A speech by the Archbishop of Canterbury has been slammed as "utterly insensitive" by the Church of England’s lead bishops for safeguarding.
Premier Christian News has learned that following Most Rev Justin Welby’s farewell speech to the House of Lords yesterday, Rt Rev Joanne Grenfell, Rt Rev Julie Conalty and Rt Rev Robert Springett were contacted by several victims and survivors about the "distress and anger" his words had caused.
In response, the bishops have written a letter to victims and survivors which has been seen by Premier. It reads:
“Both in content and delivery, the speech was utterly insensitive, lacked any focus on victims and survivors of abuse, especially those affected by John Smyth, and made light of the events surrounding the Archbishop’s resignation. It was mistaken and wrong. We acknowledge and deeply regret that this has caused further harm to you in an already distressing situation.
“We know that the Church of England has seriously failed over many years at many levels in relation to safeguarding, and we are so sorry that yesterday’s speech was the antithesis of all that we are now trying to work towards in terms of culture change and redress with all of you.
“As lead bishops for safeguarding in the Church of England, we apologise to you.”
The bishops added that they would “continue to do all we can to change the culture of the Church, so that abuse is exposed and prevented, those in authority are held to account, and the searching light of truth is allowed to shine into every corner of our lives".
Archbishop Justin today apologised "wholeheartedly" for the "hurt" his speech caused. He said he hadn’t intended to "overlook the experience of survivors, or to make light of the situation – and I am very sorry for having done so."
A statement from Welby published on the Lambeth Place website reads:
“Yesterday, I gave my farewell speech in the House of Lords, as part of a debate on housing and homelessness.
“I would like to apologise wholeheartedly for the hurt that my speech has caused.
“I understand that my words – the things that I said, and those I omitted to say – have caused further distress for those who were traumatised, and continue to be harmed, by John Smyth’s heinous abuse, and by the far reaching effects of other perpetrators of abuse.
“I did not intend to overlook the experience of survivors, or to make light of the situation – and I am very sorry for having done so.
“It remains the case that I take both personal and institutional responsibility for the long and retraumatising period after 2013, and the harm that this has caused survivors.
“I continue to feel a profound sense of shame at the Church of England’s historic safeguarding failures.”
Victims of John Smyth, the Church of England’s most prolific serial abuser, called it a "tone deaf" speech in which Archbishop Welby appeared to show no remorse or contrition for the church’s failings to properly handle the case.
The Archbishop’s statement comes shortly after the Archbishop of York Most Rev Stephen Cottrell offered an apology to victims and survivors saying the Church of England has "much to learn from others" after the Makin Review into Smyth’s abuse exposed "shameful" safeguarding failings.
You can read Justin Welby's speech in part below:
My Lords, it is often said and it is a cliché to say it–but hey, I am the Archbishop still–that if you want to make God laugh, make plans. On that basis, next year, I will be causing God more hilarity than anyone else for many years, because the plans for next year were very detailed and extensive. If you pity anyone, pity my poor diary secretary, who has seen weeks and months of work disappear in a puff of a resignation announcement.
The reality, which I wish to start with–then pay some thanks, and then talk about housing–is that there comes a time, if you are technically leading a particular institution or area of responsibility when the shame of what has gone wrong, whether one is personally responsible or not, must require a head to roll. There is only, in this case, one head that rolls well enough. I hope not literally: one of my predecessors in 1381, Simon of Sudbury, had his head cut off and the revolting peasants at the time then played football with it at the Tower of London. I do not know who won, but it certainly was not Simon of Sudbury.
The reality is that the safeguarding and care of children and vulnerable adults in the Church of England today is, thanks to tens of thousands of people across the Church, particularly in parishes, by parish safeguarding officers, a completely different picture from the past. However, when I look back at the last 50 or 60 years, not only through the eyes of the Makin report, however one takes one’s view of personal responsibility, it is clear that I had to stand down, and it is for that reason that I do so.