Priest awaits appeal verdict

Reverend Brown was accused of sexual harassment

A Cumbrian priest who was sacked following allegations of harassment and bullying, is awaiting the outcome of an appeal into his dismissal.

The Reverend Harry Brown appealed to the Archbishop of York after the Bishop of Carlisle revoked his licence.

The priest claims it is the manner of his dismissal which should be investigated, not his conduct.

But a spokesman for the Bishop of Carlisle defended the church and said the bishop had acted properly, even though there was little experience of such cases to draw on.

Bishop's power

Mr Brown was sacked by the Bishop of Carlisle, Graham Dow, in September 2001, after more than a dozen parishioners complained about alleged sexual harassment, intimidating behaviour and financial irregularities.

He has appealed against the decision and has said it is the way the church deals with these issues which should be examined.

Mr Brown said: "There are a lot of things that have come out, about ecclesiastical law, and its downfalls, and about the power of the bishop."

The bishop's spokesman said: "The fact that the Bishop of Carlisle said he was learning as he went along, is because it is the first time he or the archbishop has dealt with this sort of thing."