THE Archbishop of Canterbury has admitted child abuse has been “rampant” in British institutions and that the church’s failure to “face the misdeeds of those in its service” has been “inexcusable”.
In his most frank comments yet on historic child abuse, Justin Welby admits there is a “very significant legacy of unacknowledged cases” in the Church of England.
His comments are in a private letter to Marilyn Hawes, whose three sons were allegedly groomed and abused by a Church of England headmaster.
She wrote to the archbishop after receiving what she regarded as a cursory two-paragraph reply from an official to a letter in which she said the experience had resulted in her losing faith in the church community.
In his reply, obtained by the investigative website Exaro, Welby replied: “The betrayal of Christ in such behaviour is complete; the church’s failure to face the misdeeds of those in its service is inexcusable. I can only apologise for what happened then, and for what has now happened, most sincerely and with deep sorrow.
“It is now clear that in a huge number of institutions and localities, the abuse of children and vulnerable adults has been rampant. It is also clear that there is a very significant legacy of unacknowledged cases in the Church of England.”
Hawes, from Hertfordshire, wrote to Welby over Jeffrey Carney, a former Church of England headmaster at St Sebastian’s School in Wokingham, Berkshire, who was jailed for 15 months in October 2003. Hawes, who was a governor at the school, said Carney became close to her family and groomed and abused all three of her boys, who are now grown up. Carney was jailed again earlier this year for indecent assaults between the 1970s and 1990s.
Hawes, a former music teacher, first wrote to Rowan Williams, then Archbishop of Canterbury, in 2003 after Carney was convicted. She wrote: “I have been an active churchgoer my whole life — 50 years — and for the first time I am doubting, not my faith, but the sincerity, value and integrity of a church community.”
She received a two-paragraph, routine reply from an official. She subsequently founded the charity Enough Abuse, which aims to help tackle the problem by providing support and training.
Hawes wrote again to Lambeth Palace when Welby was appointed archbishop. She said she felt abandoned by the church community. She wrote: “I went on to have a nervous breakdown and suicidal thoughts.”
She said her sons had “achieved great things” and had “overcome the sexual abuse”. However, she added, “Nobody in any church has shown them any active help.”
She again received a two-paragraph, non-committal reply — from the same official as 11 years earlier. She said: “I was outraged. It was obvious the archbishop had not been shown my letter. It was another two-fingered salute from Lambeth Palace.”
She then wrote to Paul Butler, the Bishop of Durham, who has responsibility for safeguarding and child safety issues. He forwarded her letter to Welby.
Welby apologised for the manner in which her previous letters had been dealt with. He wrote: “I read your story with the same deep sense of sadness and dismay that I have felt on far too many other similar accounts.”