Cardboard cutout bishops stand silent as their leader makes an ass of himself

Apr 26, 2018 by Jill

by Jules Gomes:

The Archbishop of Canterbury is about to undergo plastic surgery after losing his face earlier this week. Sussex Police gave Justin Welby a bloody nose when, like the trump of the archangel, it revealed that it was no longer investigating the ‘fresh’ allegation Welby’s Safeguarding Stasi had made against Bishop George Bell.

Lambeth Palace went limp. Welby’s media witchdoctors ran out of holy mumbo jumbo to spin the story. Drawing the lush palace curtains, they announced a blackout on Bell. For once, the Archbabbler of Canterbury heeded the counsel of the book of Proverbs: ‘By the mouth of a fool comes a rod for his back.’

A year ago, Welby made a birch for his behind by insisting that a ‘significant cloud’ hung over Bishop Bell even after Lord Carlile’s diligent investigation found that the Church of England had ‘wrongfully and unnecessarily damaged’ Bell’s reputation. Bell was accused of molesting a child more than 60 years ago.

Rather than apologise for the C of E’s botched job on Bell, Welby charged in frothing at the mouth and insisted that Bell was ‘accused of great wickedness’. The band of Bell supporters, ranging from journalist Peter Hitchens to historian Andrew Chandler, kept confuting fanciful allegations against Bell floated by Welby & Co.

Others like Richard Symonds and the Bell Society went the extra mile intending to restore Bell’s reputation and held a ‘Rebuilding Bridges’ conference at Church House on February 1, 2018, to which I was invited as the keynote speaker. The Bishops of Gloucester and Newcastle, Rachel Treweek and Christine Hardman, rushed to the media screaming ‘Fire’ and attempted to derail the conference.

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