Charges dropped as Dean agrees to quit Ripon

ALL CHARGES against the inhibited Dean of Ripon, the Very John Methuen, were withdrawn in advance of a consistory-court hearing due to have been held in Leeds on Tuesday. Under an agreement, reached after a reported eight hours of negotiation, the Dean has agreed to leave Ripon Cathedral and take sabbatical leave until the end of the year.

The Dean was facing 21 charges of conduct unbecoming the office and work of a clerk in holy orders, and a further charge of "serious, persistent, continuous neglect of duty". An independent assessor, Judge Peter Hunt, decided in September last year that there was a case to answer on all 22 charges, and the Bishop of Ripon & Leeds, the Rt Revd John Packer, suspended the Dean on full pay pending the outcome of the consistory court.

The Bishop said at the time of the inhibition: "The Dean is clear that he has a full answer to the complaints." Dean Methuen declared himself "entirely innocent of any complaints against me", and vowed that he would defend himself strenuously against the charges.

There has been conflict at Ripon Cathedral for almost six years, with complaints about autocratic behaviour, and high-profile resignations that included the director of music, the chapter clerk, and the bursar ( News, 24 September 2004).

A working party set up in 2001 by the Bishop of Knaresborough to look into the pastoral situation reported in confidence, and asked people with genuine complaints to put them in writing to the registrar. There were around 100 submissions, both for and against the Dean.

A statement from the diocese on Tuesday said that all the charges against the Dean had been withdrawn by the promoter with the agreement of the consistory court, and that the Dean "had decided
to leave Ripon by the end of the year".

Bishop Packer and Dean Methuen both issued statements on Tuesday, and by mutual agreement will not be making any further comment. The Dean said: " Following the unhappy disputes at the cathedral, I am pleased that the inhibition has been lifted. I believe that I now need a period of reflection on my future life and ministry.

"My wife and I have many friends in Ripon, where there has been much creative work over the past ten years, and where we received a great deal of support during difficult times. I wish to give my best wishes and prayers to everyone in the cathedral, the city, and the diocese."

The Bishop said: "I am grateful to John Methuen for the lively and vigorous ministry he has pursued at the cathedral over the last ten years.

"I also want to say something to all members of the cathedral community and the diocese. The ministry and mission of the Church have suffered during this unhappy period. I would ask all concerned to refrain from recriminations, and set the past behind them, and hold in their prayers the Dean, his wife, and family, and all those who have been damaged by these events.

  "I pray that good relations will be restored in the cathedral community and across the city, and look forward to us all working together to promote the gospel."