Can the Church of England recover?

Shock waves triggered by the archbishop of Canterbury's resignation are the culmination of years of simmering rage among churchgoers and survivors of abuse

- Harriet Sherwood

AS THE FAITHFUL GAVE THANKS to God in England's 16,500 parish churches last Sunday, beneath the comforting ritual of prayers and hymns ran an undercurrent of shame, anger and dread.

The Church of England is facing its biggest crisis in modern times, with no clear pathway to recovery. The archbishop of Canterbury has been forced to resign, other senior figures are facing calls to quit and the church is reeling from its shameful failures over a prolific and sadistic child abuser.

A 253-page report detailing the brutality of the late barrister John Smyth, repeated cover-ups and omissions by church figures, and the trauma suffered by victims has triggered an "existential crisis" for the C of E, according to Linda Woodhead, a professor of moral and social theology at King's College London. "It's been a very, very long time coming, like lots of crises, but this is a critical moment," she said.

"It's seismic," said Tim Wyatt, who writes The Critical Friend, a weekly newsletter about the C of E. "It's unprecedented for an archbishop to resign over a crisis of their own making. It's causing massive ructions up and down the institution. Now the sword is hanging over other senior leaders and bishops." Of the context of the report on Smyth, Wyatt said: "[There were] more than 10 years of damning investigations into C of E abuse failures.

Bishops, clergy, and senior lay volunteers have been exposed as abusers, and church figures knew about the abuse in some instances and failed to stop it or report it to the police." He added: "There's been a simmering anger among churchgoers and survivors of abuse that no one has been held accountable. What's happening now is a culmination of many years of resentment building up, and finally, it's erupted.

"We're now hearing talk of sweeping the stables clean and starting afresh.