Bashing the Bishop

[Dixy]

How can this person stay in place as leader of this country's main religion and sit in the House of Lords.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5yx90q0v31o

[Mont Blanc]

Going further than that, I completely disagree that 26 Bishops and Archbishops should be automatically allowed to sit in the House of Lords, given the fact that we are now statistically a secular country.

[Mr Penguin]

He should indeed go

[swisstoni]

Brilliant thread title btw.

Yes the whole religious lot need to be kept away from any political say over people’s lives.

[croyde]

I came......

away from this thread severely deflated.

[andy_s]

The moral arbiter, unholier than thou.

[ClaphamGT3]

Welby has to retire in January 2026 in any event so would be formally announcing his intention to stand down sometime between now and Christmas anyway.

I have to say, Welby has always been uncomfortably close to the Smyth scandal and it's hard to see how his failure to act more decisively hasn't (a) damaged the Church and (b) tainted his own legacy. It must of course be extremely distressing for Smyth's victims

[andyA700]

andy_s said:

The moral arbiter, unholier than thou.

Yes, that pretty much sums up the situation.

[XCP]

Surely he should be sacked if he refuses to go of his own accord.

[C4ME]

Does Charles have the authority to remove him? I can’t think of any other institution that does.

[mikeiow]

Mont Blanc said:

Going further than that, I completely disagree that 26 Bishops and Archbishops should be automatically allowed to sit in the House of Lords, given the fact that we are now statistically a secular country.

100% this.
Religion from the corrupt church who ignore sexual abuse has NO place in making decisions for our Country.

How do we change that?

[DeejRC]

Er…it says the CoE first had a report about him in 1982. Sod Welby and 2013, I’d want to know what the 1982 report said, by whom and who read it, so could find out what was known then and why nothing was done!

[ClaphamGT3]

XCP said:

Surely he should be sacked if he refuses to go of his own accord.

The issue is that only God can sack ordained clergymen (really). Dismissing an incumbent Church of England priest in holy orders against their will requires a specific act of parliament

[Lotusgone]

Welby has forgiven Smyth. Welby expects to be forgiven.

Isn't that how it works?

[XCP]

He strikes me as an awful man, quite unfit for the exalted office that he holds.
The fact that he seems virtually untouchable is a nonsense in this day and age, and just makes matters worse.

[Lotobear]

XCP said:

He strikes me as an awful man, quite unfit for the exalted office that he holds.
The fact that he seems virtually untouchable is a nonsense in this day and age, and just makes matters worse.

Could not agree more (setting aside my atheist position). He has always come over as completely un genuine and the worst type of sanctimonious and opportunistic hypocrite. I have always held an instinctive dislike for the man for reasons I cannot fully explain. Back on the fence now.

[otolith]

How surprising that Christian morality campaigner Mary Whitehouse's barrister turned out to be a sadistic pervert and sexual abuser of boys and young men. Would never have guessed that they had those sorts amongst their ranks.

[Pitre]

Yet another reason for the UK to be secular. No religion has any place being involved in governance.

[otolith]

Lotobear said:

Could not agree more (setting aside my atheist position). He has always come over as completely un genuine and the worst type of sanctimonious and opportunistic hypocrite. I have always held an instinctive dislike for the man for reasons I cannot fully explain. Back on the fence now.

11 years in the oil industry, including being involved in Elf's scandalous operations in Nigeria. Though, as with Smyth, he denies knowledge or complicity.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2290904/A...

[Gareth79]

DeejRC said:

Er…it says the CoE first had a report about him in 1982. Sod Welby and 2013, I’d want to know what the 1982 report said, by whom and who read it, so could find out what was known then and why nothing was done!

There's a retyped copy here (and scans of the original). The re-typer has put comments in angle brackets:

http://static1.1.sqspcdn.com/static/f/970485/27843...

edit: It describes "five of the 13 [boys] ... between them had 12 beatings about about 650 strokes. The other 8 received about 14,000 strokes, 2 of them having some 8,000 strokes over the three years"

Edited by Gareth79 on Monday 11th November 17:37