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Ex-archbishop in firing line over UK church abuse scandal / Photo: © POOL WPA/AFP
NYSE - LSE
Ex-archbishop in firing line over UK church abuse scandal
Several Church of England clergy, including a former leading cleric, faced possible disciplinary action on Tuesday after being named in a scathing report on one of the Church's worst abuse scandals.
An independent probe last year concluded the Church of England had covered up a serial abuse case dating back to the 1970s, resulting in the resignation of Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, the Church's highest-ranking cleric.
Now, the Church's safeguarding team has named 10 clergy it will "seek to bring disciplinary proceedings" against, including George Carey, who was archbishop of Canterbury for a decade until 2002.
The Makin Review published in November concluded that John Smyth, a lawyer who organised evangelical summer camps in the 1970s and 1980s, was responsible for "prolific, brutal and horrific" abuse of as many as 130 boys and young men.
It found that the Church of England -- the mother church of Anglicanism -- covered up the abuse, which occurred in Britain, Zimbabwe and South Africa over several decades.
The report accused Carey of being informed of Smyth's abuse and being sent a copy of a previous report into it, but added "he denies seeing it".
Carey resigned from his role in the Church in 2017 after a report found he failed to pass several sex abuse allegations against another bishop to the police when he was archbishop.
The Church's National Safeguarding Team is also seeking action against Reverend Sue Colman, who is accused in the Makin review of having "significant knowledge" of the abuse perpetrated by Smyth -- who never faced any criminal charges.
Bishop Paul Butler, now retired, will also be in the firing line. Butler used to sit in the House of Lords and participated in King Charles III's coronation service.
Dozens of other clergy named in the report will not face disciplinary action due to "insufficient evidence to meet the threshold", the safeguarding team said.
Alexander Kubeyinje, the Church's national director of safeguarding, said: "We must not forget that at heart of this case are the survivors and victims who have endured the lifelong effects of the appalling abuse by John Smyth. We are truly sorry."
Earlier this month, the Church's governing body voted overwhelmingly to establish independent central safeguarding, but stopped short of making it entirely independent from the Church.
P.Adams--SFF
