The Archbishop of Canterbury has resigned over a damning report on child abuse within the Church of England.
John Smyth carried out “abhorrent” abuse of more than 100 boys and young men who he met at Christian summer camps in the 1970s and 1980s.
He is said to have subjected his victims to traumatic physical, sexual, psychological and spiritual attacks – and this has been known since the Iwerne Trust conducted its own investigation in 1982 that found Smyth would take pupils to his home near Winchester and carry out lashings with a garden cane in his shed.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
It said eight of the boys received a total of 14,000 lashes, while two more received 8,000 strokes between them over three years.
According to the report of an independent review led by Keith Makin – the Makin report – that was published on Thursday, November 7, 2024, Smyth’s abuses were covered up by figures of authority in the Church of England for decades.
The Iwerne Trust called the abuses “horrific” but the claims were not reported to police until 2013 – more than 30 years later.
In his resignation statement, Welby stated that, “when I was informed in 2013 and told that the police had been notified, I believed wrongly that an appropriate resolution would follow.
“I must take personal and institutional responsibility for the long and retraumatising period between 2013 and 2024.
Many will be glad to see the back of an Archbishop who appears to have washed his hands of serious issues within his own organisation – but seemed unable to stop himself from interfering in national and international politics:
Did Welby’s – wrong – support for Ephraim Mirvis’s attack on then-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn help ensure that Labour lost the 2019 general election, and the UK lost the best prime minister it never had?
It’s debatable.
And now we see that – at the very least – his own judgment was unreliable.
In his statement, Welby said he has struggled to introduce improvements in safeguarding practices for nearly 12 years.
What can we say in response?
In metaphorical terms that may chime with churchgoers, This Writer would say: the horse has bolted into the fields, trampling more than 100 of the flock and causing shocking harm to them. Even if he did try to fix it afterwards, who cares about the state of the barn door now?
Further reading:
Find out more about Justin Welby – and help out Vox Political – via the following material which I make available as an Amazon Associate:
Reimagining Britain: Foundations for Hope (audiobook) (this could be an ironic listen)
Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:
Be among the first to know what’s going on! Here are the ways to manage it:
1) Register with us by clicking on ‘Subscribe’ (bottom right of the home page). You can then receive notifications of every new article that is posted here.
2) Follow VP on Twitter @VoxPolitical
3) Like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VoxPolitical/
Join the Vox Political Facebook page.
4) You could even make Vox Political your homepage at http://voxpoliticalonline.com
5) Join the uPopulus group at https://upopulus.com/groups/vox-political/
6) Join the MeWe page at https://mewe.com/p-front/voxpolitical
7) Feel free to comment!
And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
Cruel Britannia is available
in either print or eBook format here:
The Livingstone Presumption is available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
Archbishop of Canterbury has resigned over a damning report on child abuse
The Archbishop of Canterbury has resigned over a damning report on child abuse within the Church of England.
John Smyth carried out “abhorrent” abuse of more than 100 boys and young men who he met at Christian summer camps in the 1970s and 1980s.
He is said to have subjected his victims to traumatic physical, sexual, psychological and spiritual attacks – and this has been known since the Iwerne Trust conducted its own investigation in 1982 that found Smyth would take pupils to his home near Winchester and carry out lashings with a garden cane in his shed.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
It said eight of the boys received a total of 14,000 lashes, while two more received 8,000 strokes between them over three years.
According to the report of an independent review led by Keith Makin – the Makin report – that was published on Thursday, November 7, 2024, Smyth’s abuses were covered up by figures of authority in the Church of England for decades.
The Iwerne Trust called the abuses “horrific” but the claims were not reported to police until 2013 – more than 30 years later.
In his resignation statement, Welby stated that, “when I was informed in 2013 and told that the police had been notified, I believed wrongly that an appropriate resolution would follow.
“I must take personal and institutional responsibility for the long and retraumatising period between 2013 and 2024.
Many will be glad to see the back of an Archbishop who appears to have washed his hands of serious issues within his own organisation – but seemed unable to stop himself from interfering in national and international politics:
Did Welby’s – wrong – support for Ephraim Mirvis’s attack on then-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn help ensure that Labour lost the 2019 general election, and the UK lost the best prime minister it never had?
It’s debatable.
And now we see that – at the very least – his own judgment was unreliable.
In his statement, Welby said he has struggled to introduce improvements in safeguarding practices for nearly 12 years.
What can we say in response?
In metaphorical terms that may chime with churchgoers, This Writer would say: the horse has bolted into the fields, trampling more than 100 of the flock and causing shocking harm to them. Even if he did try to fix it afterwards, who cares about the state of the barn door now?
Further reading:
Find out more about Justin Welby – and help out Vox Political – via the following material which I make available as an Amazon Associate:
Reimagining Britain: Foundations for Hope (audiobook) (this could be an ironic listen)
Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:
Be among the first to know what’s going on! Here are the ways to manage it:
1) Register with us by clicking on ‘Subscribe’ (bottom right of the home page). You can then receive notifications of every new article that is posted here.
2) Follow VP on Twitter @VoxPolitical
3) Like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VoxPolitical/
Join the Vox Political Facebook page.
4) You could even make Vox Political your homepage at http://voxpoliticalonline.com
5) Join the uPopulus group at https://upopulus.com/groups/vox-political/
6) Join the MeWe page at https://mewe.com/p-front/voxpolitical
7) Feel free to comment!
And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
Cruel Britannia is available
in either print or eBook format here:
The Livingstone Presumption is available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
you might also like
If Cameron thinks he’s doing God’s work you have to wonder what he worships
UKIP and the Conservatives – more similarities than differences?
UKIP backlash gains momentum with Farage radio interview