LONDON (UK) – It is a disgrace that the Church of England had for decades failed to protect children from sexual predators among the ranks of the clergy and showed no care for the victims, said its spiritual leader and Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby.
As many as 390 members of the clergy and those in positions of trust within the Church of England were convicted of child sex offences from the 1940s to 2018, a probe found this week.
“It’s shameful and disgraceful and reveals exactly what they said – a culture in which there was cover-up and hiding,” Welby told the BBC.
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse has revealed that the Church protected predators to protect its image and reputation rather than help the victims.
“It didn’t come as a surprise,” Welby said, adding that “a journey of change” has already begun.
“We have not gone quick enough or far enough yet.”
Similarly, the Roman Catholic Church has come under the scanner for its delay in initiating action against sexual predators in its ranks. It had to pay billions of dollars in damages and Pope Francis has sounded the clarion call for an “all-out battle” against child abuse by priests.
The prelate, who became archbishop in 2013, said he came to know of the child abuse from the case of a former bishop of Gloucester, who in 2015 pleaded guilty to sexual assault.
The bishop, Peter Ball, had told his victims that praying naked, masturbation and flagellation were taught by St Francis as a means to become closer to God.
Years later, one of his victims committed suicide.
“I was shocked by the level, when I came into this job, by the extent to which it was happening,” said Welby, 64.
