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Will Justin Welby go down as the Worst Archbishop in the History of the Anglican Communion?

Will Justin Welby go down as the Worst Archbishop in the History of the Anglican Communion?

COMMENTARY

By David W. Virtue, DD
www.virtueonline.org
November 3, 2021

Nary a month goes by when the titular head of the Anglican communion doesn't put his foot in his mouth, then, withdrawing it, is forced to apologize for what he said.

Apologies are second nature with Justin Welby; the latest being his accusation that failure to act on climate change could be worse than the inaction of world leaders in the face of Nazi atrocities against the Jews.

Following his latest gaffe, there were calls for him to resign. A "twitter storm" erupted over the Archbishop of Canterbury's comments with calls for him to step down being posted across social media.

Allison Pearson, a columnist with The Telegraph, called upon the archbishop to step down. Stephen Pollard, the editor of the Jewish Chronicle, said he was incredulous for the archbishop to compare the deliberate murder of six million Jews with a contentious issue like climate change.

VOL columnist Judi Sture opined that "to claim that there is not only an equivalence between climate change outcomes and the purposeful killing of the Jews (and others chosen for their group identity) in World War 2, but that climate change outcomes will result in today's leaders being vilified for crimes worse than the horrors of the Holocaust, takes specious argument to a whole new level. And that's not even starting on the offensive nature of the argument."

In January of 2016, the Archbishop of Canterbury faced protesters outside of Canterbury Cathedral in Kent, where he apologized to the homosexual and lesbian community for the 'hurt and pain' still being caused by the church. Welby said it was a 'constant source of deep sadness' for people who are persecuted for their sexuality.

In May of 2016, the archbishop continued his I'm sorry tour by apologizing to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland over an historic agreement, The Columbia Declaration, recognizing the longstanding ecumenical partnership between the Church of Scotland and the Church of England paving the way for future joint working between the two churches backed by the General Synod

In February 2017, Welby issued an apology over the Church of England's links to a 'child abuser'. He said the Church of England 'failed terribly' for not reporting abuse by the head of a Christian charity accused of carrying out sadomasochistic attacks on young boys.

In June of 2017, Welby issued an apology after An Abuse of Faith report revealed that Bishop Peter Ball, the former Bishop of Lewes and of Gloucester, was found guilty of abusing multiple young men over many years. "For the survivors who were brave enough to share their story and bring Peter Ball to justice, I once again offer an unreserved apology. There are no excuses whatsoever for what took place and the systemic abuse of trust perpetrated by Peter Ball over decades," said Welby.

In Hong Kong, May 2019, Welby apologized for his 2020 Lambeth Conference decision to not allow bishops in homosexual partnerships to be included and agreed to renew the communion's 21-year-old promise to listen to the experience of LGBTQ people. "I ask your forgiveness where I made mistakes," Welby said his "mistake" was refusing to be definitive about whether sodomy was good and right in the eyes of God or not.

In September 2019, he journeyed to India where he apologized for the massacre at the Jallianwala Bagh memorial in Amritsar, India, where British colonial forces killed 300 hundred Indians participating in a peaceful demonstration for independence. This occurred over 100 years ago. "I am so ashamed and sorry for the impact of this crime committed here. As a religious leader, I mourn the tragedy I see here," the archbishop said.

Welby said he is 'sorry and ashamed' over the Church of England's institutional racism and promised to replace a hostile environment with a hospitable welcome.

At a meeting in London of the church's ruling body, the General Synod, Welby said: "When we look at our own church, we are still deeply institutionally racist. Let's be clear about that." He said he was "personally sorry and ashamed. I'm ashamed of our history and I'm ashamed of our failure ... I'm ashamed of my lack of urgent voice to the church."

One of the worst and still unresolved apologies was mistakes he made in the Bishop George Bell case. A girl called "Carol" stepped forward to say she had been abused by Bell. Welby took her accusations at face value and Bell was consigned to the scrap heap of Anglican history. Efforts to clear his name have not been resolved. Barbara Whitley, 93, denied the charges and said she wanted the reputation of her uncle restored and called on Welby to stand down, and a face-to-face apology from the Church of England.

Church of England columnist Peter Hitchens launched a broadside against Welby this week, struggling to admit he made a terrible mistake about the late Bishop, one of the greatest Englishmen of the 20th Century? Mr. Welby was involved in what has since been shown to be a shocking kangaroo trial, in which the long-dead Bell, a courageous opponent of the Nazis and ally of the German resistance to Hitler, was presumed guilty of a terrible charge of child abuse. "My own view has long been that the complainant was abused, but by somebody else. Her evidence against Bell, when it was finally made public, did not stand up to serious examination by a leading QC, Lord Carlile. Apparently, in his world, if you are accused of a crime, you will always remain suspect. Welby has not reversed any of the decisions made about Bell."

Hitchens pointed up troubles of Welby's own making. "When he was a senior church official in Liverpool, he banned a worshipper from the Cathedral there, for being 'abusive and threatening'. But the worshipper had his reasons. He was rightly trying to get Mr. Welby to act against a priest who, he said, had abused him. In this case (unlike George Bell's) there was good reason to take the claim seriously. The priest involved, John Roberts, already had a criminal conviction for indecent assault. Later Roberts was jailed for offences against three people -- one of them the man Mr. Welby had sternly banned from the Cathedral."

Why has Welby not been held accountable for his atrocious behavior?

Welby admits he is conflicted over the issue of homosexuality, but he has steadfastly sided with The Episcopal Church and western pansexual agit prop over the issue and has refused to allow godly bishops from the ACNA and Brazil to attend the next Lambeth Conference except as observers. No apology of course, or even the recognition that they are legitimate Anglicans, for heaven's sake!

Will he apologize to Global South Primates and bishops when several dozen bishops from the US and Canada hold a Queer Eucharist just before the Lambeth Conference begins next year, or will he ignore it, fearing that he might be called homophobic, if he dares says a word. If he does say anything, he will of course be accused of being homophobic, after which he will apologize for being homophobic even though he wasn't being homophobic, but one must keep the apology tour going.

Has the Communion ever had such an Archbishop? Will he one day apologize for calling people sinners, (how dare he), and then declare Christ's substitutionary atonement entirely unnecessary and that Jesus was subject to child abuse by his heavenly Father. Apologies, please.

Wobbly Welby has cornered the market in empty apologies, writes Jules Gomes of Church Militant. The ridiculous, virtue-signaling, leftist habit of apologizing for the past and the sins of one's ancestors. "If that wasn't enough virtue-signaling for his incumbency, he hasn't been able to resist taking on the evils of history. He (just) avoided apologizing for the Dresden bombings. He cried mea maxima culpa before 700 'wimmin' vicars at St Paul's Cathedral and apologized for the 'scars' and 'hurt' to the campaigners of women's ordination and 'for my own part in that hurt'."

Will the apologies never end? One doubts it.

When the official obituary is written on Justin Welby, it won't be about how many souls were saved or how many people were discipled to follow Christ. It will be about how the West was lost to the gospel through the acceptance of pansexuality and how many times Welby apologized for things he had no business apologizing for as well as for lost opportunities.

END

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