The Anglican Church of South Africa (ASK) issued an apology for failing to disclose allegations of sexual abuse against former member John Smyth, which put both congregants and the broader community at risk.
A recent inquiry initiated by Archbishop of Cape Town Thabo Makgoba revealed that the Anglican Church of South Africa did not implement protective measures to prevent child abuse, leading the archbishop to issue an apology.
A 1982 Iwerne Trust report and an independent 2024 report by social care and health executive Keith Makin accused British barrister and Anglican layman preacher John Smyth (1941-2018) of abusing children in the UK and Zimbabwe during the 1970s and 1980s before moving to South Africa in 2001.
Although the South African church claims to have been unaware of Smyth’s past until 2013, it remained silent about his history, thereby increasing the risk of further abuse in South Africa.
In November, the Makin review found Smyth physically, psychologically and s*xually abused between 85 to 100 boys in Zimbabwe and South Africa over several decades while they participated in elite Christian summer camps. In the UK, boys suffered brutal beatings that left them bleeding and bruised for months. In Zimbabwe, he groomed young boys and subjected them to nudity and inappropriate situations.
This is not an isolated incident in Africa, where predatory foreign priests have exploited vulnerable boys. For example, in 1997, a court convicted British Catholic priest James Chaning-Pearce of seven counts of indecent assault against boys at a Jesuit school in Lancashire, England, doling out a three-year prison sentence. The Catholic Church played no part in his conviction. Instead, it took a former student whom Chaning-Pearce allegedly abused at St George’s School in Zimbabwe recognising the priest while he was in Australia. However, he has never faced accountability.
Will the Anglican and Catholic churches initiate comprehensive investigations into past sexual abuse in their schools across African nations?
Sources:
https://lawandreligionuk.com/2024/11/13/makin-review-summary-of-recommendations/
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq6lzeel2e8o