Doubt cast on when archbishop learned of cases
LONDON — The Anglican Church has been embroiled for most of this year in a scandal involving decadesold abuses that occurred in elite Christian holiday camps for boys where Justin Welby worked in his 20s, long before ssuming his current post as archbishop of Canterbury.
The archbishop has said he knew nothing of the abuse until 2013, when the police were informed about it, and he apologized in February for not having done more to investigate the claims further.
But now the grown men who were victims of the abuse as boys are coming forward to challenge the archbishop, casting doubt on his claims of ignorance.
The archbishop, 61, was working abroad in 1982 when an internal investigation by an influential Christian charity supported allegations of sadistic practices by John Smyth, a prominent lawyer and evangelical leader who ran the camps.
The results of that investigation were never made public, and the allegations were dismissed when they were first reported to the British police in 2013 because Smyth had moved to Africa and was no longer in the country’s jurisdiction. It was not until Channel 4 news disclosed the accusations in a report this year that a criminal investigation was started.
The 1982 inquiry accused Smyth of subjecting at least 22 teenage boys to savage beatings in his garden shed, with the intent of purging them of perceived sins such as masturbation and pride.
Smyth, 75, who is keeping a low profile in South Africa, told Channel 4 news that the claims were “nonsense” and declined to comment further.
Although the inquiry concluded that a criminal act had been committed, the trust decided not to refer Smyth to the authorities.
The report was filed away, and members of the trust went on to assume influential positions within the Church of England and vowed, one trust insider said, never to speak about the matter publicly.
Although no one has produced proof that Welby knew about the beatings at the time they were occurring, his account has been contested by several victims.