Former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey has permission to officiate at religious services revoked by Church of England

The former Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, has had his permission to officiate at religious services revoked by the Church of England. We spoke to the writer and academic Andrew Graystone.

In a statement, Lord Carey told Channel 4 News: “I am bewildered and dismayed to receive the news a short time ago that due to ‘concerns’ being raised during the review of John Smyth QC I have had my PTO revoked. I have been given no information on the nature of these ‘concerns’ and have no memory of meeting Mr Smyth.

“In 2018 the National Safeguarding Team and the office of the Archbishop of Canterbury invited me to meet with them to arrange safeguarding training and facilitate a meeting with survivors of Peter Ball’s abuse.

“They have failed to deliver action on either of these matters which were the subject of mutually agreed action. As a result, I have little confidence in their ability to pursue a proper investigation. I understand from the testimony of victims and survivors of clerical abuse that this lack of confidence is shared widely. ”