 2012. Ball was released the same day on medical advice, to be interviewed by police at a later date for questioning about offences "allegedly committed against eight boys and young men, all of whom were at hetime in their late teens or early twenties, except one who was 12."
Three days later, police announced that a further seven people had come forward with allegations of abuse by Ball.
On 27 March 2014, Jaswant Narwal, the Chief Crown Prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service South East, announced that based on review of evidence gathered by Sussex Police, they would seek to prosecute Ball on three charges relating to the time when he served as a bishop:
* Misconduct in public office
Malfeasance in office is often grounds for a just cause removal of an elected official by statute or recall election. Malfeasance in office contrasts with "misfeasance in office", which is the commission of a ''lawful'' act, done in an officia ...
between 1977 and 1992
* Indecent assault on a boy, aged 12 or 13, in 1978
* Indecent assault on a man, aged 19 or 20, between 1980 and 1982
On 8 September 2015, Ball pleaded guilty to two counts of indecent assault and one of misconduct in a public office. His trial began on 5 October 2015. Two charges of indecently assaulting two boys in their early teens, perhaps the most serious alleged offences, were allowed to lie on file in a deal with CPS lawyers.[ ]Keith Porteous Wood
Keith Porteous Wood (born November 1947) is the president of the National Secular Society in the United Kingdom. From 1996 until November 2017 he held the paid position of general secretary which was later re-titled executive director.
In 2007, ...
sees this as yet another example of the law enforcement system repeatedly treating Ball leniently.
Bobbie Cheema, QC, said for the prosecution:
At the Old Bailey
The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...
on 7 October, Mr Justice Wilkie sentenced Ball to 32 months in prison. He was eligible for parole after 18 months, and served under a month for each victim. The late Neil Todd's partner, Marc Hawley, said:
Many victims have claimed severe lasting harm and Civil Court action against the Diocese of Chichester was lodged in October 2015. A Church of England priest said that when he was a teenager Ball had tried to make him have sex considered an "act of commitment" as a condition of being ordained. There are allegations of serious corruption and cover-ups within the Church of England regarding Ball's abuse.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby
Justin Portal Welby (born 6 January 1956) is a British bishop who is the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury. He has served in that role since 2013. Welby was previously the vicar of Southam, Warwickshire, and then Bishop of Durham, serving for jus ...
, ordered an independent review of the way the Church of England dealt with Ball's case, but the Minister and Clergy Sexual Abuse Survivors group and Keith Porteous Wood were unsure if the investigation would be sufficiently far-reaching. Wood accused a former Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, of encouraging the cover-up and Carey has been quoted stating:
Wood commended Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, for initiating the inquiry. ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
's'' crime correspondent, Sandra Laville, also wrote that Carey knew of the cover-up.[ ]Ruth Gledhill
Ruth Gledhill (born 1959) is an English journalist and is a former religion affairs correspondent for ''The Times'', a post she left in 2014. Gledhill was the last full-time newspaper journalist dedicated to religious affairs in the UK. She is c ...
, writing in ''Christian Today
''Christian Today'' is a non-denominational Christian news company with its international headquarters in London, England.Christian Today > Contact Us/ref>
History
The website was established in 2000 to report on news in the global church an ...
'', said that Carey intervened personally over the matter. Carey insists he only contacted the CPS after Ball had been cautioned. Abuse survivor Graham Sawyer, who alleges decades of pressure from the Church of England to silence him, believes that the church should no longer police itself. The Church of England said in 2015 that the operation leading to Ball's arrest was a direct result of concerns raised by the Church to the police in 2012:
The review ordered by Welby produced its report, ''An Abuse of Faith'', on 22 June 2017, which found that senior figures in the Church of England had colluded over twenty years with Ball—Welby said it made harrowing reading, adding "The church colluded and concealed rather than seeking to help those who were brave enough to come forward. This is inexcusable and shocking behaviour".[
A former ]vicar
A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...
, Vickery House, was convicted in October 2015 and was sentenced to serve 6½ years in prison for sex assaults against men and a boy. House worked in the same diocese as Ball. House and Ball collaborated running a "Give a Year For Christ" scheme and both men abused three of the same victims during the scheme. If Ball had not pleaded guilty both men would have been tried together. There was a long delay between the first complaints to the police over House and a proper police investigation.
Ball was released from prison on licence in February 2017, after having served half of his sentence.
After the trial
On 16 December 2015, the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
published a report on the Ball affair. Cliff James had told the BBC that he informed a cleric in 1992 about abuse he had suffered. James alleges three bishops later telephoned his contact urging her to discourage him and another stated victim from going to the police or to the media. Thirteen different bishops allegedly took no action after a person in the church raised concerns. Ball's housekeeper and gardener, Christine and Michael Moss, said that bishops ignored their concerns over Ball. Moss said, "What upsets me so much is the Church did nothing." BBC reporter Colin Campbell stated that during 20 years three different police forces tried to access information the Church of England held about Ball but investigations started only in 2012. Martin Warner, Bishop of Chichester, said he would call the above a cover up and, "in terms of our practice today, that would immediately be the trigger for disciplinary action."
On 23 February 2016, the BBC published information about documents they discovered suggesting Ball's defence team tried during the 1990s to negotiate with the police and avoid a public trial. Ball promised to resign as bishop, leave Britain and retire to a French convent. Ball, however, stayed active as a priest until 2010 and remained in the United Kingdom.
The Church of England confirmed that Ball stood in for his twin brother, Bishop Michael Ball, at services and official duties on several occasions in the 1990s. Michael Ball has said that those attending such occasions had been informed of the substitution, but the report ''An Abuse of Faith'' (sections 4.3.5-4.3.8) found cases where those attending were not informed, adding "we have received no evidence to corroborate the assertion that anyone was ever advised that Peter Ball was attending an event in the place of his brother".[
]
Reviews
In early 2016, it was announced that Dame Moira Gibb
Dame Moira Margaret Gibb (born 1950) is a British public servant and former social worker.
Early life and education
Gibb studied engineering for two years at the University of Glasgow. She then transferred courses, and studied French and Ps ...
would chair a review into how the allegations against Ball were handled and why there was so little credence given to his victims, also whether the Church of England complied with its statutory duties. The review had been criticised because, among other reasons, it would take place behind closed doors and lack what was considered necessary transparency, and because it did not "specifically include the questionable role played by the Church in bringing undue influence to bear on the administration of justice concerning Ball's abuse".
Sawyer stated in April 2016 that he was refusing to co-operate with the review because alleged bullying by high-ranking current church office holders would not be investigated. Terry Sanderson of the National Secular Society
The National Secular Society (NSS) is a British campaigning organisation that promotes secularism and the separation of church and state. It holds that no one should gain advantage or disadvantage because of their religion or lack of it. It was ...
said:
Gibb published her report in June 2017.
The remit of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse includes investigation of the Church of England, and specifically of the Ball case and other cases in the Diocese of Chichester.
2017 review
An independent review in 2017 found that the church's hierarchy, notably The Baron Carey of Clifton, a former Archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...
, colluded in concealing abuse by Ball over a 20-year period. Archbishop Carey had seven letters from individuals and relatives after Ball was cautioned by police in 1992, but passed only one (of least concern) on to the police. Carey did not put Ball on the "Lambeth List" of clergy whose suitability for the ministry is questioned. Concealing abuse was given higher priority than helping victims. The review stated that "The church appears to have been most interested in protecting itself." It also said that "progress owards dealing satisfactorily with claims of abuse in the Church of Englandhas been slow and continuing, faster improvement is still required". Archbishop Welby of Canterbury said that the church "colluded and concealed" instead of trying to help "those brave enough to come forward", and asked Lord Carey of Clifton to step down from his role assisting the Bishop of Oxford. Rowan Williams was also criticised.
Abuse survivor Graham Sawyer said the church treated him and others with contempt. He said, "The church continues to use highly aggressive legal firms to bully, frighten and discredit victims ... In my own case, I continue to endure cruel and sadistic treatment by the very highest levels of the church." Sawyer wants the police to investigate Carey's part in the Ball case.
Conversion to Roman Catholicism
It was reported in 2017, after his release from prison, that Ball and his twin brother were seeking to join the Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, in order to "live and worship in anonymity and without constant fear".
Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse
The IICSA was investigating the Peter Ball case in 2018, and asked King Charles III (then Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...
), and his principal private secretary to give witness statements about Ball, for a hearing starting on 23 July 2018. Charles, who had been in correspondence with Ball, indicated his willingness to assist.
William Chapman, a barrister
A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...
representing some of the survivors, said, “The story of Peter Ball is the story of the establishment at work in modern times. It is the story of how the establishment minimised the nature of Peter Ball’s misdeeds … and silenced and harassed those who tried to complain.... all had thewilling assistance of members of the establishment. It included the heir to the throne, the archbishop and a senior member of the judiciary, to name only the most prominent....The alacrity and the extent of the response by Peter Ball’s friends to one of their own in trouble was impressive. It makes a horrible contrast to the way Peter Ball’s victims were treated....These establishment helpers claim they were duped by Peter Ball … But you will have to consider if it is credible, given what they must have known or could easily have found out about Peter Ball, whether they were really as ignorant as they claimed they were about the nature of Peter Ball’s activities. Some claimed they did not know what a caution meant. Well, Prince Charles has many advisers; he only had to ask. So does the archbishop of Canterbury.” Chapman added that Ball's friends worked against the criminal process. “They went far beyond the normal obligations of friendship.”
Richard Scorer
Richard Scorer is a Principal Lawyer in Slater and Gordon Lawyers in Manchester where he is Head of Abuse Law. He was formerly Head of Serious Injury at Pannone LLP.
He has represented abuse victims in cases against local authorities, schools ...
, a lawyer representing other abuse survivors, said that Lord Carey of Clifton, a former Archbishop of Canterbury, bears the greatest responsibility, and called on him to give a “transparent account of his actions”. He also said, "If a charlatan with an insatiable appetite for abuse wanted to secure a continuous supply of vulnerable young victims, there was no better way of achieving this than by founding a religious order not subject to any external supervision, and by making his victims' participation in the abuse a religious duty obligated by their oath of absolute obedience. Not for the first time, theology and religious ritual provided the ideal mask for abuse, with the evil of what Peter Ball did being compounded by his nauseating claim that the abuse was spiritually uplifting. Most of all, however, Peter Ball found in his fellow bishops in the Church of England the perfect accomplices, prepared to turn a blind eye to his abuse over many decades, to collude in the lie that the abuse of Neil Todd was an uncharacteristic aberration, to cast doubt on his guilt, to smear his victims, and to rehabilitate him."
Fiona Scolding, senior counsel, described a scheme by Ball that enabled him to groom young men for sexual abuse. The men were incited to pray naked, and practise massage and spanking.
Death
Peter Ball died at home in Langport on 21 June 2019 from injuries sustained in a fall. He was 87 years old.
In popular media
In January 2020, the BBC broadcast ''Exposed: The Church's Darkest Secret'', a two-part story of the individuals who brought Ball to justice and the cover-up that reached to the highest levels of the Church of England. Donald Sumpter
Donald Sumpter (born 13 February 1943) is an English actor who has appeared in film and television since the mid-1960s.
Career
One of his early television appearances was the 1968 ''Doctor Who'' serial ''The Wheel in Space'' with Patrick Troug ...
portrayed Ball in dramatised scenes for that documentary.
Selected works
*
See also
*Anglican Communion sexual abuse cases
The Anglican Communion sexual abuse cases are a series of allegations, investigations, trials, and convictions of child sexual abuse crimes committed by clergy, members of religious orders and lay members of the Anglican Communion.
Anglican Chur ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ball, Peter
1932 births
2019 deaths
20th-century English criminals
Accidental deaths from falls
Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge
Anglican priests convicted of crimes
Anglo-Catholic bishops
Bishops of Gloucester
Bishops of Lewes
British identical twins
Child sexual abuse scandals in Anglicanism
English Anglo-Catholics
English people convicted of child sexual abuse
English people convicted of indecent assault
English prisoners and detainees
Place of birth missing
Place of death missing
Criminals from Sussex
Members of Anglican religious orders
Religious figures convicted of child sexual abuse
People educated at Lancing College
English twins
Protestant religious leaders convicted of crimes
Violence against men in the United Kingdom
20th-century Church of England bishops