Church crisis: Welbies resignation is not enough - responsibility now!

Church crisis: Welbies resignation is not enough - responsibility now!

The time of the excuses is over - the systematic abuse of children in the church must finally be addressed seriously!

A huge scandal shakes the Anglican Church! The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, steps back - and not from free part! After a terrifying independent examination about the offense of the child abuse John Smyth, it becomes clear that it was looked away here for decades! Welby, who worked in the holiday camps in the 1970s, in which Smyth committed his terrible acts, admits that he only found out about the crimes in 2013, but failed to inform the police. A failure that gave countless victims for another ten years of pain and grief!

The Makin check revealed that Smyth, a lawyer and Christian minister, abused up to 130 boys and young men in Christian summer camps in Africa and England for four decades. The victims' reports are heartbreaking - many waited for decades to tell their stories for fear of being not believed or even accused. "The words cannot describe the horror of what happened," says the examination.

The responsibility of the church

Welby's resignation was no coincidence. Under immense pressure from high -ranking clergy and the public, he was forced to draw the consequences of his failure. But resignation alone is not enough! The church must finally face its responsibility and take real measures to prevent abuse and to provide victims of justice.

The Makin check shows that the church has failed for years by not holding Smyth into account. Instead, he was protected and was able to continue his acts unhindered. This is not just a failure of Welby, but a systematic problem within the church that urgently needs to be addressed!

The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cotrell, is also criticized. He had to apologize for his poor reaction to another abuse and is accused of having held a priest in office despite his history. Cotrell will temporarily take on the role of the Archbishop of Canterbury, while a successor is being sought for Welby. But he also gives way to the demands for his resignation and states that the situation is not his fault.

a global problem

But the abuse scandals are not limited to the Anglican Church. In Spain, over 200,000 children have been abused by Catholic clergymen since 1940. In France, an investigation shows that at least 216,000 children were sexually abused in the Catholic Church. The reports speak of a “cruel indifference” of the church towards the victims. It is clear: the abuse of children is a systematic problem that cannot be dismissed as individual cases!

The church must finally act! A comprehensive training program for border violations and sexual exploitation is needed in all theological training centers. Immediate measures must be taken to remove perpetrators out of service. The time of the excuses and looking away is over!

The voices of the survivors must be heard! It is time for the church to clean its ranks of abusers and exploiters and give the victims the support they earn. Justice must no longer be fought by the brave survivors - it should be a matter of course!