Church Report Reveals Decades-Long Cover-Up of Abuse Allegations
Allegations that a priest sexually assaulted a 15-year-old boy were concealed by the Church in Wales for over 30 years, enabling Anthony Pierce to advance to the position of bishop, according to a recent report.
Four Archbishops of Wales, including Dr Rowan Williams, are mentioned in the report, which details a "catalogue of failures" by the Church.
The alleged victim has since passed away. His mother told BBC Wales,
"Nobody cared, nobody was listening,"and described the response as
"too little too late for him."
Current Archbishop Cherry Vann stated:
"The review shows in painful detail the missed opportunities, the harmful assumptions and the inadequate processes which characterised the Church's response to these allegations."
Pierce was imprisoned last year for the historical sexual abuse of a different boy.
Between 1986 and 2010, concerns about Pierce were raised on four separate occasions with senior Church officials, the report reveals.
However, no action was taken amid a "don't ask, don't tell" culture, where it was considered "safe to hush it up," according to the review led by barrister Gabrielle Higgins.
Mother Speaks Out on Behalf of Her Son
Speaking publicly for the first time, the alleged victim's mother, Brenda (a pseudonym), told BBC Wales:
"The only person who believed him was me... it was dismissed. He had no trust in the system.
It was all brushed under the carpet. And the church as an institution, as a self-serving institution as far as I'm concerned, doesn't know what to do with something like this, or it would prefer to protect its own reputation."
Initial Complaints and Church Responses
The first concerns about Pierce's behaviour were raised in 1986 by male students at Swansea University, where Pierce, now 85, served as chaplain.
These concerns were reported to the then Bishop of Swansea and Brecon, Benjamin Vaughan, but no action was taken.
In 1993, Brenda made an allegation of sexual assault by Pierce against her son. Pierce, then in his late 40s, "implicitly admitted that something inappropriate had happened with the boy." He offered his resignation over the alleged assault, said to have occurred around 1990, but it was refused and no further action was taken.
The then Bishop Dewi Bridges was aware that police were conducting "unrelated enquiries" regarding Pierce and "sexual abuse," according to the report.
The report also notes that the alleged sexual assault of the 15-year-old altar server was not classified as "paedophilia" because the victim was a boy, not a girl.
"This catalogue of failures can only be a source of shame for the Church,"said Archbishop Vann.
In 1999, Pierce was elected Bishop of Swansea and Brecon despite circulating "rumours" about his conduct among those involved in the election, including Williams, then Bishop of Monmouth, and Barry Morgan, then Bishop of Llandaff.
The then Archbishop of Wales, Alwyn Rice Jones, attempted to allay concerns by stating he had spoken with Pierce and was reassured.
Before Pierce's enthronement as Bishop, Brenda again reported the abuse to the Church.
A handwritten report containing an admission of a criminal act was prepared by a "friend" of Pierce and hand-delivered to Rice Jones. This report, not included in the review but obtained by BBC Wales, described Pierce as "naive" but acknowledged that he was an adult while the victim was a child.
"He was frightened of his own shame being made public, and of losing his ministry,"the report stated.
Rice Jones reportedly viewed the assault allegation and Pierce's admission as "a bit of a hiccup and as evidence of homosexuality not paedophilia and that this was a blip and it should just be put to one side."
Victim's Mother Describes Emotional Impact
Brenda described her son as "an emotionally fragile boy" at the time.
"If you are going to take anything like this forward - it's a delicate process from making an allegation through to seeing the process through.
They need nurturing, they need looking after, they need being believing, they need to be wrapped up and cared for, not chucked on the rubbish heap as we felt that's what happened."
The review, which took over a year to complete, stated:
"It seems doubtful that allegations of sexual activity, with an admission of an improper incident, involving an allegedly 15-year-old girl would have been put to one side in the same way.
The approach seems to have been driven more by a reluctance to inquire into homosexual orientation, blinding recognition of child sexual abuse."
The handwritten report was passed to Williams by Rice Jones when he became Archbishop of Wales for "safekeeping" and in case "any further questions arise" about Pierce, suggesting its contents might be helpful.
Williams "merely glanced briefly at the contents" and assumed it concerned the person who made the allegations. He said he was unaware the allegation involved a child.
Williams took the report to Lambeth Palace with his personal papers in 2002 upon becoming Archbishop of Canterbury, where it remained until it was located in 2010 during the Historic Cases Review conducted by the Church in Wales into safeguarding cases.
At that time, Williams found the report and
"stated his dismay"at Pierce's admission of guilt.
The alleged victim died in 2004.
Brenda said:
"He was very troubled he couldn't find a way of being in the world, I think it haunted him.
The abuse always laid heavy on him."
Williams acknowledged he was aware of gossip about Pierce but not criminal allegations and told BBC Wales he regretted taking the report to Lambeth Palace without further action.
"I regret it very much if my delay in reading it further complicated the process of dealing with the criminal activity.
I am very conscious that Pierce's victims and their families will feel that the processes of the Church did not adequately protect them at that time, and am very sorry indeed for any ways in which I contributed to this, however inadvertently."
Police Involvement and Church's Handling of Evidence
Evidence concerning Pierce was compiled and referred to the police, although the review found that not all information held by the Church was provided, including the 1999 handwritten report.
Morgan, Archbishop of Wales at the time, said he had assumed all relevant information had been shared with the police.
"It was not until this review that I discovered that not all documents had been handed to those bodies and I was very shocked to learn that to be the case."
Pierce's permission to officiate, which allowed him to conduct services and ceremonies, was suspended during the investigation.
John Davies, then Bishop of Swansea and Brecon, emailed Morgan expressing hope that Pierce would receive a caution or face no further action. Morgan did not respond.
When questioned by the review, Davies, who later became Archbishop of Wales, said he did not consider the possibility that Pierce might have committed offences against other victims.
Davies later reinstated Pierce's permission to officiate without consulting child protection officers or informing others, according to the report.
Davies told BBC Wales that while he accepted "errors of judgement" and expressed "utter abhorrence" for Pierce's actions, he believed the allegation was an "isolated incident" for which no prosecution was pursued or expected.
"Given his admission, I believed Pierce might properly be spoken to and cautioned by police,"he said.
Pierce was suspended again in 2016 after the 1999 letter was discovered.
In 2023, another man reported abuse by Pierce to the Church in Wales.
Pierce remains incarcerated after admitting last year to sexually assaulting the then 15-year-old on five occasions between 1985 and 1990.
South Wales Police confirmed the investigation into Pierce is ongoing.
Review Findings and Recommendations
The independent review noted that since the 1990s, the Church has implemented several changes, including appointing safeguarding officers, developing policies, and increasing scrutiny and safeguarding checks in bishop appointments.
However, some "continuing weaknesses" were identified in the appointment process for bishops.
The reviewer made recommendations to improve these processes but stated they would have been "highly unlikely" to alter the outcome in Pierce's case.
The review did not assess the Church in Wales' current systems and processes except regarding the appointment of bishops and archdeacons.
Mother's Call for Accountability
Brenda said:
"People knew. Throughout this time. And yet nobody was joining up those dots.
I don't want the Church to say 'we will learn from this'. They've already said that 40 years ago, 30 years ago, 20 years ago, 10 years ago and they're saying it again now. I would need to see something that would persuades me that, yes, that's OK now, that will be OK. And at this point I don't see that.
But I do have image of him smiling, saying thanks mum, for taking it forward. Thanks for not letting it go. Thanks for still believing in me."
Background on the Church in Wales
The Church in Wales was established in 1920 following its disestablishment from the Church of England but remains a member of the Anglican Communion.
Additional reporting by Ben Summer and Kayley Thomas
