Auto Amazon Links: No products found. Blocked by captcha.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has resigned from his position following a report into child abuse allegations against the church. The report found that Welby “could and should” have reported the abuse of boys and young men by John Smyth, a former member of the Church of England, to the police in 2013. Survivors of Smyth’s abuse have called for the resignation of more senior members of the Church, stating that those who “kept the stories to themselves” should now be questioned.
The report was published last week and found that Welby, along with other church officers, failed to report Smyth’s abuse to the authorities in the UK and South Africa. Smyth is accused of attacking dozens of boys, including those he met at Christian camps, in the UK in the 1970s and 1980s. The report concluded that the inaction of the Church was a “missed opportunity” to bring Smyth to justice before his death in 2018.
On Tuesday, Welby announced his resignation, stating that “it is very clear that I must take personal and institutional responsibility” for his response after he was first informed about the abuse. While some survivors have applauded his resignation, others have called for more senior members of the Church to be held accountable for their silence.
Mark Stibbe, a former vicar and author who is also a survivor of Smyth’s abuse, stated that while he applauded Welby for resigning, he and fellow survivors had been calling for more resignations for years. Stibbe called for those who had broken the law to be held accountable. Richard Gittins, another survivor, stated that bishops who were aware of the abuse and failed to report it should now be questioned.
The Bishop of Winchester, Philip Mountstephen, stated that failures in safeguarding should be investigated and appropriate action taken against those who had failed to safeguard children. As the Church of England continues to grapple with allegations of child abuse, it remains to be seen what steps will be taken to ensure that such incidents do not occur in the future
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
Auto Amazon Links: No products found. Blocked by captcha.