A NEW complaint against David Tudor, who last year was prohibited from ministry for life, has been upheld by a disciplinary tribunal, it was announced on Monday.
A statement on the diocese of Southwark’s website said that the tribunal related to the “serious sexual abuse of a 15-year-old” in the 1980s, when he was a priest in Surrey.
The Bishop of Southwark, the Rt Revd Christopher Chessun, said: “The behaviours that have been considered by this tribunal hearing — and others earlier admitted by David Tudor — demonstrate a serious and damaging breach of his pastoral and professional obligations and were wholly incompatible with his status as a priest.”
Safeguarding processes in the 1980s and ’90s were “neither sufficiently robust nor survivor-focused”, he said, and “left open” the possibility that harm would be caused.
“We deeply regret this and we give thanks that things have changed dramatically, both in our Church and in wider society. I am enormously grateful, too, for those who have had the courage to share their experiences and engage with this long and difficult process.”
In 1989, Mr Tudor was banned for five years for sexual misconduct, but returned to ministry in the diocese of Southwark in 1993. He subsequently moved to the diocese of Chelmsford, where, from 2008 — the year that he became an area dean — he was subject to safeguarding restrictions on his interactions with children (News, 15 December 2024).
He was suspended again in 2019, while police investigated further allegations relating to non-recent abuse, but no charges were brought. In a subsequent case under the Clergy Discipline Measure, however, he was prohibited from ministry for life (News, 15 November).
The Archbishop of York, who was Bishop of Chelmsford from 2010 to 2020, resisted calls to resign over the case, saying that he had been prevented from acting until new allegations came to light in 2019 (News, 7 February).
Archbishop Cottrell accepted responsibility for Mr Tudor’s remaining an area dean, despite the concerns about him (News, 23 December 2024)
The current Bishop of Chelmsford, Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani, thanking the woman who brought the complaint, said that that she had been grateful for meeting with her this year.
“She has shown great courage in coming forward to report David Tudor’s abuse and I am profoundly sorry for the harm he has caused her and the other survivors of the abuse he perpetrated,” Dr Francis-Dehqani said in a statement, also thanking others for coming forward.
“There are important lessons that must be learned about how the Church of England handled the David Tudor case,” she said.
A safeguarding review of the handling of Mr Tudor’s case (News, 3 April) is expected to deliver its findings in early 2026. The initial deadline has been extended from November, owing to “new police information”, a statement issued on Monday from Church House, Westminster, says.