A second top Church of England cleric is facing calls to resign over his handling of abuse claims

Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — The archbishop who is due to take temporary charge of the Church of England is facing calls to resign over his handling of the case of a priest accused of sexual misconduct. The BBC reported Monday that Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell let a priest remain in his post despite knowing he had been barred from being alone with children and had paid compensation to one of his accusers. Cottrell is due to take over next month as the church’s spiritual head from Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby. Welby resigned in November over the way he handled separate sexual abuse claims. But Bishop of Newcastle Helen-Ann Hartley said Cottrell lacked the “credibility or moral authority” to be the church’s figurehead.