Bishop of Newcastle criticises 'culture of silence' among bishops in Church of England abuse scandal
by Rosie Shead PA · ChronicleLiveBishop of Newcastle Dr Helen-Ann Hartley has made the claim that a "a culture of silence and fear" may be preventing fellow clergy from speaking out against senior Church of England leaders amidst the John Smyth abuse scandal.
Speaking on Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, she suggested that concerns about career prospects might be influencing the silence.
Her remarks came after the resignation of Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, following a report which found that had he formally alerted authorities in 2013, abuser John Smyth may have faced justice sooner.
Dr Hartley, who previously deemed Mr Welby's position as "untenable", expressed her disappointment on the programme: "I think it’s a great disappointment to me that when I called for that publicly, I was indeed a lone voice."
She suggested that bishops' silence could be due to ambitions of becoming the next archbishop, accompanied by the fear of reprimand: "So I have no real explanation for that other than there is a culture, I think, of silence and fear amongst the bishops, which is really unhealthy."
Other bishops might not speak out because they are considering their future roles and are "fearful of being reprimanded and rebuked", she further commented.
She expressed her belief that "anybody" in public office or a church role, who was identified in the damning review as having failed to respond appropriately to abuse allegations, should also step down. Over a span of five decades, Smyth, a lay reader who organised Christian summer camps, physically, sexually and psychologically abused more than 100 boys and young men in the UK and Africa.
The former barrister passed away at the age of 77 in Cape Town, South Africa, in August 2018, while being investigated by Hampshire Police. In his resignation statement, Mr Welby said the Makin Review had "exposed the long-maintained conspiracy of silence" about Smyth’s abuse.
The archbishop added that he was informed of the abuse in 2013, but was told at the time that police had already been notified – which later proved not to be the case.
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