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18 hours ago
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The bishop of Liverpool is under pressure to quit after senior clergy in his diocese said his position was untenable following allegations of sexual misconduct.
John Perumbalath’s senior leadership team said he should step aside from all ministry while a claim of sexual harassment by a female bishop was properly investigated. A separate allegation of sexual assault was also made against Perumbalath.
The statement from senior clergy, which followed consultations with local clergy, congregations and staff, will put intense pressure on Perumbalath to consider his position. .
The allegations about Perumbalath come less than three months after the Church of England was thrown into unprecedented crisis after Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury, was forced to resign over a separate abuse scandal.
A statement from six senior clergy on Wednesday evening said: “Having listened to clergy, congregations and staff at the diocesan offices and the cathedral, it is with deep regret that the senior leadership of the diocese of Liverpool feel that the position of the Rt Revd Dr John Perumbalath is currently untenable.
“We believe that the allegations made by the female bishop need to be fully and properly investigated. We also believe that while these proper investigations are conducted the bishop of Liverpool will need to step aside from all ministry in the diocese of Liverpool.”
The statement was issued 24 hours after Channel 4 News revealed that two women had come forward with allegations about Perambalath. One woman accused Perumbalath of kissing her without consent and groping her, and a female bishop accused him of sexual harassment. Both incidents allegedly took place in Essex in 2023.
Perumbalath, who became bishop of Liverpool in 2023, said police had investigated the allegations but taken no further action. He added that while he did not believe there had been any wrongdoing, he had “taken seriously the lessons learnt”.
Perumbalath said he had complied with an investigation by the National Safeguarding Team (NST). The allegations had also been investigated by the police, he said, who took no further action.
“Whilst I don’t believe I have done anything wrong, I have taken seriously the lessons learnt through this process addressing how my actions can be perceived by others,” he said.
The Church of England said a complaint of alleged misconduct had been brought against the bishop in 2023, after Perumbalath formally and legally assumed the role.
A spokesperson said the NST had concluded there was insufficient evidence to bring a complaint under the Clergy Discipline Measure (CDM). They also said the complaint had been investigated by police, who took no further action, and that support had been offered to the woman.
A second complaint was made shortly after the first complaint, according to the C of E. The spokesperson said the second complainant did not bring a CDM complaint within the one-year deadline. The individual later applied for permission to bring it after the deadline, which was supported by the archbishop of York, but was refused by an independent judge, the deputy president of tribunals.
“The information brought by the second complainant was explored and assessed not to be a safeguarding matter but a matter of alleged misconduct. Pastoral support has been provided throughout for the second complainant and is ongoing,” the C of E spokesperson said.
The archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, Welby’s temporary stand-in, has also faced calls to stand down after allegations emerged that a priest at the centre of a sexual abuse case was twice reappointed under him while he was serving as bishop of Chelmsford.
