To think Justin Welby Archbishop of Canterbury must resign/be charged TW CSA.

[MrsRobinsonsHandprints]

Justin Welby knew in 2013 about a prolific child abuser.

He did nothing

"I personally failed to ensure that after disclosure in 2013 the awful tragedy was energetically investigated."

He is not resigning, he should be bloody charged with aiding and abetting. The abuser was allowed to move to Africa and continue to abuse.

This is the Archbishop of Canterbury.

https://news.sky.com/story/archbishop-of-canterbury-justin-welby-considered-resigning-over-appalling-barrister-abuse-scandal-13250363

The only people that deserve sympathy are the victims.

Their own report puts the blame of Welby so I'm not so sure why you are quick to blame the police.

It has lost the church thousands of worshippers who got out of the habit of going and have never gone back.

Sounds like one good thing to come out of covid to me tbh.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/mar/22/the-guardian-view-of-abuse-in-the-church-a-truly-dreadful-story

This Guardian editorial has not aged well in terms of Welby but is interesting.

Don't trust any of them. Remember Paula Vennells was in line to be the Bishop of London. Anyway, Welby should have been sacked. Although I don't doubt that he was ultimately pushed. Of course, the church will use him as a sort of scapegoat to say "look everyone, everything's OK now". Wonder what Charlie's private words with him were. Same encouragement as he gave to the paedophile Bishop of Gloucester I expect. The establishment is rotten to the core and needs to be re-established.

Yes probably they will look for a woman archbishop next.
They are very rarely implicated in this sort of scandal.
This sort.
Paula Vennells was being seriously considered as a Bishop of London.
By Justin Welby I believe.
Anyone remember Paula Venells . . .

Absolutely rotten rotten rotten

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse is just finishing its investigation of the scandals involving the Church of England in Sussex or, in the jargon, the diocese of Chichester. What it has found, in the words of one witness has been “horrifying to a huge degree, because you see this extraordinary and atrocious willingness to turn a blind eye to things going very, very seriously wrong, and entirely damaging human beings for their whole lifetimes”. The speaker was Justin Welby

From the editorial @Uricon2 linked . Speechless

@MrsRobinsonsHandprints and @Uricon2 I read that same bit in horror, he had the gall to say that in 2018, after doing exactly that in 2013. Welby’s hypocrisy is off the scale. Thank you for posting that article. I feel so sad for the survivors who have to go through this all every day.

Yes, I noted that bit about "willingness to turn a blind eye" myself, @MrsRobinsonsHandprints

Perhaps a way of distancing himself from any blame for the horror, mentioning what he saw others doing in the hope it keeps the focus off him?
It's an ancient tactic, but while it's not helped Welby this time I've no doubt there are others for whom it continues to work just fine

Yes, I noted that bit about "willingness to turn a blind eye" myself, @MrsRobinsonsHandprints

Perhaps a way of distancing himself from any blame for the horror, mentioning what he saw others doing in the hope it keeps the focus off him?
It's an ancient tactic, but while it's not helped Welby this time I've no doubt there are others for whom it continues to work just fine

The establishment is rotten to the core and needs to be re-established

Edited to add they could make a useful start with the disestablishment of the CofE, @ginasevern, and getting all religions well out of public life and back to being a purely private matter

It won't happen though, because the establishment operating as it does creates a very cosy roost for far tooo many

People I know are saying all sorts about pedophile ' rings ' and who was also in the know about this individual.
Makes you wonder doesn't it?.. probably goes right to the top.
The victims get all my sympathies.
Cover ups have been going on for years , so no surprises there. Glad his resigned , but he should have been sacked.

I think that Welby resigning should only be the start. Other senior clergy in the the C of E knew of this and similar situations and did little or nothing. The chance to try to set up proper safeguarding was underminded by people in the Church itself

https://anglican.ink/2023/07/13/statement-by-meg-munn-on-her-resignation-as-acting-chair-of-the-independent-safeguarding-board/

I tend to believe Ms Munn entirely as I have no idea what she would gain by saying this if it were not accurate.

It would be good to think that today will make a difference but until there is the will for proper systemic change around how the C of E really deals with this issue, nothing will alter. Words are meaningless.

Poor Justin, an innocent and powerless little man who couldn't do anything about the big bad paedo, so helpless was he. Oh yeah, powerless Justin, it's not as though he was the fucking Archbishop of Canterbury, is it?!

@Uricon2 an interesting statement from Meg Munn, but the point she seems to have missed is that although supposedly independent, the Safeguarding Board was convened and paid for the the Archbishop's Council, and the old phrase about "he who pays the piper calls the tune" comes to mind

They must have been disappointed to find they'd co-opted someone who actually wanted to do something about it, especially since her comments suggest the Board was merely a vehicle for pretending action was being taken, but then that's probably why they only gave her a temporary contract - in other words "best see if this one's 'sound' before we're too far in"

Either way her findings contradict their recent claims of being committed to the independence of the safeguarding process, but then I doubt anyone with sense believed that anyway

The Bishop of Newcastle, The Right Revd Dr Helen-Ann Hartley ☝

There’s more…Bishop accuses Archbishops of 'coercive language' www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj0je7mg8ygo

Helen-Ann Hartley seems to have the most integrity out of the whole lot.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14079965/Four-bishops-CoE-clergy-face-growing-pressure-resign-child-abuse-scandal-Archbishop-Canterbury-Justin-Welby-paid-price-shame-failing-victims-John-Smyth.html

@TameRockChick I see the Telegraph offers alternative names in the frame of "who else knew and should go", though Conway's common to both

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/11/13/bishops-conway-wells-seeley-makgoba-makin-review-john-smyth/

Trouble is that, between them, two are women (so much for the thoughts that appointing a woman would help?) and another's black, and targeting these could well lead to angst of a different stripe

All that can safely be said for now is that the whole thing's a hideous mess, and that the church can be relied on to minimise and deflect just as they always have

"And he is a shitty priest to boot."

I've known several vicars and I consider some to have been more industrious-seeming than others, or better at holding the attention of a congregation with a few well-said words, or having given me food for thought with just one sentence, but how do you decide that a priest is a 'shitty priest'?