Tony of the Big Saloon writes:
THE C OF E CRISIS
Come on Detterling. Don't sit on the fence. Should Welby go or stay?
You had plenty to say about the Catholic Church on these issues.
Let's hear you. Don't be a bottlejob all your life you aging so-and-so.
Tony of the Big Saloon
The Makin report, published on October 18th 2024, makes it clear that the actions - and inactions - of the Archbishop of Canterbury concerning the late John Smyth render his continuance in post untenable. In particular, his failure to report Mr Smyth to the police after he was given clear evidence of his crimes in 2013, amounts to a form of criminal negligence from which legal proceedings may arise. His superintendence of safeguarding matters in the church since his enthronement in 2013 has been seen by many as haphazard, inept and, in most instances, more concerned with preserving the image of the Church of England than with the welfare of the victims of paedophile abuse. The Makin report is, however, the first concrete and actionable evidence that Justin Welby failed to act appropriately on information that would have led to a prosecution and conviction. Mr Smyth would undoubtedly have died in jail, where he deserved to. Since October 18th last, many Anglican parishioners - this writer among them - have acted as follows:
ReplyDelete[a] added their names to a petition calling for the Archbishop's resignation started by General Synod members. So far, this petition has attracted 10,000 signatures;
[b] written to their diocesan bishop - in this writer's case The Right Revd Helen-Anne Hartley, Bishop of Newcastle - urging that as a matter of urgency she canvass the views of as many Anglicans as possible and act on the result. This action resulted in Right Revd. Hartley's receiving much input from parishes across the diocese; her public and direct instruction to Justin Welby to resign was published on November 11th, 2024.
[c] written directly to the Archbishop to point out that his failure to report John Smyth to the police in 2013 was, morally, if not legally, equivalent to the aiding and abetting of paedophilia.
The Archbishop resigned at 1400 today, Tuesday November 12th.
His resignation parallels the action of Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XV, who resigned as pope in 2013 after his own position with regard to many cases of paedophilia among Catholic clergy became similarly untenable. In his case this record extended as far back as his Archbishopric of Munich from 1977-1982, when it was shown that he had failed to act over proven cases of paedophile crime. Both men, in the end, have acted honourably in the end, but only when their dishonour became untenable; truly, little became their offices as well as their relinquishing of them.
Aloysius Norbert Wilson, 12.xi.24
Dear Mr Wilson,
ReplyDeleteYou are talking bollocks.
There is no parallel. It was outrageous that after Justin Welby was informed of the matter in 2013 this appalling man Smythe was allowed to carry on with his abuse.
Compare this with the Kiesle case in California. From the day Kiesle's crimes came to light he was immediately suspended by the Catholic Church and never again allowed to work as a priest.
GENE
Your information regarding Fr Stephen Kiesle is incorrect. Joseph Ratzinger received a request for Kiesle’s laicisation in 1982, and took no action, citing “the greater good of the church” and the “detriment “ that would be caused to the Catholic laity by a sexual abuse scandal. Despite repeated requests for action, Ratzinger did nothing for five years, during which time Kiesle abused children and young people at a church in Penole, California, where he was working as a youth pastor. Ratzinger’s inaction enabled this abuse to happen.
ReplyDeleteSimilarly, an exhaustive enquiry into the sexual abuse of children in the Archdiocese of Munich revealed that as Archbishop Ratzinger had failed to act appropriately in at least five cases, thereby enabling the abuse of children and young people by his priests to continue.
As I state above, both Mr Welby and Herr Ratzinger took the honourable course of resignation in the end, but this excuses neither man from their dereliction of duty, which enabled hideous crimes of abuse against children to continue unpunished.