The Archbishop of Canterbury suggests Prince Andrew should be forgiven...

[Arnaquer]

I know its the Daily Mail but what the Hell?
The head of on outdated establishment asking for forgiveness for a member of another outdated establishment.
Does he think we are all going soft because of the Jubilee?!

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10872099/Prince-Andrew-forgiven-following-sex-abuse-scandal-Archbishop-Canterbury-suggests.html

Forgiveness is one of the most essential and important facets of Christian life. Christians believe Jesus died on the cross as a way of demonstrating his forgiveness for our sins. So it's not really a surprise to hear Welby discussing forgiving Prince Andrew or absolutely anyone else for any kind of sin... is it?!

Exactly!

@lameasahorse perhaps he is perhaps he isn't. That was not my point. Forgiveness is central to Christianity so it's not particularly newsworthy to hear Welby or any Christian discussing the importance of forgiveness.

Yes forgiveness of sins is central to Christianity. But obviously the person sinning has to acknowledge and understand what they've done and the harm caused to others? Especially if they are in a position of power. PA clearly does not, if he did he wouldn't be pushing himself forward all the time.

John 1:9 - "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

Confession of sins does not need to be done publicly. Christians all over the world have different ways of confessing, some through private prayer directly to God or another example would be that Catholics go to their priest for Confessional.
I hear what you are saying @Pemba but we don't actually know what Prince Andrew is or isn't guilty of. Let's imagine though he is guilty or the crimes published via media. Do you really think that even if he wanted to publicly confess that he would be advised to do this or allowed? Really?! Nah. Me neither.

@lameasahorse why so angry? It's obviously touched a nerve. But I've just had a quick look at the link OP posted and apparently this: -

"But the Archbishop was later forced to clarify his remarks after eyebrows were raised at the suggestion, saying he was not specifically referring to Prince Andrew when he said we must become a more forgiving society"

Always best to hear things directly otherwise its like Chinese whispers. Christians are always preaching forgiveness, so that's not news. Prince Andrew will never publicly admit to anything and most likely wouldn't care if you or anybody else forgives him. Why would he?! Have a cuppa tea and stop reading things that wind you up. All the best.

A public confession, self flagilation etc is unlikely from him, I agree. But if he was capable of understanding then he would be quietly withdrawing from public life, maybe devoting himself to charity work etc. Instead he's constantly wanting to get his face on camera, dress up in full uniform with medals etc, apparently encouraged by his aged mother. To be charitable to her, she's very old now and perhaps not thinking clearly. But it's not a good look for the royals.
Look at the example of the disgraced ex government minister John Profumo. After he was disgraced in the 1960s scandal I think he resigned and spent the rest of his life doing charity work quietly. And yet what he did was less serious than what PA was accused of doing.

I'm assuming Welby isn't asking God to forgive Andrew. Christians don't believe that rich sinners should get a high-ranking church figure to tell 'others' that they should forgive. That isn't in the bible.

Luckily, the Bible has lots about repentance and forgiveness and atoning. Welby's actions are more akin to a feudal bishop decreeing on high on behalf of his landowner. It's unbefitting his position in the Church. He'll be selling indulgences next.

If Welby really believes the biggest issue in the UK atm is forgiving Prince Andrew then he's spending too much time on social media.

Have you watched the interview? He was asked if we should forgive. He's the leader of the C of E. What is he going to say no never forgive! What he said is that forgiveness and consequences are different. And that as a society we are getting worse at forgiveness but he said several times that he was not commenting on Prince Andrew specifically. The only thing he actually commented on directed at Prince Andrew was that a grieving 96 year old should be able to have who she wants with her at her husbands memorial - which is hard to argue with.

I think the way itv have presented the interview is a disgrace and very misleading. They are trying to turn people against him and very unfairly in this instance.

Oh, I understand that Andrew is his boss's son and was asked to send a feeler to the public. IMHO this shows how ridiculous both the monarchy and the church are.
He may even manage to spoil his boss's celebration by having said this before the upcoming Bank Holiday. That would be a interesting....
It just shows how out of touch that lot is.

@Pemba
Perhaps Prince Andrew isn't capable of understanding? Perhaps he is, and, he doesn't care?! Perhaps he's been advised to do what hes doing....Perhaps he thinks the way he is behaving reflects his "innocence". I don't know if he is guilty or not of anything! But I would bet my bottom dollar he doesn't care what you or I think. Probably best not to get worked up over things we really can't control. PA is carrying on in his very privileged life today without a second thought to you or I. Have a good day. Genuinely.

Nothing to do with the daily mail .
The guys a dick .

Has he even ASKED for forgiveness? That would suggest contrition. I've seen no evidence of that. And who should forgive him? Surely the only person who has the right to forgive him is the person he 'sinned' against ('sinned' being in inverted commas, not because I don't believe he's guilty, but because I don't believe in sin as a concept) The rest of society is irrelevant. I'm an atheist, so God doesn't even come into it for me.

Somewhere The Royals are supposed to set some sort of example though, aren't they, otherwise what is the point of them? And the Queen as the Head of the Church of England especially, and doesn't she have any influence on her son?

I don't waste too much time thinking about them usually, but the whole thing is distasteful and the scales have really fallen from my eyes wrt the Windsors. That's why I'm ignoring the Jubilee. I think many people feel the same way.

Yes @Pemba I agree with you that this whole "managing the public opinion" PR exercise is distasteful.

On another note in order to forgive someone I need to understand what his motives were and agree with how badly he was affected by his past etc. On this occasion I see no chance to have compassion towards Andrew.

If they believe in god surely the logical conclusion is always that the most important thing is to have peace with and be forgiven by the allmighty. It doesn’t matter what we, the mortals think. Does it?

I'm Christian (Roman Catholic) - I don't necessarily disagree that we should aim to forgive, but before that can happen he needs to repent and take the consequences for his actions, which in this case means dropping out of public life for the remainder of his life. Christianity doesn't preach that there should be no consequences for our sins. He remains a wealthy, privileged man, with a happy family life. Not being a working royal isn't a harsh punishment, although the reputational damage must be hard to bear.

I think we ought to stop going on about it though, move on and allow him to move on - not by stepping back into the limelight of course, but by fading into obscurity.

@Pemba I hear what you are saying. I suspect you are right in that your feeling around it all being distasteful is shared by many.

I don't actually know what the point of the royal family is. I personally don't look to them for any sort of example on how to live my life. I didn't realise people did that even. 😳

Probably best not to get worked up over things we really can't control.

Is someone who is the son of the head of state and is funded by the public purse abuses a vulnerable girl and then continues to flaunt himself in public you can't blame people for getting "worked up".

The only people who can forgive Andrew are his victims and its fully understandable if they never do.

Welby says PA is trying to make amends. How exactly?