Burnley vicar slams Church's handling of John Smyth case

Father Alex Frost, the vicar of St Matthew’s Church Burnley and a General Synod member for Blackburn Diocese, also said Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby's position is 'untenable' over his inaction on Smyth.

Father Alex's statement came after an abuse survivor echoed calls for Welby to resign as he demanded a “clean sweep” of senior clergy members.

Mark Stibbe, who was abused by John Smyth QC in the 1980s, told Newsnight on Monday that Welby’s position was “untenable” after an independent review published last week concluded that Smyth might have been brought to justice had the Archbishop formally reported the abuse to police a decade ago.

The recent Makin review described the now-deceased John Smyth as “sadistic” and the most prolific abuser associated with the Church of England.

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby Mr Stibbe said: “I honestly don’t believe that Justin Welby can continue – I don’t believe that his position is tenable.

“I would also apply that to the bishops that knew and did nothing, and the senior clergy of the Church of England that knew and did nothing. Their positions are also untenable. 

“There needs to be a clean sweep of the hierarchy, and new people need to be put in position.

“Those people who clearly have integrity and intentionality when it comes to protecting the vulnerable need to be the people in positions of authority.

“Justin Welby and all those senior clergy that did nothing but knew what was going on they need to stand down, and they need to be replaced by people who have a proven passion for this.”

Over five decades between the 1970s and his death, John Smyth QC is said to have subjected as many as 130 boys and young men in the UK and Africa to traumatic physical, sexual, psychological and spiritual attacks, permanently marking their lives.

Smyth died aged 75 in Cape Town in 2018 while under investigation by Hampshire Police, and was “never brought to justice for the abuse”, the Makin Review, published last week, said.

The report said Smyth “could and should have been formally reported to the police in the UK, and to authorities in South Africa (church authorities and potentially the police) by church officers, including a diocesan bishop and Justin Welby in 2013″.

A petition by some members of the General Synod – the church’s parliament – has gathered more than 8,000 signatures urging Justin Welby to stand down over his “failures” to alert authorities about John Smyth QC’s “abhorrent” abuse of children and young men.

Father Alex Frost said the Church of England’s handling of John Smyth’s abuse has caused “devastating” damage to the institution.

He said: “I think that the Archbishop’s position, unfortunately, has become untenable. And the damage that it is leaving to the wider Church of England is quite devastating.

“With power comes responsibility, and when you’re holding the power of the highest office in the Church… there is a responsibility that falls with that, and particularly when it comes to safeguarding, there is a reasonable expectation that the man at the top will take the responsibility for the safeguarding of the flock in his care.

“There’s a groundswell of opinion that the credibility of the man at the top is so badly damaged that it’s in his interests and in the Church’s interests to bring this to a head and move on.”

After the petition was launched, Mr Welby’s spokesman said he “reiterates his horror at the scale of John Smyth’s egregious abuse, as reflected in his public apology”, repeated that he does not intend to resign, and said he “hopes the Makin Review supports the ongoing work of building a safer church here and around the world”.