George Carey, the former archbishop of Canterbury who was heavily criticised in an independent report for his part in the cover-up of sexual abuse carried out by a bishop, has been allowed to resume an official role in the Church of England.



Lord Carey stepped down last year as an honorary assistant bishop at the unprecedented request of Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury, after a damning report which found the church had colluded over the abuse.



But it emerged this week that Carey has been granted “permission to officiate” (PTO) by Steven Croft, the bishop of Oxford, allowing him to preach and preside at churches in the diocese. Croft is reportedly under police investigation for allegedly failing to respond properly to a separate report of clerical sexual abuse.



The decision to grant the PTO was made in February despite expectations of further revelations this month about Carey’s role in the case of Peter Ball, a former bishop of Gloucester, at the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse (IICSA).



The inquiry will spend a week scrutinising the C of E’s handling of the Ball case, starting on 23 July. Ball was jailed in 2015 for the grooming, sexual exploitation and abuse of 18 vulnerable young men between 1977 and 1992. Prince Charles has been asked to give a witness statement to the inquiry about his correspondence with Ball.



Carey, who was archbishop of Canterbury from 1991 to 2002, resigned his honorary post after the publication of an independent report on the Ball case by Dame Moira Gibb.



She concluded that senior figures in the church had “colluded [with the abuser] rather than seeking to help those he had harmed”. She said: “The church appears to have been most interested in protecting itself.”



Carey had “set the tone for the church’s response to Ball’s crimes, and gave the steer which allowed Ball’s assertions that he was innocent to gain credence”, said Gibb.



The former archbishop responded to the report, saying it made “uncomfortable reading” and that he accepted its criticisms of him.

In February this year, Carey contacted the diocese of Oxford to request a PTO, which was granted by Croft. It followed letters from members of the congregation where Carey worships that requested he be allowed to resume ministry at their church.

A spokesperson for the diocese of Oxford said: “The granting of PTO enabled Lord Carey to preach and preside in the church where he worships, a church where his ministry is much valued. The granting of a PTO does not indicate a planned return to the role of assistant bishop.”



It is understood that Carey underwent fresh checks on his criminal record and C of E safeguarding training.



The church’s national safeguarding team was not consulted on whether the PTO should be granted.



A survivor of abuse by Ball said he was extremely concerned to learn that Carey had been granted a PTO. “It’s a real stab in the back for Ball survivors,” he said, adding that it would have been prudent to wait until further evidence had been heard by IICSA.



Croft is one of several senior church figures, including John Sentamu, the archbishop of York, who are reportedly being investigated by South Yorkshire police over alleged failures to act on disclosures of an alleged rape of a teenage boy by a clergyman in the 1980s. The force declined to confirm or deny an investigation was under way.



Matthew Ineson claims he was raped by the Rev Trevor Devamanikkam, and in 2012 and 2013 reported the crime to senior figures in the church, including Croft. He alleges they failed to follow proper procedures and did not advise him to tell police.



Devamanikkam was later charged with indecent assault and buggery without consent, but killed himself in 2017 before coming to trial.



A spokesperson for the diocese of Oxford said: “Written records and notes taken at the time give a different picture to the one Mr Ineson is presenting about how his case has been handled.”



An independent review had been commissioned by the C of E’s national safeguarding team, the spokesperson said.



Ineson told the Guardian: “Steven Croft may disagree about the wording of my disclosures, but nonetheless accepts I did tell him of my abuse. No word of apology has ever been forthcoming for what I have been put through.



“Given the circumstances it is incredible that Croft is still in a position to decide whether PTO should be given to George Carey or anybody else who has been so involved in the dreadful case of Peter Ball or any other safeguarding case.”



PTOs are mostly granted to retired priests who wish to continue their ministry by preaching, taking communion and providing holiday or sickness cover to serving clergy. PTOs are granted at the discretion of the local bishop.

