Church leader faces tough questions over historic abuse case handling
Recent report shows how Church of England handled abuse cases in past decades Its findings put **Justin Welby** in spotlight due to his connections with main suspect and following actions
In todays world institutions play a double-sided role: they keep society together but sometimes hide dark secrets behind their walls. Edmund Burkeʼs famous words about social groups dont always match reality
To love the little platoon we belong to
Many british institutions failed their duties over time - from post office scandals to blood contamination cases; their mistakes caused real harm to people. The Church of England now joins this un-enviable list
A new report published on 11/10/24 shows how John Smyth (a well-known barrister) abused at-least 115 young people over many years. The Church knew about this but didnt act: which raises questions about Justin Welbyʼs role. Back in the 70s he had contact with Smyth and got warnings to avoid him around ʼ81; still he kept sending x-mas cards and money to Smyths zimbabwe mission
The timeline looks troubling - while Welby became Archbishop in early-2013 (when abuse cases were hot topic due to Savile scandal)‚ he didnt push for proper investigation. The report points out several issues:
- No police reports when needed
- Four-year delay meeting victims
- Late personal apology
- Unfulfilled promise to check other clergy involved
While Welby talks about church improvements in child protection; his actions dont match his words. He criticizes other groups (like BBC) for similar failures but shows different standards at home. Under his watch church faces many issues - closing buildings‚ fewer people coming to services and weird claims about rural areas being racist
The facts paint clear picture: institutional protection won over doing right thing - exactly what conservatives warn about when talking about power of big organizations
