JUSTICE FOR BISHOP GEORGE BELL OF CHICHESTER

ANDREW P. COMMENT

"Important decisions like this need to be based on proper evidence. It's regretful that something as obvious as this needs saying"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-36294052

BISHOP GEORGE BELL : COUNCIL RE-HANGING OF PORTRAIT "OFFENSIVE"

Re-hanging a portrait in a town hall of a bishop named as an alleged paedophile is "offensive", say campaigners...But, Chichester Council said it had been replaced as there was reasonable doubt about the woman's claims...
Tony Dignum, leader of the council, said: "We haven't seen sufficient evidence against Bishop Bell...I don't doubt that she was abused but the question is: was it Bishop Bell?"
Peter Saunders, founder of the National Association of People Abused in Childhood, said the move was offensive to all "victims and survivors of childhood abuse...Some would say it is [also] offensive to re-hang a portrait of this man over whom such a cloud hangs."
...But, a group set up to defend Bishop Bell said the church's investigation was inadequate and the woman's claims uncorroborated....

BBC ONE SOUTH EAST TODAY - SATURDAY MAY 14 2016 - 5.20PM

BISHOP BELL'S PORTRAIT RE-HUNG AT CHICHESTER DISTRICT COUNCIL OFFICES

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b079rtcd

Chichester City Council says it [the re-hanging of Bishop Bell's portrait] is because there is reasonable doubt about the woman's claims.

"Our position is that we have not seen sufficient evidence against him where we should erase him completely from our memories"

~ Cllr Tony Dignum - Leader of Chichester District Council

"PORTRAIT OF SEX ABUSE BISHOP IS BACK ON COUNCIL OFFICE WALL - AUTHORITY SAYS CHURCH ACTED HASTILY AND THERE WAS SOME DOUBT OVER GUILT", THE ARGUS, SATURDAY MAY 14 2016 - PAGE 8

"We have been very mindful of the work done by Andrew Chandler [Bell's biographer and a leading voice calling for his rehabilitation], and I felt he made a very strong case that the Church had acted very hastily in condemning Bell, and that natural justice had not been observed. You don't have to believe that Chandler is 100% right to doubt whether the Church was right to do what it has done...there is some doubt over whether Bell was guilty and we must avoid a rush to judgement"

~ Councillor Tony Dignum - Leader of Chichester District Council

XXX COMMENT

"I do not think the Church of England was wise to deal with this case in the 'in camera' way it did. For the upshot was that it had to announce a decision which, from the terms of the investigation, it could not justify by public evidence. That's plainly not right, and wouldn't be right even if the accused priest was an obscure parish figure and not a celebrated bishop.
My impression is that the Diocese of Chichester made the wrong decision about how to handle the case and now finds itself in a predicament of silence it can't break free from. I think it was more blunder and panic than malice that lead to the current state of affairs. And I feel more sadness than anger"

RWS RESPONSE TO XXX COMMENT

"And I feel more sadness than anger"
~ XXX

"And I feel more anger than sadness because I suspect this has happened to many "an obscure parish figure" - and others..
My heart goes out more to these 'forgotten unknowns' (and their families), rather than living Bishops - and Archbishops - who choose to remain silent. I can't see Bishop Bell choosing to remain silent. Can you?"
~ Richard W. Symonds

LAWRENCE M. COMMENT

"As a 12-year-old chorister I knew Bishop Bell and his wife quite well and some of us helped him pack his library on retirement. It would take a lot more evidence than is currently alleged to change my view of him as a hero"

"FRIENDS WHO LIKE JUSTICE FOR BISHOP GEORGE BELL" FACEBOOK GROUP (CREATED BY JILL ARMSTEAD)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1117648908292503/

"BISHOP BELL PORTRAIT IS REINSTATED", CHICHESTER OBSERVER, ARTICLE, THURSDAY MAY 12 2016

'A portrait of George Bell has been reinstated in the Chichester City Council chambers. The council removed the picture in the wake of the Church of England apologising and paying a civil settlement to a woman who says she was abused by the former Bishop as a child in the late 1940s, early '50s...Clerk Rodney Duggua confirmed it has now been rehung in the Council House..."Bishop Bell's name is displayed on the board of Freedom Holders in the Assembly Room Ante Room, and he is also commemorated by the name of the street in Parklands, Bell Close"

"PETITION TO REOPEN BELL CASE", CHICHESTER OBSERVER, LETTER, THURSDAY MAY 12 2016

'We wish to draw attention of readers...there is currently a very active petition...requesting a reopening of the case against Bishop Bell...We invite everyone who believes a great injustice has been done to Bishop Bell to add their signatures...'

~ Marilyn and Peter Billingham
~ Richard W. Symonds
~ Meriel Wilmot-Wright

IVOR S. COMMENT

"Bishop George Bell ordained me deacon in 1954 and priest in 1955. On both occasions I had the chance over several days to be present at his residence where his wife Henrietta and he hosted us as ordinands. He also came several times to conduct confirmations in the parish in which I served. Never once did I observe or hear anything that would lend credence to the allegation made against him"

BISHOP BELL EXHIBITION - From The Archives

http://www.parliament.uk/visiting/exhibitions-and-events/exhibitions/bishop-bell/

George Bell, Bishop of Chichester (1883-1958), sat in the House of Lords for 20 years on the bishops benches famously speaking out against the blanket bombing of German cities during the Second World War.

Lord Lloyd of Berwick explains why Parliament marked the 50th anniversary of Bell's death with an exhibition on his career and contribution to the House of Lords....

THE DEFENCE OF BISHOP GEORGE BELL - FULL DOCUMENTS IN THE CASE

http://hitchensblog.mailonsunday.co.uk/2016/03/the-defence-of-george-full-documents-in-the-case.html

Here are the documents released last night by the Bell Support Group, urging a reconsideration by Church (and Media) of the charges against Bishop George Bell

1.Statement

Press Statement

George Bell’s naming as a paedophile is challenged today by a group of lawyers, academics, politicians and senior Church figures

Release 00:01hrs on Sunday the 20th of March 2016

BISHOP GEORGE BELL PAPERS - LAMBETH PALACE LIBRARY

http://www.lambethpalacelibrary.org/content/bell

Correspondence and diaries of the Rt Revd George Bell (1883-1958), successively student of Christ Church, chaplain to Archbishop Randall Davidson, Dean of Canterbury, and from 1929 Bishop of Chichester.

This extensive collection includes material on the German churches before and after the Second World War, the allies' war policy, relief work among refugees, the atomic bomb, the ecumenical movement and Churches overseas, South Africa, religious drama and art, liturgy, and church and state relations.

"G. F." COMMENT

"Innocence till proven guilty is a principle that seems to be increasingly undervalued. It may seem of less consequence when the dead are denied due process in this way, but it greatly endangers the living. Everyone who values the freedom we enjoy in the UK should sign this petition"