The Church of England’s, second most senior cleric Stephen Cottrell, called in a Christmas sermon on Wednesday for repentance and change. The COE is an institution reeling from child abuse cover-up scandals.
Recent Scandals have included the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby’s resignation over a cover-up and accusations of further safeguarding failures by his number two Cottrell, who is the Archbishop of York.
The COE has 16,000 churches in England and is also the mother church for 85 million Anglicans in over 165 countries. Cottrell will say at York Minster in northern England, Right now, this Christmas, God’s Church itself needs to come to the manger and strip off her finery and kneel in penitence and adoration. And be changed.” He also said, “At the center of the Christmas story is a vulnerable child; a vulnerable child that (King) Herod’s furious wrath will try and destroy, for like every tyrant he cannot abide a rival.”
Welby stepped down in after a report was published which alleged he had failed to take sufficient action to stop prolific sex abuser John Smyth. Welby is due to complete his official duties by Jan. 6, and the process to pick his successor could take as long as half a year. Cottrell has also been mired in controversy. Critics have called for him to resign. Cottrell said, “The Church of England – the Church of England I love and serve – needs to look at this vulnerable child, at this emptying out of power to demonstrate the power of love, for in this vulnerable child we see God.”
The Makin Review, an independent investigation into the Church of England, dramatically tarnished Welby’s public perception. The report centered on John Smyth, a layman who organized summer camps in England and Zimbabwe. After the report came out, it was confirmed that the Archbishop had neglected to isolate Smyth after he had been accused of abuse.
Welby’s position as the head of the COE also qualifies him as a member of the House of Lords. In his farewell remarks, he focused on other issues, such as homelessness, and gave little time to the allegations that have defined his career. The Archbishop seemed to make light of the situation when he said “If you pity anyone, pity my poor diary secretary, who has seen weeks and months of work disappear in a puff of a resignation announcement.”
In a statement, one of Smyth’s victims replied that he was shocked by the speech, saying, “I have never come across anyone so tone-deaf.” While some of the politicians in attendance seemed to enjoy the remarks, most seemed uncomfortable. Those who viewed the speech remotely were angered by his tone and within a few hours angry emails began to flood in.
The Arch Bishop himself issued a statement, where he expressed his regrets. “I understand that my words – the things that I said, and those I omitted to say – have caused further distress for those who were traumatized, and continue to be harmed, by John Smyth’s heinous abuse and by the far-reaching effects of other perpetrators of abuse,” he wrote.
He added “I did not intend to overlook the experience of survivors or to make light of the situation – and I am very sorry for having done so. It remains the case that I take both personal and institutional responsibility for the long and retraumatizing period after 2013, and the harm that this has caused survivors.” Welby also insisted that “I continue to feel a profound sense of shame at the Church of England’s historic safeguarding failures.”