The Panel of Inquiry into the Anglican Church of Southern Africa's handling of serial abuser John Smyth’s presence in South Africa has noted a disturbing delay in fully implementing measures evolved over decades to grapple effectively with abuse within the church and church-related institutions, including schools and children's homes.
The panel’s 29-page report was released on Monday.
Although no submissions were received by the panel investigating possible abuse by Smyth in South Africa, they found that “from 2001 on, young members of ACSA were exposed to real risk of Smyth perpetrating in South Africa the serial abuse documented in the UK and Zimbabwe”.
Canadian-born Smyth was found to have been a serial abuser by the Church of England's Makin Review, published on November 7, 2024.
Smyth, between the late 1970s and early 1980s, had in secret perpetrated vicious physical assaults of a sadistic nature by caning boys and young men until they bled.
Several victims described “experience of sexual abuse, particularly John Smyth kissing and then draping himself and/or his arms over them, nakedness and other indicators of sexual abuse”.
The Review found that Smyth perpetrated grooming and physical abuse of young men in the UK and Zimbabwe over decades.
Smyth died in August of 2018.
Two weeks after the Makin Review was published, Archbishop of Cape Town, Thabo Makgoba requested an inquiry with a focus pertinent to ACSA.
The ACSA panel comprised Justice lan Farlam, a former judge of South Africa's Supreme Court of Appeal and the ACSA Provincial Chancellor, and Dr Mamphela Ramphele, a former Vice-Chancellor of UCT and a former Managing Director of the World Bank.
A third member, Advocate Jeremy Gauntlett SC KC, withdrew after he was the subject of a report of abuse himself.
“The Makin Review reports Mr and Mrs Smyth as attending a non-ACSA church, His People Church in Glenwood, Durban. Nothing is documented in the Makin Review or otherwise known to us, regarding his activities there...
“It appears that in 2003 or 2004 the Smyths joined an ACSA Durban congregation, St Martin-in-the-Fields. There Smyth from time to time preached, became a member of a home group, and of a team running confirmation classes (which would have brought him in contact with young people), from time to time. He was also actively involved in arranging at least one confirmation camp,” the report noted.
“It appears that the Smyths became residents of a Cape Town suburb, Bergvliet, in 2005 and became parishioners at the local ACSA church, St Martin's. The diocesan records reflect that Smyth was not licensed for any ACSA ministry. Nor is there any ACSA record of any complaints or allegations pertaining to Smyth,” the report reads.
The then Rector, the Revd Allan Smith received a letter from the Smyths in December 2013 stating their intention to move to a non-ACSA worshipping community in Cape Town, Church-on-Main. “It records that Smyth had preached occasionally over the years and had been part of the Alpha course (an outreach programme). It also refers to ‘our UCT student work’,” the report reads.
On January 27, 2014 the Reverend Smith notified Bishop Garth Counsell, the Bishop of Table Bay in the Diocese of Cape Town, that Smyth "about whom you had some concern" had resigned from his parish. He noted that "[o]n the one hand it may be some relief and on the other hand one never quite knows what their motive or purpose is? Is it healthy for folk to hop from church to church".
On February 8, 2017 Reverend Smith was forwarded a communication by Church-on-Main to its members a week after a Channel 4 expose on Smyth.
Reverend Smith in turn forwarded the communication to churchwardens of St Martin's, Bergvliet and to Bishop Counsell, noting in his email that “fortunately John was not in a leadership position…nor did he counsel or disciple any young people".
The report states: “Our inquiry, limited as it is to the matters stated in our Terms of Reference, does not include a review of ACSA's dealing with abuse generally. But inevitably it throws some matters into sharp focus.
“One is the disturbing delay already noted, at least since 2018, in fully implementing measures evolved over two decades to grapple effectively with abuse within the church and church-related institutions, such as schools and children's homes.
“We do not consider that the Pastoral Standards alone afforded members of ACSA sufficient protection against conduct such as that documented in the Makin Review… and that there was a serious risk of such conduct being repeated in South Africa by Smyth after his arrival in 2001.”
The report said it considered delays in implementation “since 2016 of Safe Church are a cause for serious concern, raising the risk that similar or other abusive conduct goes undetected and is not the subject of effective protective measures”.
“We note the need for this report to be considered in its application not only to ACSA, but to all ACSA-related entities, particularly what are termed church schools and children's homes. Over the years, including in the most recent time, instances of serious physical and sexual abuse involving learners have continued to present themselves,” the report highlighted.
Cape Times