In a new interview published today,
the , , discusses how abuse in the
Church of England has been addressed under his
leadership.
He told the Lord Speaker, of Alcluith, during an
interview for his podcast: “It is a dismissal offence in the Church to cover up abuse
now. And that happens. We've had a significant number of
independent reports. We have a whole system in place now. The
budget's gone up from £50,000 to over £20 million a year.
It's something you cannot be complacent
about.”
In this wide-ranging interview, the
Archbishop also discussed his difficult childhood, describing how
he and his parents had to evade rent collectors growing up.
“Growing up was pretty
complicated to put it mildly. And there was a lot of moving
around, moonlight flit on one occasion to avoid the rent, I think
that was probably the case with my father who was drinking very
heavily at the time.”
He also reflected on the high profile
but “human” moments of his tenure, including making two mistakes
during the King's Coronation and being profoundly moved during
the arrival of Queen Elizabeth II's coffin in Westminster
Hall.
When asked about the the role of the
Bishops in the House of Lords, he said:
“I think they make a huge
contribution. But if Parliament decides otherwise, that's the
prerogative of the House of Commons to decide, and obviously we
accept that. I think it would be a great
pity.”
ENDS
NOTES TO
EDITORS
More info: Lucy Dargahi 07792792750
or dargahil@parliament.uk
Watch the full interview here:
YouTube
Full transcript available here:
https://www.parliament.uk/business/lords/house-of-lords-podcast/
This is the latest in the series
of Lord Speaker's Corner podcasts, which highlight the work of
the House of Lords and the experience and expertise of its
members.
