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The devastating toll of abuse on John Smyth's own son
By Ruth Peacock
Religion Media Center
November 19, 2024
An extraordinary and powerful interview with PJ Smyth, the son of serial abuser John Smyth, outlines the abuse he himself suffered as a child from the age of seven and the terrible impact on his life since then. Through tears and distressing testimony, he tells Cathy Newman of Channel 4 News, of how his abuse stopped abruptly in 1982 when the Ruston report was compiled, outing the abuse. Then the family moved to Zimbabwe because his father said he was called by God to "do the Lord's work" there, an explanation he unquestioningly believed. He tells how his awareness of the abuse increased and affected his relationship towards his father, sisters, mother and himself. In the interview, he described his father as a "master manipulator whose abuse spanned 40 years in three different countries." Despite this, PJ Smyth remained a preacher, church planter and pastor in the USA, until he stepped back in 2021 due to comments about his father's abuse made in 2017. The interview is compelling and carries with it a warning of extremely distressing details, plus a reference to Channel 4's support line. You can see the interview here: https://www.channel4.com/news/the-words-of-john-smyths-son-pj-one-of-his-earliest-victims-in-an-exclusive-interview-with-this-programme
Smyth review in Cape Town
The Church Times reports that there will be a review of whether the Archbishop of Cape Town, Dr Thabo Makgoba, and his diocese, met their obligation to keep people safe in the light of John Smyth's presence in the area. It reports that during a sermon preached at Emmanuel Church, Cape Town last Sunday, Dr Makgoba said that he was consulting church officials to work out the terms of reference of a review. Smyth worshipped in an Anglican church in Cape Town when he arrived there in 2001 and again before his death in 2018, on condition that he was not to get involved in any ministry or contact any young person.
Calls for mandatory reporting of suspected child abuse
The National Secular Society is calling on the justice secretary, Shabana Mahmood, to introduce a mandatory duty to report known or suspected child abuse. It says the 2022 Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse recommended the UK introduce a mandatory reporting law without religious exemptions, but some Christian groups have sought to exempt disclosures of abuse made during confession. The Church of England has a working group on the "Seal of the Confessional", considering whether confessions should be kept secret, noting that "further legislative steps by Government on mandatory reporting have yet to be announced".
Archbishop of York urged to resign over safeguarding ...
The two members of the Church of England's Independent Safeguarding Board, who were sacked in 2023, have called for the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, to resign over safeguarding issues. Steve Reeves told The Telegraph that Archbishop Cottrell was unfit for such high office, claiming there was "no evidence" he had prioritised victims of abuse. This echoes comments by Dame Jasvinder Sanghera, made in the Mail on Sunday, that Stephen Cottrell had left victims "in the wilderness". A spokesperson for the Archbishop of York told the Telegraph that he denied ignoring any victims and he regretted the impact on victims following the disbandment of the Independent Safeguarding Board, which was a decision taken by the Archbishops' Council. Stephen Cottrell stepped in to placate extraordinary scenes over the dispute at the July synod in 2023.
Stephen Cottrell says responsibilities of Archbishop of Canterbury's job need to be shared
The Archbishop of York has told The Guardian that the Church of England may need to rethink the role of archbishop of Canterbury. He would welcome a woman taking over from Justin Welby, but he warned that the responsibilities of the job may need to be shared more widely in future. Aged 66, he is unlikely to take on the role as the mandatory retirement age is 70. He said: "Sometimes archbishops are treated as if they're the CEO of C of E plc, and that isn't how we work. We are at our greatest and our strongest in our local communities, but we do need leadership and oversight... We need someone who can give at least five years, probably more like 10. So I don't consider myself to be a candidate. That doesn't change my commitment over the coming years, and I realise that for this next period, I am the person that people will look to."
Polls show majority say Welby was right to resign
The results of a Flash YouGov poll indicate that two-thirds of those polled believe that Justin Welby was right to resign as Archbishop of Canterbury, following the publication of the Makin Report. The poll of 4541 adults was conducted last Thursday and has been published in the Church Times suggesting 62 per cent of those questioned thought the Archbishop had been right to resign with just 4 per cent saying he was wrong. Over a third (34 per cent) did not know. Another YouGov poll in the days before the resignation, suggested almost three-quarters said the Church had little to no influence on their lives, while half said it should be disestablished.
