Culture of ‘silence and worry’ is stopping different Church of England leaders being known as out over John Smyth abuse scandal
A ‘culture of silence and fear’ is stopping senior Church of England leaders being called out over the John Smyth abuse scandal, a bishop has alleged, which saw as many as 130 boys and young men assaulted.
There are concerns that information in relation to victims of the CofE’s worst ever child abuser may be being withheld by members of the clergy who stay silent for fear of the repercussions and their ‘career prospects’.
In an interview on Sky News‘ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, Bishop of Newcastle Dr Helen-Ann Hartley suggested her fellow bishops are perhaps remaining tight-lipped after witnessing the resignation of Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and fearing a similar fate.
Dr Welby announced his resignation this week after the independent Makin Review concluded that the most prolific abuser associated with the Church of England, John Smyth, might have been brought to justice had the archbishop formally alerted authorities in 2013.
Ms Hartley had previously called for the archbishop to step down, saying his position had become ‘untenable’ after the publication of the review.
She told the programme: ‘I think it’s a great disappointment to me that when I called for that publicly, I was indeed a lone voice.
‘So I have no real explanation for that other than there is a culture, I think, of silence and fear amongst the bishops, which is really unhealthy.’
Ms Hartley went so far as to suggest that other bishops may have stayed silent ‘because they see themselves as succeeding to be the new archbishop of Canterbury’ and are ‘fearful of being reprimanded and rebuked’.
The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has resigned but there are calls that ‘this should not detract from the Church of England sorting out its unfathomable safeguarding issues’ Pictured: March 2024
John Smyth (pictured) is believed to be the most prolific serial abuser to be associated with the Church of England
Right Reverend Dr Helen-Ann Hartley bishop of Newcastle upon Tyne. She suggested her fellow bishops are perhaps remaining tight-lipped after witnessing the resignation of Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby
She said she believed ‘anybody’ who holds public office or a role in the church, who was named in the damning review as having failed in their response to abuse and the report of abuse, should also resign.
Over five decades, as many as 130 boys and young men were abused physically, sexually and psychologically in the UK and Africa by Smyth, a lay reader who ran Christian summer camps.
The former barrister died aged 77 in Cape Town, South Africa, in August 2018, while under investigation by Hampshire Police.
In a statement announcing his resignation, Dr Welby said the Makin Review had ‘exposed the long-maintained conspiracy of silence’ regarding Smyth’s abuse.
The archbishop added that he was informed of the abuse in 2013, but was told at the time that police had already been notified – which later proved not to be the case.
Dr Welby quit after senior colleagues joined criticism and more than 12,000 people signed a petition calling for him to resign, and PM Keir Starmer pointedly refused to back him.
The former archbishop knew Smyth because of his attendance at Iwerne Christian camps in the 1970s, but the review said there was no evidence that he had ‘maintained any significant contact’ with the barrister in later years.
Dr Welby added he had ‘no idea or suspicion of this abuse’ before 2013.
At the COP29 summit, Keir Starmer said that findings in the review by Keith Makin that Smyth abused more than 100 boys and young men are ‘clearly horrific’ and that his victims ‘have obviously been failed very, very badly’
Stephen Cottrell, the Archbishop of York, said Dr Welby’s resignation was ‘the right and honourable thing to do’
In a statement, Dr Welby said: ‘ Having sought the gracious permission of His Majesty The King, I have decided to resign as Archbishop of Canterbury.’
The report said Smyth ‘could and should have been formally reported to the police in the UK, and to authorities in South Africa (church authorities and potentially the police) by church officers, including a diocesan bishop and Justin Welby in 2013’.
The Archbishop of York said the resignation was the ‘right and honourable thing to do’, while MPs insisted there was a duty on leaders of institutions to ‘report and rigorously follow up’ safeguarding concerns.
Alan Collins, a partner at law firm Hugh James, which represents a number of Smyth’s victims, said following Dr Welby’s resignation: ‘It is unsurprising that Welby has resigned because of the immense pressure on him to do so given his involvement in the Smyth case.
‘However, the real story is not about whether Welby has resigned – this is a side matter.
‘The spotlight must be on how the Church of England failed its victims so dreadfully for over 40 years, and the immediate priority is the CoE addressing the needs of its victims.
‘All the attention is on Welby’s resignation, but this should not detract from the Church of England sorting out its unfathomable safeguarding issues.’
