By Rose Tedeschi
The Most Reverend Justin Welby has become the first archbishop of Canterbury to resign, if not the first to have his tenure forcibly terminated. The UK’s top bishop fell on his crozier in the wake of the Makin Report into prolific abuser John Smyth.
More heads may now roll in a long-running scandal which has brininging the disreputable establishment’s role at the heart of the British establishment into a very uncomfortable spotlight.
The first known incident of Smyth’s abuse, a sexualised approach to a 14-year old boy while driving him in his car, took place in 1971. This incident was the first of many, with over 115 known victims and likely many more who have not been identified. His unfettered access to vulnerable young men enabled his abuse to continue right up to his death in 2018, spanning over four decades.
His crimes were known as far back as 1982 when the Ruston Report found that Smyth physically, psychologically and sexually abused children aged under 18. This report was shared with the most senior members of the Church.
Smyth’s actions violated the Offenses Against the Person Act 1861 (Section 47) for causing actual bodily harm, and his sexual abuse likely breached Section 15 of the Sexual Offences Act 1956. Tragically, one child died at a camp, leading to Smyth being tried for manslaughter. Though acquitted, he died before further investigations could proceed.
The Church not only knew about the abuse being inflicted on vulnerable people in their care, but that it was illegal and they had a legal duty to report it to the relevant authorities. David Cleric, co-author of the Runston Report, stated that he ‘thought it would do the work of God immense damage if this were public’. The Church prioritised its own reputation over the lives and wellbeing of children entrusted to its care.
No effort was made to contact or help victims. Instead the Church facilitated Smyth’s move to Zimbabwe in 1984, and subsequently to South Africa in 2001, providing him with financial support and references. He continued to prey on boys and young men with impunity; the evidence suggests his abusive practices persisted until his death in 2018.
Too little too late
The Church of England issued a statement admitting to the cover up: ‘from July 2013, the Church of England knew, at the highest level, about the abuse that took place in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The Archbishop of Canterbury’s personal Chaplain and the Bishop of Ely were all made aware of the abuse, and Justin Welby became aware of the abuse alleged against John Smyth in around August 2013.’
The Makin Report added: ‘it is clear that many senior members did know of the abuse, including ordained people and those with positions of authority and responsibility. We must reach the conclusion that this constituted a cover-up of the abuse… Our firm conclusion is that a serious crime was covered up.’
Speaking before his resignation on 12 November, Welby claimed the abuse could not happen today thanks to modern safeguarding practices. Who is expected to believe this? Safeguarding practices are only as ‘safe’ as the people practicing them. We now know that at least 10 bishops and a further 30 more junior clergy knew about Smyth’s abuses, and every single one of them refused to act. How many more abuses continue to be carried out behind closed doors? How many other monsters are there that the Church calls men of god?
The church today has become almost synonymous with abuse, but it is important to remember that this is just one example of those in power abusing their position for control. The institutionalised nature of the abuse and cover up is echoed across society, and many more scandals.
It is the structure of allowing an ideology to influence and control people that is the breeding ground for abuse. Monsters like Smyth are not the cause but a symptom of the patriarchal structures forced on the population, and such abuses will continue until the failing institutions are brought down.
Only 685,000 people attended church weekly in 2023, yet 26 unelected Bishops sit in the House of Lords. Britain by most international standards is a predominantly non-religious society, but its lawmakers include the clergy of a dying religion. Even were the bishops fit and proper people to be debating the law of the land, which they patently are not, these privileges for a disgraced institution is an offence to democracy and ought to be ended forthwith.
