Archbishop candidates need 'heads reading'

The Bishop of Gloucester, the Right Reverend Rachel Treweek said any bishop thinking about becoming the Archbishop of Canterbury needs "their head reading".

Justin Welby will step down after a damning report into prolific child abuser John Smyth associated with the Church of England.

Bishop Treweek told BBC Radio Gloucestershire she did not want the "very, very difficult job" and any bishop thinking about it should "look long and hard into the mirror and take some reality checks".

She said Mr Welby's decision was "absolutely the right thing to do" but that it "probably could have happened quicker".

The report found that Mr Welby "could and should" have reported Smyth's abuse of boys and young men to police in 2013.

It was not immediately clear when the archbishop would leave his post but the process of finding a replacement is likely to take at least six months.

The Archbishop of Canterbury is the head of the Church of England and leads 85 million Anglicans in 165 countries around the world.

"Anyone who wants to be the Archbishop of Canterbury absolutely needs their head reading," Bishop Treweek said.

"You know, this is a very, very difficult job - stepping into the structures that do need to change.

"Any bishop who wants to be the archbishop, well, I think they might need to look long and hard into the mirror and take some reality checks."

Smyth was accused of attacking dozens of boys, including those he met at Christian camps, in the UK in the 1970s and 1980s.

The independent report published last week found inaction from the Church was a "missed opportunity" to bring Smyth to justice before his death in 2018.

The Bishop called it an "absolutely sickening report", adding the focus needs to be on the victims and survivors who had had to wait years for the abuse to be fully exposed.

"I want to instil trust and faith and say to victims and survivors that if you have been silenced, if you are carrying that weight today, then please do contact your diocesan safeguarding team," she said.

She said safeguarding processes and training within the Church had changed in recent years but independent oversight was needed.

"One of the things that this report and subsequent events has thrown up again is the very clunky governance we have within the Church of England," she added.

"We do not have quick decision making, there are too many different levels, groups, involved.

"We need to be able to move much more swiftly."

Bishop Treweek was consecrated as the 41st Bishop of Gloucester in 2015.

She made history by becoming the first female diocesan bishop and the first female bishop in the House of Lords.

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