Justin Welby feels 'personal failure' over handling of John Smyth case

Justin Welby feels 'personal failure' over handling of John Smyth case

Justin Welby has spoken of a “deep sense of personal failure” over how allegations of horrific sexual abuse by the late John Smyth were handled.  #JustinWelby #ChurchofEngland #sexualabuse #JohnSmyth

Justin Welby’s BBC interview was a very bad idea. What was he ...

Perhaps the former Archbishop of Canterbury intended to convey remorse and accountability in his conversation with Laura Kuenssberg. But that’s not how it’s been received, observes George Pitcher

Angela Tilby: BBC interview shows tragedy of Welby

THERE has been much criticism of the Rt Revd Justin Welby for saying, in a BBC interview with Laura Kuenssberg this week, that he “forgives” John Smyth. In reality, his comments were much more nuanced. Watching the whole interview, I found it impo...

Frmr Archbishop Welby Criticized for 'Tone-Deaf' Remarks On Church Abuser

The 105th Archbishop of Canterbury has expressed his willingness to forgive layman and barrister John Smyth, the accused serial child-beater whose actions led to the archbishop’s resignation. Former Archbishop Justin Welby mentioned forgiveness in response to a question on the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg program. He was quick to emphasize that his forgiveness was not important compared to that of Smyth’s victims, and that he has never tol…

Justin Welby: I failed to act on abuse scandal as scale was ‘overwhelming’

The former Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has told the BBC he failed to follow up abuse allegations within the Church of England because the scale of the problem was “absolutely overwhelming”. In November he became the first Archbishop to quit as a result of a scandal in the Church in more than 1,000 years, after a damning independent review found he did not follow up rigorously enough on reports about John Smyth, a serial abuser of childr