Yesterday Justin Welby resigned as Archbishop of Canterbury after a damning report found that there had been and is a “conspiracy of silence” by the Church in relation to child sexual abuse. It is grim to even write those words, the idea that someone who claimed to be a man of peace and integrity would ignore the evidence of child abuse is just disgusting. As someone who was let down by those in positions of power as a child, I find Welby’s unwillingness to hold a child abuser accountable even more disturbing and unforgivable.
Welby has created an image of a man who cares about the most vulnerable while, as the Makin report says, showing “a distinct lack of curiosity” about abuse and heading up an institution that has done and keeps doing so much harm in the world. I am someone of faith, I am a Muslim woman who was educated in a Church of England school. I believe in god and I think theology is an important part of society and something we should actually be teaching it more in schools. But I have always had an issue with the organisation of religion and the way leaders, especially the men, have behaved.
The misogyny of religious institutions in all faiths has always upset me and led to me finding my own path in how I practice my faith and also engage with people of faith. I have stayed away and been wary of men who take up the cloth. The truth is the Church has presided over some of the most corrupt and horrific things known to humanity. It has and is still benefiting from slavery, it is institutionally sexist, racist and homophobic.
Justin Welby was preaching kindness — when he was nothing of the kind to victims who needed his help
And to this day it stands in the way of women’s liberation in many of the world’s poorest countries and, as we have been reminded yet again, handed children over to abusers. The Church has issues that the resignation of Justin Welby has bought back into focus. But so do other religious institutions in this country and around the world. Welby’s position is and was a constitutional one, preaching kindness — when he was nothing of the kind to victims who needed his help. But other men are doing the same across this country and the world. They are using faith institutions as cover to do some horrific things or cover them up. And because we have been conditioned to think when men take up faith positions they all of a sudden become saints has led us as a society to fail to address serious harm they are doing.
Even now the news is all about Welby and not countless victims of abuse at the hands of people involved in the church who are suffering today. To know that a man you believed in sat back and didn't do what was necessary to protect you from your abuser is beyond comprehension. I for one would like to take this moment to send love to the incredibly brave men who came forward. What they did, unlike many in the Church, actually protected others from abuse. I hope they find peace in that their words are now being heard and their feelings being acknowledged. I pray they find peace and comfort in the fact that we believe them and justice in some way will now be done.
And as Justin Welby starts his apology tour which we will sadly have to be subjected to, I hope he starts off with a face to face conversation with the victims he let down. Then I hope he starts to really question the role of the church in the world. He might have lost his position as the Archbishop but he will still be a key figure in the Church and can play a significant role in addressing the harm done and being done by the Church. Like I said I have found a way for my faith to be truly based in love and respect of all. I don’t believe god intended the teaching sent down to people to be used to make white men rich off the back of millions of poor people.
Nor do I think god in any faith wanted his teachings to be used in order to deny poor women access to reproductive health. So maybe Justin Welby could now spend time to find the true meaning of charity by truly giving back to those in need rather than just preaching about it.
Nimco Ali is a columnist for The Standard
