MPs are getting involved in the row over Justin Welby’s position as Archbishop of Canterbury, with Conservative MP Nick Timothy requesting an urgent question in the Commons today. Pressure for Welby to resign has been building from various quarters within the Church of England’s General Synod and the wider church. As in politics, some are focused on specific issues, while others have broader grievances with Welby.
How will the Church and other institutions commit to meaningful change?
The current pressure stems from the Makin Review’s report on the Church’s handling of ‘serial child abuser’ John Smyth, a barrister and Christian leader who is said to have abused boys in a garden shed in Winchester. Smyth was reportedly shielded by senior figures within the conservative evangelical community, enabling him to evade justice or wider public scrutiny for his abuse.
Keir Starmer, asked whether Welby should step down, told journalists en route to the Cop summit in Baku that ‘that’s a matter really for the church rather than for me’. However, it’s unlikely this will be the prevailing view among MPs contributing to any Commons debate on the matter. Most are likely to feel it’s an issue they should voice opinions on, just as Welby has frequently felt it his place to weigh in on political matters during his tenure.
We have now reached the familiar phase of a political scandal where a scalp is being sought, a more concrete and immediate outcome than any attempt at genuine cultural reform. As we’ve seen in politics, individuals may come and go, but dysfunction can persist; cultures are often more tenacious than individuals.
A serious question remains as to whether the Church of England’s hierarchy is capable of delivering the cultural overhaul required. The Church has yet to implement the core recommendations of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse – though, to be fair, the government has also not fully enacted its recommendations since the inquiry concluded in 2022.
Whatever Welby’s fate, the larger and more pressing question remains: how will the Church and other institutions commit to meaningful change? Without this, we risk remaining trapped in a repetitive cycle of scandal, scapegoating, and stagnation.
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