Crime
Church of England Bishop Calls for Archbishop of Canterbury to Resign Amid Child Abuse Report
A Church of England bishop calls for Archbishop of Canterbury's resignation due to mishandling of prolific child abuser case. Pressure mounts as report reveals lack of action against abuser.
6 min read
Originally published by nationnews.com (opens in new tab)
A Church of England bishop has called on the Archbishop of Canterbury to resign, calling his position “untenable” after a damning report into a prolific child abuser associated with the Church.
Bishop of Newcastle Helen-Ann Hartley is the most senior member of the Church to call on the Most Rev Justin Welby to stand down, following the “horrific, horrendous and shocking” report.
Mr Welby is facing mounting pressure to resign after it emerged last week that he did not follow up rigorously enough on reports of John Smyth QC’s “abhorrent” abuse of more than 100 boys and young men.
A review of the Church’s handling of Smyth’s case said Mr Welby “could and should” have reported the case to authorities when details were presented to him in 2013.
Mr Welby acknowledged he should have more rigorously followed up the details and said last week he had considered resigning, but decided to stay in his role.
The Makin review into Smyth’s case said he might have been brought to justice for decades of abuse before his death, in 2018, had he been formally reported to the police in 2013.
Smyth is believed to be the most prolific serial abuser to be associated with the Church of England, having subjected as many as 130 victims to traumatic physical, sexual, psychological and spiritual attacks.
Smyth’s abuse took place over almost five decades and across three countries, according to the report. He targeted boys who attended summer camps he ran for young Christians.
Smyth abused 26 to 30 boys and young men in the UK in the 1970s and 1980s, the report found. He then relocated to Africa, where he abused a further 85 to 100 “young male children aged 13 to 17”.
The report says that from July 2013, the Church of England knew “at the highest level” about Smyth’s abuse in the UK and should have “properly and effectively” reported him to the UK police and the relevant authorities in South Africa.
Inaction from the Church represented a “missed opportunity to bring him to justice,” the report says.
Anglican priest Giles Fraser told the BBC the Most Rev Justin Welby had “lost the confidence of his clergy” and three members of the Church’s parliament – the General Synod – have started a petition calling for Mr Welby to resign over his “failures” to report Smyth’s abuse.
“It’s very hard to find the words to respond adequately to what the report tells us,” Bishop Hartley told the BBC.
“I think rightly people are asking the question ‘Can we really trust the Church of England to keep us safe?’ And I think the answer at the moment is ‘no’,” she said.
