Former archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey has been asked to step down as an honorary assistant bishop in Oxford after a damning review found that senior Church of England officials colluded with a bishop who abused young men.
Justin Welby, the current Archbishop of Canterbury, has asked Lord Carey to "review his position".
The Rt Rev Dr Steven Croft, Bishop of Oxford, has confirmed that Lord Carey has "voluntarily agreed to step back from public ministry".
It is in light of the damning independent review on how the CoE handled the case of Peter Ball, the former bishop of both Lewes and Gloucester.
Ball was jailed for 32 months at the Old Bailey in 2015 after pleading guilty to a string of historical offences, including two counts of indecent assault.
His victims were people who had sought spiritual guidance from him between 1977 and 1992.
During his time as bishop, Ball hand-picked 18 vulnerable victims to commit acts of "debasement" in the name of religion, such as praying naked at the altar and encouraging them to submit to beatings, his trial heard.
The review - called An Abuse Of Faith - speaks of collusion, protection and concealment over a number of years, but stops short of saying there was a deliberate cover-up.
Lambeth Palace's failure to pass on six letters of allegations against Ball to Gloucestershire Police while they were investigating in 1992 was its "greatest failure in these events", the review states.
It said that just one letter, which was of "least concern", was handed over and the overall impression "must give rise to a perception of deliberate concealment".
The letters came from a range of families and individuals who did not have an axe to grind, who were being constructive and were raising concerns which were all "either indirectly or precisely suggestive of sexual impropriety, or worse, by Ball", the review notes.
Ball was also given money that was authorised by Lord Carey, who was Archbishop of Canterbury at the time.
The review also states that Ball repeatedly let it be known that he "enjoys the status of confidant of the Prince of Wales" and "sought to exploit his contact with members of the royal family in order to bolster his position".
It went on to state it found "no evidence that the Prince of Wales or any other member of the Royal Family sought to intervene at any point in order to protect or promote Ball".
Bishop Peter Hancock, the CoE's lead safeguarding bishop, said: "It is true that the Archbishop of Canterbury has written directly to Lord Carey and asked him to review his position.
"It is a matter for Lord Carey and for the Bishop of Oxford."
In a statement, the Bishop of Oxford said: "With reference to the criticism of former Archbishop George Carey in the report, the Archbishop of Canterbury has written to Lord Carey and asked him to carefully consider his position as honorary Assistant Bishop.
"As I hold responsibility for granting him a licence to enable him to carry out his duties, Archbishop Justin has asked Lord Carey to talk to me and we have agreed to meet in the coming days for that conversation.
"In the meantime he has voluntarily agreed to step back from public ministry."
Under the reign of Lord Williams, who succeeded Lord Carey as Archbishop of Canterbury, the Church began to review previous cases.
The review said it was "lamentably slow" in making change.
Lord Williams said: "Having read the report and reflected on its details it is clear that I did not give adequate priority to sorting out the concerns and allegations surrounding Peter Ball at the earliest opportunity.
"I recognise that such a delay is likely to have increased the pressure and distress experienced by the survivors of his abuse and I am sincerely sorry for this."
The review, chaired by Dame Moira Gibb, stated: "Peter Ball betrayed his Church and abused individual followers of that Church.
"The Church at its most senior levels and over many years supported him unwisely and displayed little care for his victims."
The report found that Lord Carey was significantly involved in the way the Church treated victim Neil Todd - who took his own life in 2012 - in 1992-1993.
Despite years of abuse in Sussex, Ball was able to leave the diocese in 1992 to take up his post as Bishop of Gloucester.
A year later, the then 16-year-old trainee monk Mr Todd prompted a police investigation which led to Ball's resignation from the clergy.
Ball escaped with a police caution in 1993 for a single act of gross indecency against Mr Todd.
Ball went on to live in a rented cottage on the Prince of Wales's Duchy of Cornwall estate.
He had an identical twin brother called Michael who was also a bishop.
Lord Carey described the paedophile bishop as "basically innocent" and said he had a "very high" regard for him in a September 1993 letter to Bishop Michael.
Archbishop Welby described the report as "harrowing reading", adding: "The Church colluded and concealed rather than seeking to help those who were brave enough to come forward.
"This is inexcusable and shocking behaviour and, although Dame Moira notes that most of the events took place many years ago, and does not think that the Church now would conduct itself in the ways described, we can never be complacent; we must learn lessons."
He restated his "unreserved apology" to the victims, adding: "There are no excuses whatsoever for what took place and the systematic abuse of trust perpetrated by Peter Ball over the decades."