Justin Welby could find himself isolated from society if other organisations follow the Children’s Society’s lead in cancelling him.
Welby, who steps down as Archbishop of Canterbury in January after being criticised in the Church of England’s Makin Review into the John Smyth abuse scandal, announced in a Christmas e-card that he was making a donation to the Children’s Society. But on December 20 Children’s Society chief executive Mark Russell issued a statement saying the charity had decided to reject the donation:
‘After careful consideration, we have respectfully decided not to accept the donation offered by the outgoing Archbishop of Canterbury.
‘The Children’s Society is deeply committed to supporting the survivors of abuse, our teams support victims of child sexual abuse, and this means that accepting this donation would not be consistent with the principles and values that underpin our work.
‘We were profoundly shocked by the findings of the Makin report, and our thoughts are with all survivors of abuse. We believe that there is an urgent need for the Church of England to reset its approach to safeguarding and continue to create a safer Church and safer spaces for young people, protected by real accountability and a culture of care.’
The charity’s decision has sparked controversy. Prominent C of E clergyman, Marcus Walker, founder of the Save the Parish movement and Rector of St Bartholomew-the-Great in the City of London, called the charity’s decision to reject Welby’s donation ‘perfectly ridiculous’.
He posted on X: ‘Having called for him to resign I completely reject any idea that a donation from him is in some way unacceptable. If we reject donations from sinners, whom do we accept donations from?’
Another prominent clergyman, General Synod member Robert Thompson, argued in a statement on X that members of the Church of England ‘may well evaluate’ the Children’s Society’s decision ‘from different perspectives, some of which, no matter if we support, question or oppose it can be reasonably argued.
‘But I would call on colleagues who use language too easily in order to dismiss this action as “petty”, “vindictive”, “nasty” & “mere virtue signalling” to put themselves in their shoes as a leading children’s charity. What would we do?’
He said the charity’s decision ‘no matter how we view it, must be seen by all of us to be indicative of the extent to which the governance of the CofE is no longer seen to be fit for purpose in & by the charitable, voluntary & public sectors.
‘As a barometer this action shows just how white hot our present moral crisis has become & how toxic our common life is now viewed by many partners in wider society. I had robust support from the governing bodies & trustees of schools & charities that I am part of because they could not understand how Justin could remain post Makin.
‘If we don’t wake up to this complete disjunction between our governance & morality & that of the charitable sector we are condemning ourselves & the mission of the church to death.’
However, the Children’s Society’s decision and Thompson’s defence of it raise serious issues about Justin Welby’s ability to take part in society if other organisations follow the charity’s lead.
It is arguable that a pile-on by organisations to cancel a high-profile person from society because they have made mistakes in their job is a form of mobbing and therefore could be described as abusive behaviour.
Given the dangerous precedent that the rejection of Justin Welby’s Christmas donation potentially sets, it is to be hoped that other charities will take a more charitable view of fallible human beings than the Children’s Society has.
Julian Mann is a former Church of England vicar, now an evangelical journalist based in the UK.
