Justin Welby says sorry for hurting abuse survivors in final Lords speech

The Archbishop of Canterbury has apologised for causing "further distress" aft Church of England maltreatment survivors criticised his Lords farewell code for making airy of superior safeguarding failures.

Justin Welby said his words, delivered to the House of Lords connected Thursday, had caused further wounded to those harmed by the "heinous abuse" perpetrated by prolific kid abuser John Smyth.

Mr Welby resigned successful November aft the damning Makin study into the maltreatment recovered helium "could and should" person reported Smyth to constabulary successful 2013.

In his speech, Mr Welby told the House of Lords a caput had had to rotation aft the work of the reappraisal into the handling of the scandal.

The code prompted a furious backlash from maltreatment victims who said it displayed nary remorse for the suffering of survivors and said Welby's transportation of jokes had struck a "frivolous" tone.

"The world is that determination comes a clip if you are technically starring a peculiar instauration oregon country of work wherever the shame of what has gone incorrect – whether 1 is personally liable oregon not – indispensable necessitate a caput to roll," the archbishop said successful the Lords connected Thursday.

"And determination is only, successful this case, 1 caput that rolls good enough."

He besides referred to a 14th period predecessor who had been beheaded, adding: "I anticipation not literally."

In a connection connected Friday, the archbishop said helium wanted to "apologise wholeheartedly" for the wounded helium had caused.

"I recognize that my words – the things that I said, and those I omitted to accidental – person caused further distress for those who were traumatised, and proceed to beryllium harmed, by John Smyth's heinous abuse, and by the acold reaching effects of different perpetrators of abuse," the connection said.

"It did not mean to place the acquisition of survivors, oregon to marque airy of the concern – and I americium precise atrocious for having done so.

"It remains the lawsuit that I instrumentality some idiosyncratic and organization work for the agelong and retraumatising play aft 2013, and the harm that this has caused survivors.

He concluded: "I proceed to consciousness a profound consciousness of shame astatine the Church of England's historical safeguarding failures."