UK Parliament/PAThe Archbishop of Canterbury has been condemned by victims of the Church of England abuse scandal for a speech they say highlights serious safeguarding failings.
In his first public speech since announcing his resignation last month, Justin Welby told the House of Lords that a head had to roll after a review of criticism over failings to deal with the scandal.
But victims of abuse say they were “disappointed” and “disgusted” by the speech, which they said made no mention of any remorse for survivors and was too “frivolous” with jokes. ” Hit the tone.
Makin’s independent review found that Welby “could and should have” reported child abuser John Smith to police in 2013.
Speaking in the Lords on Thursday, the archbishop said: “The reality is that there comes a time when you are technically leading a particular institution or area of responsibility where there has been a mistake, whether a personal one. Shame on you, responsible or not, it takes a head to roll.
“And there’s only one head that turns well in this case.”
He also cited a 14th-century predecessor who was beheaded, adding: “I hope not literally.”
Mark Steib, who has previously told the BBC he was groomed and beaten by Smith in the 1970s, said: “I object to such a frivolous tone being used in such a serious matter. – a matter that has been, and continues to be, a matter of life and death for some.”
He added that it was “disturbing” that only one head was turning on the scandal.
“Smith’s survivors want all those responsible to resign,” he said. “If Justin Welby is as serious about safety as he claims, then so be it.”
Another of Smith’s victims, named in the McCain report as Graham Jones, said the tone of Mr Welby’s speech was “completely wrong”.
“It was not a tragedy that was needed,” he told the BBC.
“It would have been an opportunity to look on camera and apologize, but instead he made a frivolous comment about a matter that is causing victims to attempt suicide,” he added.
“I was disgusted with the speech.”
Smith is believed to have abused more than 100 boys and young men at Christian summer camps in England and later in South Africa and Zimbabwe in the 1970s and 1980s.
He is believed to have continued to abuse her until his 2018 death in Cape Town at the age of 75.
The archbishop said in his resignation statement a month ago that he “must take personal and institutional responsibility” for how he reacted when he first reported the abuse.
He said he was “told that the police had been notified” in 2013 and that he “mistakenly believed that an appropriate resolution would follow.”
And he said he resigned “in grief with all victims and survivors of abuse.”
During a debate on homelessness in the Lords on Thursday, Mr Welby started on a lighter note, saying he felt sorry for his diary secretary who had arranged his diary for the next year, before announcing his resignation. I worked hard.
He continued that safety in the Church of England was “a very different picture from the past”.
“However, when I look back over the last 50 or 60 years, not just through the eyes of the McCain Report — however one views personal responsibility — it’s clear that I had to resign,” he said.
Reacting to his speech, Mr Staib said the archbishop was backing away from what the archbishop had previously said in his resignation speech about being personally responsible for handling the Smith case.
“Yes, he says he is technically and institutionally guilty. But is he now questioning his personal responsibility?” asked Mr. Steib.
Meanwhile Mr Jones took issue with the Archbishop’s workload as his diary secretary.
“He said he never told his diary secretary a word of pity for the victims of abuse,” Mr Jones said.
The Bishop of Newcastle, Helen-Ann Hartley, added her voice of condemnation.
He said he was “very troubled” by some of the archbishop’s language.
“Highlighting the serious issues of safeguarding failures in this way once again treats victims and survivors of church abuse without due regard or respect,” he said.
She added that she was “disappointed” to see other bishops in the House of Lords laughing at some of the jokes.
Bishop Hartley was the most senior member of the clergy to call for Mr Welby’s resignation after McCain’s report was published. She later told the BBC that she had been. “frozen out” by his Church of England colleagues.
ReutersThe archbishop is due to step down on January 6, with the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, taking charge until a permanent replacement is found.
The search for a successor is expected to take about six months.
An announcement earlier this week confirmed that Bishop Joe Bailey Wells, the archbishop’s former personal chaplain, had “resigned his ministry” following McCain’s report.
A spokesman for the Diocese of London said a security risk assessment would be carried out.
It comes after Lambeth Palace confirmed on Wednesday that the Archbishop will not deliver the traditional Christmas Day sermon at Canterbury Cathedral.
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