Home Archbishop’s roles & priorities Archbishop’s diary About Justin Welby Blog Ensuring the church is a place safe for all: Archbishop writes for Crucible journal

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1. Quite frankly I find all of this quite disturbing, from the point of view that the transition from being a survivor of abuse in General, the victim is still at the bottom of the pile when it comes to God’s Grace or conversion experience. I am trying now to explain something that I feel the Church as an institution of any denomination has not grasped what the foundation or base feeling about that is. If you take out of the equation the wrong acts from an adult human being to a child or vulnerable person, just taking out the acts, we are still left with , peace for the victim relies on unconditional forgiveness of perpetrators, whilst the perpetrator gets unconditional forgiveness and acceptance from God. The words being affected are used with a negative connotation which has a debilitating affect. Still it is not recognised that this affects a person’s whole life, it starts with the first lie of shame life is built on fear and lies , alongside hopes and dreams that fade with age. Recovery takes time each process anywhere up to 3 years by which time opportunities are lost, where opportunities a r e realized they are fragile. There is the financial cost to all concerned. There is not only the anger acceptance and guilt and recovery for self but the anger and guilt for those who are falsely accused. The victim in an honest relationship with God takes there share of guilt for the families destroyed not only by sexual abuse but by the relational impact on spouses and children of the falsely accused and the perpetrator. It is a nightmare of vast proportion. As I get older there are new challenges fought alongside the ever present thought of what’s the point, humanly what’s the point. We aspire to be the best we can be, but if your best is not good enough what’s the point? I tell myself the point is, it’s not about me but about everyone who seeks to create an abuse free world, it should never feel like that is impossible, yet of course it is impossible in totality as one part becomes abuse free another place starts it. Or it emerges in another form. When Turning your eyes towards Jesus and looking at his Wonderful face, is a reflection of suffering it is confusing. How can such love make a person so sad. If we are the fellowship , seeing God in all that is Good , it is good if a person repents for that person, but it’s hard for the victim when they no longer feel safe. At the end of the day Jesus face has a human representation.

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