Report finds Church of England covered up ‘horrific’ abuse at summer camps decades ago

Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — An independent review has found the Church of England covered up “horrific’ abuse by a lawyer who volunteered at Christian summer camps in the 1970s and 1980s. The report released Thursday says John Smyth, who died in South Africa in 2018 at age 75, physically, sexually, psychologically and spiritually abused about 30 boys and young men in the U.K. and 85 in Africa over five decades. The report also said that Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, the ceremonial head of the Anglican Communion, failed to report him to authorities when he learned of the abuse in 2013. The church says it is “deeply sorry for the horrific abuse.”