John Marsh (priest)

Francis John Marsh (born 3 July 1947) is a British Anglican clergyman. He was Archdeacon of Blackburn in the Church of England from 1996 until 2001.

Biography

He was educated at the University of York [1] and ordained in 1976[2] After curacies at St Matthew's, Cambridge and Christ Church, Pitsmoor he was the Director of Pastoral Training for the Diocese of Sheffield. His last post before his Archdeacon's appointment was Vicar of Christ Church, Wakefield.

In 2011, Marsh returned to ministry after a ten-year break. He is Priest in Charge of St Michael the Archangel, Emley and St James the Great, Flockton in the Anglican Diocese of Leeds. He is also an honorary Diocesan Training Officer.[3]

Abuse allegations

In May 2001, it was announced that Marsh had been arrested in relation to child pornography.[4][5] His computer had been taken into a computer shop for repairs: the staff contacted the police claiming they had "discovered evidence of visits to child pornography sites on the computer's hard drive".[5] He was released on bail and suspended from his ministries by the Church.[4] In October 2001, he was cleared of the allegations but still resigned as archdeacon.[6]

References

1. 'MARSH, Rev. (Francis) John', Who's Who 2013, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2013; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2012; online edn, Nov 2012 accessed 21 June 2013
2. Crockfords (London, Church House, 1995) ISBN 0-7151-8088-6
3. 'MARSH, Rev. (Francis) John', Who's Who 2017, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2017; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2016; online edn, Nov 2016 accessed 16 Nov 2017
4. "Archdeacon arrested in child porn inquiry". BBC News. 20 May 2001. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
5. Carter, Helen (21 May 2001). "Child porn allegations against archdeacon". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
6. "Archdeacon quizzed over child porn resigns after being cleared by police". Yorkshire Post. 29 October 2001. Retrieved 16 November 2017.