On the Today programme on Saturday morning, the BBC broadcast a segment of a pre-recorded interview with Justin Welby, the rest of which has not yet been transmitted.
BBC Archbishop criticises BBC response to Jimmy Savile’s crimes
Listen here from 13 minutes to 17 minutes, for report by Martin Bashir.
And then again, from 1 hour 35 minutes, with a longer excerpt from the interview, followed by discussion, for nine minutes. This includes reports of reactions from abuse survivors who expressed strong criticism of the archbishop. They issued this statement.
This story was then picked up by other media:
Guardian Archbishop of Canterbury accused of hypocrisy by sexual abuse survivors
Telegraph Archbishop of Canterbury criticises BBC’s handling of Jimmy Savile sex abuse scandal
Daily Mail Archbishop of Canterbury accuses the BBC of lacking ‘integrity’ in its handling of Jimmy Savile abuse scandal
Later, this comment article from the Spectator attempted to explain what was happening: The BBC’s self-absorption has obscured Justin Welby’s real message
Other coverage included these items:
Guardian Archbishop of Canterbury accused of hypocrisy by sexual abuse survivors
Observer Justin Welby accuses BBC over Jimmy Savile abuse victims
The BBC Sunday programme has a discussion between Emily Buchanan and Harriet Sherwood about this, here (starting at 38.5 minutes in). Strongly recommended.
Any connections/antagonisms between the Church of England and the BBC are surely heightened by the presence of Lord Green at the centre of the web.
Also (note to non-UK readers) if the media are siding with the Archbishop against the BBC, it could conceivably be part of their ongoing campaign to destroy a public broadcaster.
He’s doing well here too!
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/oct/02/justin-welby-unable-to-give-straight-answer-on-whether-gay-sex-is-sinful
And the media advisor in Lambeth Palace is…? It’s all very well being told to ‘mention Jesus’ every time you have media exposure; but dealing with a seasoned pro like John Humphrys requires something more substantial and a greater demonstration of cultural literacy. For me, it points up the fact that Welby may be good at ‘The Church Talking to the Church’ routine; but as a commentator on matters of wider public concern, he absolutely does not get it – and he doesn’t do his homework, either. Wonga all over again.
That Guardian article, about the GQ interview, is about as awful as it can get for the Church of England. The Archbishop of Canterbury has no “straight answer” (oops, he meant to say “good answer”–or was that a Freudian slip?). He is “copping out,” “struggling,” etc. His words, not mine. And then we have this gem: ‘[H]omophobia was sinful “because you are hating individuals. I don’t think it is sinful to say that you disagree with gay sex. But to express that by way of hatred for people is absolutely wrong in the same way as misogyny or racism is… Read more »
Sadly, I think that it is unlikely that there is much light to be generated by further dissection of the Saville affair, although there is unfortunately much heat. It’s become almost the dictionary definition of what on the left is referred to as whataboutery: the tendency to defend the indefensible but citing something even more indefensible which, you assert, your opponent has failed to condemn sufficiently. The people who protected Saville, by action and inaction, are long retired and, in many cases, dead. The society in which he was so easily able to operate is also dead. The lessons are… Read more »
Is gay sex within a loving relationship okay?
That is a yes or no question.
Either it is or it isn’t.
It’s the Tim Farron question, except this is religion not politics, and it’s a reasonable question for a Church leader to be asked. Especially when the Church in question still expects its gay priests to be celibate.
TEC really needs to cut ties with dear old Mother CofE. What a clown show!
Welby still doesn’t realise the extent of the C of E’s failure to deal properly with abuse in the past or the present, nor its failure to adequately respond to and support survivors and claimants. As a priest who has been trying to flag up these issues for the last 25 years or more, it’s discouraging. Will real progress ever be made? I do wonder whether it’s time I too cut ties with the dear old mother church – it’s my own church & vicar, Anglican friends, and sites like TA that keep me going.
Poor old Justin. He reminds me of chief executives I have known: unable to keep his mouth shut, fond of the quick fix, unwilling to consider possible unwelcome outcomes, spending little or no time reflecting on how things could have been done better, and most of all hating loyal dissent. “Something must be done; this is something; this is what we shall do; get on with it; tell me when it’s done; I don’t want to hear of problems.” The soundbiter bit. I shall pray for him – that should do the trick.
Type the word ‘vicar’ into Google and click on ‘news’. Invariably a list of clergy accused or convicted of abuse appears. And Mr Welby blames the BBC!
No he didn’t FrDavidH. He actually said “I haven’t seen the same integrity over the BBC’s failures over Savile as I’ve seen in the Roman Catholic Church, in the Church of England, in other public institutions over abuse.”