Why Justin Welby must resign as Archbishop of Canterbury

BY STEPHEN KUHRT

The Makin Report, published this week, chronicles the appalling, sadistic and spiritualised abuse carried out by John Smyth and the abject failure of the Church of England to respond adequately to this.

John Smyth’s abuse represents pure evil. But just as evil is the vast number of professing Christians who knew about Smyth’s actions and failed to blow the whistle on them.

Among those who failed to respond properly is the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby.  He must resign with immediate effect.

Now is not the time for the classic Anglican fudge, where he decides to retire in the coming weeks.  He should resign specifically on the basis of his response to the John Smyth case and refuse the customary peerage given to ex-Archbishops. This symbolic act would be the best way to expose the culture which perpetuates safeguarding failures in our church.

Powerful public witness

I don’t propose this as someone who either dislikes Justin Welby or has wider theological disagreements with him.

When he was made Archbishop, I appeared on ITV’s news to welcome his appointment. When news broke that Welby’s father was someone different to whom he had always believed, The Sun newspaper published an article that I wrote praising his openness and Christian witness.

Justin Welby has been a powerful public witness because he speaks firstly as an earnest and thoughtful Christian, secondly as a clergyman and only thirdly as an Archbishop.

But it is these very gifts and attributes which make Justin Welby’s inaction in response to John Smyth’s abuse all the worse.

It is the depth and sincerity of his Christian faith which should have enabled him to challenge two deeply problematic subcultures in the C of E. These subcultures, often seen at opposites (particularly in recent years because of their responses to homosexuality), in reality contain far more that unites than divides them.

Arrogance

The first of these is the arrogance of the C of E’s conservative evangelical tribe. Welby was closely involved in this tribe when younger, he led on the Iwerne camps alongside Smyth. He shared a house with Mark Ruston, the vicar who knew all the details of Smyth’s sadistic behaviour and hushed it up. We know that as far back as 1981, Justin Welby was warned about John Smyth’s behaviour. 

Like so many within that subculture over Smyth, and similar cases like Jonathan Fletcher, he failed to challenge what was so wrong. Welby was affected by the toxic combination of cultural elitism and theological arrogance within this particular subculture – because they are ‘right’ about the gospel, nothing should tarnish their tribe’s image.

Ineptitude

The second equally problematic subculture is the pompous ineptitude at the heart of the Church of England. Once clergy from any tradition step into the senior roles, a rapid institutionalisation takes place. Too often, they lose the ability to think clearly and act with moral courage and become committed to safeguarding the institution of the Church of England rather than the people within it.

A similar example is how former Archbishop George Carey dealt with the abuse of Bishop Peter Ball and only sent the least serious letter he received about Ball to the police. Many called Carey’s conduct ‘inexplicable’ but in reality, it was all too explicable: Carey knew he had to do something and was trying to do the minimum possible to make the issue of Peter Ball ‘go away’ rather than fully expose it and properly deal with it.

There was too much investment in the institution to be honest and truthful. I believe that a very similar dynamic was operating in regard to Welby and Smyth.

Wholesale change

If the Church of England is ever going to change in regard to its appalling and indefensible record in regard to safeguarding, nothing less than a wholesale change in its culture is needed. Any such change always requires a clear-out of those at the top.

I believe this clear out should include every single bishop, archdeacon and Lambeth Palace staff member who has played any role in suppressing safeguarding scandals and impeding justice.

If Justin Welby has the moral courage to lead the way in this regard by resigning as Archbishop of Canterbury, he will make the most significant contribution possible to the genuine well-being of the church. And in this step he will also find the personal redemption that he so desperately needs as well. 

_{This article was originally produced for the Grace & Truth Blog on Nov 10 2024}