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Archbishop of Canterbury faces calls to resign over church child abuse failings
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Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, is facing mounting pressure to resign following a damning report that accused him of failing to take sufficient action against a sadistic child abuser, John Smyth. The report, an independent review, concluded that Welby had failed to ensure a proper investigation into the allegations, despite being aware of the abuse at the highest level of the Church of England.
I had no idea or suspicion of this abuse before 2013. Nevertheless the review is clear that I personally failed to ensure that after disclosure in 2013 the awful tragedy was energetically investigated.
Our abuse happened at a time when corporal punishment was still legal, so people dismissed it as 'posh boys getting six-of-the-best' in a culture where that happened.
I didn't realise it at the time, but I was being groomed into becoming part of a cult-like group of people that he acted as a sort of spiritual 'father' over.
There are two traumas. One is the actual abuse. The other is the reaction of the church, particularly the Church of England and its hierarchy, to the victims. For most of us that is as traumatising as the original trauma.
Anglican Church Child Abuses
sources
perspectives
countries
organizations
persons
- 1.Justin Welby
- 2.John Smyth
- 3.Helen-Ann Hartley
- 4.Andrew Watson
- 5.Keith Makin
- 6.Libby Purves
- 7.Marcus Walker
- 8.Mark Stibbe
- 9.Stephen Castle