Justin Welby says he 'forgives' John Smyth

This man did himself no favours agreeing to an interview. (Must have the same Advisors as Prince Andrew!!) can’t image anyone was impressed or feels sorry for him. I certainly don’t and sadly - feel there is even more to come out on his appalling handling of all this. Sincerely hope he disappears into obscurity…..unless he faces any charges at a later date.

Words fail me. I think if he had to say anything about forgiving Smyth, he should have shared it with his own close friends only.
Rather than the national debate about abuse being influenced by his statement.

These are the quotes (BBC)
“Yes. I think if he was alive and I saw him, but it’s not me he’s abused."

“He’s abused the victims and survivors. So whether I forgive or not is, to a large extent, irrelevant"

So he qualifies his forgiveness by claiming it's "to a large extent irrelevant"

It's totally irrelevant. The people worthy of discussing this are the survivors, not the culprits who were complicit in the cover up and/or the failure to act. How he can live with himself beggars belief, and he's still in Lambeth Palace.

PoliticsNerd

Such a poor thread, factually. He also said "He's abused the victims and survivors.  So whether I forgive or not is, to a large extent, irrelevant."

Educating yourself can be as simple as looking up the facts rather than simple unthinking reaction to propagandised headlines.

Absolutely. I wonder how many of those reacting to that headline, here and on other media, have actually listened to the whole interview.

I'm not defending his actions which were, at best, neglectful of his duty and, at worst, aiding and abetting offences.

Glad he's gone and that he may now get his wish to disappear and never trouble us again

Such a poor thread, factually. He also said "He's abused the victims and survivors.  So whether I forgive or not is, to a large extent, irrelevant."

Educating yourself can be as simple as looking up the facts rather than simple unthinking reaction to propagandised headlines.

OldFrill
Thanks for that link.
The survivors I have heard speaking on radio do not have a good opinion of Welby. Some of the interactions with him sound quite bizarre. At the very least he seems devoid of self awareness.

The reaction of a survivor of Smyth's dreadful abuse to Welby's interview.
premierchristian.news/us/news/article/church-abuse-survivors-justin-welby-interview

Do not defend the monster that forgave a monster. Welby suffered by doing nothing and hoping he'd get away with the same kind of cover up that happened in the 1980s.

If what Lixy says is true and he answered a direct question with "yes" but also the proviso that it's not for him to forgive, that is for the victims to make their individual decisions on, then I think more of him than if he had said "no".
He indutably suffered because of this man's actions so to that extent, he can forgive.

Do the abuse victims forgive Smyth?
Do the abuse victims forgive Welby?
Whether or why Welby forgives anyone (and he clearly stated that if Smyth was still alive and he met him then he, Welby, would forgive the serial sadistic child abuser) is entirely irrelevant. He shouldn't be given air time, absolutely disgusting individual, remaining in the public eye, not supporting the victims and desperately trying to keep himself "relevant".

You get your good & bad in every religion.

He did not say he forgave the abuse

I really don’t know why he thinks he is still relevant .I would have thought he would want keep a low profile after his resignation and the mess he made of his handling of the abuse by Smyth the last thing he would want to do is give a high profile TV interview.
As for saying he would forgive Smyth his answer should have been it’s not for me to forgive him only Christ and the children he abused can do that.

Aldom

Forgiving is not forgetting. It's remembering and letting go.

Thank you, Aldom, I have never understood what forgetting meant, I even started a thread on it once, and was still none the wiser. You have encapsulated it perfectly.

Forgiving is not forgetting. It's remembering and letting go.

I agree with youAnnie that is how I understood what Justin Welby meant.

Justin Welby has the right to forgive anyone he feels has hurt him, we all have that right, I doubt he was forgiving harm done
to others

As already said by others, it’s not the place of Justin Welby to forgive him - how arrogant he is.

Justin Welby was peeved that his "head had to roll" over the abuse claims. He made a lot of excuses about too much to cope with and did nothing allowing the abuse to go on.
He really has no right to forgive anyone. Can anyone forgive him.

A long article in the DM today discussing the current rise of third rate conformists to positions of authoritythroughout the country, but especially in those positions in government and public affairs, of whom Welby is one.

NanKate I would love to hear your godson’s opinion, please report back to us.

I met & worked for people such as He, whilst working as a gardener in a rather precious village in my county.
They are as a whole quite a breed unto themselves!
A bit \very odd indeed! 🤔

I also saw the interview, and as others have said, Welby was at pains to say that forgiveness wasn't in his gift.

He had to say that Smyth could be forgiven, as that is a core tent of the faith that he represented for so long, but he qualified it immediately.

I agree that the interview was a car crash, and that he was foolish to do it, but he clearly enjoys the limelight. Odious man.

But will people forgive Welby? .........

Smileless2012

I agree Delila, but if someone's to be criticised for what they've said then it's important that that criticism is based on what was said, and not what the papers say was said.

Smileless2012 is correct.

What is said is very important, apart from wrong behaviour.