Last fall Justin Welby left his job as head of Anglican church - a role thats been less deadly than in middle ages but still full of hard-to-solve problems. His exit came after a check-up into church dealings with John Smyth‚ a well-known abuser
The case shows deep problems in British upper-class church life: Smyth was a fancy lawyer who ran youth camps for rich kids (while doing terrible things behind closed doors). Back in late 70s he fought against gay rights in courts; in private he beat up young boys saying it was good for their souls
- Winchester College students were his targets
- He moved to Zimbabwe when caught
- Later went to South Africa
- Died about 6 years ago without facing justice
Nobody really wanted to believe abuse could take place inside a Christian context
Welby tried to fix things when he became top bishop around 11 years ago but got stuck between different sides: British people want modern ideas; African churches dont. The church lost many people - about one-third stopped going to services in last ten years
The whole thing shows how mixed-up class and religion are in Britain: Welby went to top schools worked in banks and even found out his real dad worked for Churchill. Now King Charles III will pick a new leader (but really its not his choice - a church group makes the real picks)
The next person taking this job will have same old problems: running a world-wide church thats split on big issues dealing with past mistakes and trying to keep everyone happy - which seems almost impossible to do