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Victims of the Church of England abuse scandal have criticised the Archbishop of Canterbury for making light of serious safeguarding failings in a speech. Justin Welby told the House of Lords a head had to roll after a review criticised handling of the scandal. But some survivors said they were “dismayed” and “disgusted” by the speech, saying it made no mention of remorse and was too frivolous. The independent Makin review found Welby “could and should” have reported prolific child abuser John Smyth to the police in 2013. Speaking in the Lords, Welby referred to a 14th century predecessor who had been beheaded, adding “I hope not literally”.
The Archbishop said in his resignation statement a month ago he “must take personal and institutional responsibility” for how he responded when first told about the abuse. Smyth is believed to have abused more than 100 boys and young men at Christian summer camps in England. He is thought to have continued his abuse until his 2018 death in Cape Town, aged 75. The archbishop is due to step down on 6 January, with the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, taking charge until a permanent replacement is found.
The search for a successor is expected to take around six months. An announcement confirmed the bishop Jo Bailey Wells, the archbishop’s former personal chaplain, had “stepped back from her ministry” following the Makin report. This comes after Lambeth Palace confirmed the archbishop would not deliver the traditional Christmas Day sermon at Canterbury Cathedral.
On Thursday in the Lords during a debate on homelessness, the archbishop began on a light-hearted note by saying he pitied his diary secretary who had worked hard on arranging his diary for the year ahead, before the announcement of his resignation. The Bishop of Newcastle, Helen-Ann Hartley, added her voice of condemnation. She said she was “deeply disturbed” by some of the archbishop’s language, which failed to treat victims and survivors of church abuse with proper respect or regard. She added she was “disappointed” to see other bishops in the House of Lords laughing at some of the jokes
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