Churches close their doors to paedophile

A CONVICTED paedophile who has been banned from churches across South Yorkshire yesterday branded his exclusion as the product of "phobia and hysteria".

In an unprecedented move, the Church of England has decided that Michael Cope, 49, should be denied entry to Sheffield Cathedral or any other church in the diocese in order to protect children in the congregation.

If the ban fails, the Church will consider taking out an injunction against him.

Police and social services in Sheffield alerted the Church to the fact that Mr Cope, who is single and who has lived in the Broomhill area of the city for 20 years, had become a regular attender at Sheffield Cathedral. Details about Mr Cope, along with copies of his photograph, have been circulated to neighbouring areas so that he can be identified if he tries to go to church.

Mr Cope was last convicted in 1995, when he was jailed for 18 months for indecently assaulting a boy who was taking part in an opera production at a theatre. In 1988 he was jailed for nine months for indecently assaulting three choirboys.

He said that the church ban was based on a fear of paedophiles which was often misguided. "I think it is phobia and hysteria," Mr Cope said. "It is not really related to my actions. There is a general climate not helped by the press. I have spent so many years regretting that this happened and that people were upset. I do accept that I broke the law - I am not claiming otherwise."

He added that he had no immediate plans to contact the diocese. "I am going to wait. It will be a hardship of course, but it looks like I will not be going to church."

A spokesman for the diocese of Sheffield said that the Church was an inclusive organisation and would not normally wish to ban anyone, but that it was forced to so in this case for the sake of children.

"We can confirm that steps are being taken to exclude a man from Sheffield Cathedral and all church services in Sheffield Diocese where children might be present," he said.

"This action was taken in accordance with the diocese of Sheffield's child-protection policy and in full collaboration with the police, social services and probation service. A professional assessment of the level of risk to children indicated that this action was required to protect children - this must be a primary consideration of the diocese."

A spokesman for the General Synod, the Church of England's ruling body, said: "As far as we are aware, it is an unprecedented move.

"This is clearly the Church taking steps to safeguard those in its care. The safety of children is of paramount importance."

Detective Superintendent Bob Purdy, deputy head of South Yorkshire CID, said: "We think this is a matter for the Church. Child protection is a key issue and safety of the community is a major concern.

"The Sex Offenders Act requires that convicted offenders must register, and there are obvious benefits for the people and other agencies of being aware where they are rather than driving them underground."

Jayne Moules, director of ChildLine Yorkshire and North East, said there was a fine line between hounding someone and informing society of a possible risk.

She welcomed any co-ordinated approach which would protect children from people who are known paedophiles, but stressed that the vast majority of calls to ChildLine revealed that most sex abuse was not committed by strangers to the abused children.