In the end, Justin Welby had to go. Indeed, he should have stepped down as Archbishop of Canterbury the day an independent review said he had had ‘a level of knowledge’ of an appalling child abuse scandal within the Church of England but failed to put a stop to it.
He spoke yesterday of his ‘profound sense of shame’ that the sickening activities of John Smyth, who ran Christian summer camps in the UK and Africa, were not ended sooner. Smyth is believed to have violently assaulted up to 130 boys and young men over five decades.
There must now be further investigation into who else was involved in this clear conspiracy of silence, and anyone implicated also removed.
Then comes the choice of successor. The Anglican Church is at a desperately low ebb and needs a leader who can infuse it with renewed vigour.
For too long its leaders have been obsessed with colonialism, slavery and other ‘woke’ political causes. The new Archbishop must focus on the spiritual and pastoral needs of their flock in the present day, not bleat constantly about the sins of the fathers.
Justin Welby spoke yesterday of his ‘profound sense of shame’ that the sickening activities of John Smyth, who ran Christian summer camps in the UK and Africa, were not ended sooner
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has resigned over his handling of the Church of England’s worst child abuse scandal
Congregations are dwindling and churches closing because too many believe the Church has lost its relevance. Unless Mr Welby’s successor can restore faith, the decline of Anglicanism may become terminal.
Insult to our farmers
Labour’s contempt for farmers was summed up yesterday by Tony Blair’s former political secretary, John McTernan.
With thousands preparing to descend on London in protest at the imposition of inheritance tax on agricultural properties, Mr McTernan said: ‘If the farmers want to go on the streets, we can do to them what Margaret Thatcher did to the miners … It’s an industry we can do without.’
The PM quickly denounced these idiotic comments but how many within his party have similar feelings? And what does it say about Sir Keir himself that he chose as Defra Secretary Steve Reed, whose entire political career had been spent in the urban sprawl of south London?
He is the first Archbishop of Canterbury to be forced out of the role
Labour neither understands nor cares about farmers. Yet not only do they feed the nation, but they are also stewards of the countryside. Politicians talk about wilding and biodiversity; farmers make it happen.
To treat them with such disdain is a disgrace. Unlike the miners of the 1980s, this country cannot do without them.
A weighty decision
The debate on assisted dying shifted yesterday from its ethical dimension to the cold mechanics of how and in what circumstances lives might be extinguished.
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill specifies that mentally competent adults with less than six months to live and expressing a ‘clear, settled and informed’ wish to die may ask for help to do so. If two doctors and a High Court judge agree, one of the doctors would give the patient ‘an approved substance’ with which to end their life.
There are safeguards, of course, and many will support the Bill, especially those who have watched loved ones die in pain.
Others fear the right to die could become a duty, as the elderly and frail feel they have become a burden on their families. There are also worries about coercion and the criteria being widened in future.
This is a hugely complex matter, and MPs must think hard before casting their vote. Their decision could effectively give the state power over life and death. It must not be taken lightly.