4th February 2017 – Accusing the Archbishop of Lying?
It’s one thing to raise valid concerns around a culture of deference. It’s another for Bishop Alan Wilson to practically accuse the Archbishop of Canterbury of lying about what and when he knew about the Iwerne Trust abuse.
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Should bishops ever say anything “not nice”? Did Jesus ever say anything “not nice”? Actually he did, when appropriate. Remember he called one group “a generation of vipers (snakes)”. Truth spoken gently does not have to be “nice.” Church leaders do lie at times, and an early bishop, St. Athanasius of credal fame, once remarked that the road to hell was paved with the skulls of bishops. So it is inherent to point out to bishops when they are lying, and Matthew 18 would say go to them in private first, then with a friend, then if the bishop continues to remain firm in his lie, to tell the whole church. Whether the lie is told by a lay person, a vicar, or bishop really matters little. Shake up the system a little.
Bishop Wilson should not have been asked a question of that kind, to which there was no reason to suppose that he *knew* the answer. The interviewer was at fault there. Having been asked it, however, he should have simply referred the interviewer to what Archbishop Welby had already publicly said on the matter. Since he was clearly in no position to state from his own knowledge that the Archbishop had earlier been aware of the allegations concerning Smyth’s conduct, it was quite improper for him to reply with a mere guess, based on no concrete evidence.