Whatever happened to Bishop Bev?

Last week, the Bishop of Warrington, Rt Revd Bev Mason wrote a farewell letter to the Diocese of Liverpool. In it she wrote:

“On 30th September 2025 I shall formally leave my post as the Bishop of Warrington. It has now been over two years since I was advised to take ‘extended study leave’ on the understanding that the causative matter would be resolved soon thereafter.”

For those unfamiliar with the story, the 'causative matter' was that Bev Mason is one of two women who complained about the behaviour of the then Bishop of Liverpool, Rt Revd Dr John Perumbalath. The fact this matter remains unresolved, and has led to her resignation, highlights the awful consequences of the failure of senior church leaders to grapple with difficult issues of discipline.

The first woman came forward in January 2023, soon after the Rt Revd Dr John was officially confirmed as Bishop-elect of Liverpool. She spoke to a member of the clergy, who spoke to an Archdeacon in Chelmsford Diocese, who took the complaints to the diocesan safeguarding team, who drew them to the attention of the National Safeguarding Team. So far, so good.

These were serious allegations, in a statement, published after his resignation, Dr John admitted, “I am alleged to have kissed her on the mouth and groped her breast, engaging in inappropriate conversations, touching her hair, and kissing on her neck.” He also denied it all.

The National Safeguarding Team found that, while misconduct may have taken place, the woman in question was not vulnerable, making it a matter of discipline rather than safeguarding. The woman did not submit a formal complaint under the Clergy Discipline Measure, so despite senior leaders being aware of these serious allegations, Dr John Perumbalath was duly installed as Bishop of Liverpool in April 2023.

Three months later, a separate allegation of sexual harassment by Bishop John, was referred to the National Safeguarding Team, an allegation which we now know was made by Bishop Bev Mason. Again, the allegation did not reach the criteria for safeguarding, presumably because Bishop Bev was not considered to be vulnerable.

The lack of clarity surrounding what happened next is indicative of the underlying problems in the church.

Bishop Bev has said that in the summer of 2023 the Archbishop of York, Rt Revd Stephen Cottrell, “recognised the very sensitive and difficult situation” she was in, and encouraged her, “to take extended leave pending a resolution.” Bishop Bev duly stepped back from duties in September 2023.

At some point later she did submit a complaint under the Clergy Discipline Measure, but in December 2024 it was ruled out of time by the President of Tribunals, because it was brought more than a year after the events took place.

Channel 4 then brought both allegations to the public’s attention in January 2025 and as a result Bishop John retired from active ministry in the Church of England. His formal statement said this was not, “occasioned by fault or by any admission of liability” but out of a desire for this story not to become “a distraction”.

Perumbalath's resignation may have stopped the media asking questions, but it did nothing to resolve the allegations that Bishop Bev had made and thus there was no obvious way for her to return to duties. When the Archbishop of York faced criticism for his part in the proceedings, Bishop Bev, wrote to General Synod members supporting him and asking them to avoid “quick-fix solutions that apportion blame, call for resignations which suggest something is being seen to be done.” Instead, she called for, “A corporate and individual self-examen...” to bring about a much needed, “… cultural, professional and holy shift...”

It appears that no such examen took place.

In July, General Synod member, Mr Clive Scowen, raised the question of Bishop Bev Mason’s situation. It was a simple question, “… is she exercising any episcopal ministry in the Diocese of Liverpool?”. With a simple answer, “To the best of my knowledge, no she isn’t.” But watching the exchange, reveals far more was going on - the Archbishop looked very uncomfortable, shrugging his shoulders and nodding his head desperately, suggesting he wished the whole issue would disappear. A follow up question, as to whether this was of her own volition, was first ruled out of order, much to the Archbishop's relief. However, it was then taken up by another member of Synod and the Archbishop looked like he wished the ground would swallow him up as he explained, “Bishop Bev remains as the Bishop of Warrington, remains in post and is therefore entirely free to minister.”

Yet just two months later, Bishop Bev, resigned from her post. It is hard to imagine a situation further from feeling “entirely free to minister”.

Her farewell letter, hints at the nature of the problem:

“There is much learning the Church might take from the past two and a half years, but only if we have: (a) the humility to lay down defensiveness, (b) the grace to listen – especially to those who have been most affected by this story, and (c) the courage to review and engage in honest conversations about what has happened."

Humility, grace and courage – three virtues that appear to be in short supply amongst senior church leaders. The recently published minutes of the May Meeting of the House of Bishops records a briefing on current events by the Bishop of London and the Archbishop of York.

“The Church of England was less anxious than over the winter; the Vacancy Advisory and Coordination Group was continuing its work to support leadership during a period of vacancy as a coordinating function but was now needing to meet less often. Nevertheless past safeguarding failures would continue to lead to periodic media stories.”

Perhaps this last sentence says it all: the smug suggestion that safeguarding failures are in the past; no mention of the impact on survivors; and the implicit suggestion that everything would be OK if the media just left things alone.

Without the necessary humility, grace and courage, the Church of England will continue to haemorrhage people who have been damaged by the failure to respond to allegations of wrongdoing quickly and transparently. Resignation, or retirement, without a clear acknowledgement of guilt, should not enable the disciplinary process to be avoided, nor be a means of silencing any public statement of wrongdoing.

It may be easy for those with power to consider the matter dealt with once a head has rolled but their refusal to have the difficult conversation causes serious harm. Without a clear, public verdict those who have made allegations are left to drown in a sea of competing narratives; the lack of resolution makes it impossible to move on.

Difficult conversations are needed, those who have resigned or retired while protesting their innocence need to face discipline, not least because Bishop Bev, her fellow complainant and many more like them, deserve better.

Thank you to the Diocese of Liverpool for the image

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