Bishop ‘frozen out’ after calling for Justin Welby to resign

A bishop who called on the Archbishop of Canterbury to resign over his failings to report an abuser has told the BBC she has been “frozen out” by Church of England colleagues.

The Bishop of Newcastle Helen-Ann Hartley was the most senior member of the clergy to suggest Justin Welby step down, which he did last month, after a report found he did not sufficiently follow up allegations.

John Smyth, a lay preacher associated with the church, is thought to have physically, sexually and psychologically abused as many as 130 people in three countries over several decades.

Bishop Hartley told the BBC she thought some of her colleagues had been silent out of fear for their careers while others were hoping to replace Mr Welby.

Interviewed on the Sunday programme on Radio 4, she said she had received very little support from church colleagues after speaking out, with only a few contacting her privately.

Asked if she felt “frozen out” by other bishops and archbishops since then, she said: “Yes, I do.”

Asked why that might be, she said: “Perhaps some of them are shocked that one of their number has actually called out [the] culture and spoken out publicly in a way that has caused some shockwaves amongst the bishops.

“I think perhaps they’re fearful of what that means for them and I think some are not sure how to respond – and I think some are certainly silent because they do see themselves, sadly, as potentially taking over from Archbishop Justin.

“There is definitely some careerism.”

Bishop Hartley said she had received hundreds of letters and emails from members of the public thanking her for speaking out but there was not much she could do about church colleagues isolating her.

She added: “I’m not dwelling on it, for my own sense of wellbeing, because I know that I have done the right thing – and I think history will judge me in that way.”

The independent report, compiled by Keith Makin, found that “several opportunities were missed” to formally report the late Smyth’s abuse to police after it was brought to the church’s attention in July 2013.

Mr Welby was named specifically.

The Church of England said: “The national safeguarding team is considering whether there was any new information in the Makin report that needs to be assessed for any ongoing safeguarding risk and any evidence to support any disciplinary or capability process against individuals named in the report who are still under the authority or oversight of the [church].”