Content warning: mentions child abuse.
This has come after mounting scrutiny over his role in the cover-up of John Smyth’s abuse scandal from the 1970s, in which boys at his Christian summer camps suffered multiple types of abuse. Smyth died in 2018, one year after the scandal was exposed to the public, never having to face justice for his crimes.
What is most astounding about this case is how such large-scale abuse was seemingly ignored for so many years, when it seems evident that many figures within the Anglican church must have known about what was going on. Indeed when the serious issue became known to the senior members of the church, it is said that Welby was “insufficiently curious”.
This desire to preserve the reputation of their religion appears to have clouded the judgement of those that were in the know, putting the reputation of the church above the interests of the children in its protection.
This draws attention to one of the major problems of accountability amongst those in positions of power in any religious institution - the idea that it would reflect badly upon God were the truth to come out. This desire to preserve the reputation of their religion appears to have clouded the judgement of those that were in the know, putting the reputation of the church above the interests of the children in its protection.
This story comes alongside a dramatic decline in the membership of the Church of England, which has dropped from 40.3% of the population in 1983 to just 12% in 2019. Such a disastrous PR event for the church, with the neglect of duty amongst the clergy of the Church of England in dealing with this case, casts even more doubt over the church’s continued survival into the future.
If the church is to survive, it must go beyond the bare minimum of safeguarding initiatives which have been implemented in response to the John Smyth scandal. It is clear that the entire culture of the Church of England needs to change in order for it to be taken seriously, with senior members of the church willing to prioritise reporting abuses over protecting the church’s already degraded reputation.
