Dear God,
It has been a while since I have written to you. The urge had disappeared after my book, 50 Letters to God, a birthday present from me for my beautiful wife, Reverend Canon Mpho Tutu van Furth, was finished last year.
I am proud to tell you that my book will be published by Karavan Press in South Africa in 2026. The reason I had to pick up my pen again tonight is because the Anglican Church did it again. I am very upset!
Let me explain. Mpho is in Cape Town at the moment where she delivered a keynote lecture at the opening of ILGA World Conferences, the largest global gathering of LGBTIQ changemakers.
It made me smile when she told me she had been invited to this event. As a bisexual Anglican priest married to me, a woman, she has become a recognised role model worldwide in the LBTQI+ scene. A very positive byproduct of our marriage. So far so good.
However, when I was on the phone with her to ask how she was doing, she said: “Haven’t you heard what happened with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby?”
My answer was a blunt “no”. “He resigned,” she answered, “because of an affair of child abuse by John Smyth.”
“What happened?”
Mpho, who looked utterly miserable, said in a soft-spoken voice: “Smyth has beaten up at least 115 young men in England, but also in Africa, who attended Christian summer camps, over a 40-year period. After their punishment, he would provide some of his victims with diapers to suck up the blood from their tormented buttocks.”
Read more: Church of England faces pressure over abuse scandal after Archbishop quits
I shook my head in disbelief.
“Justin Welby has known this since 2013,” Mpho continued.
I couldn’t believe my ears. My first and only encounter with Mr Welby was at my parents-in-law’s house in Cape Town just after we got married in 2015. I had shaken his hand, and I recall I felt uncomfortable because he was the enemy in my eyes, not allowing Mpho to work as an Anglican priest any more. A homophobic decision, in my opinion.
And now, nine years later, I hear that this same man, who knew of an extreme form of child abuse in the Anglican Church, never had the courage to address this.
How is that possible?
Has Mr Welby gone to bed for more than 4,000 nights (11 years times 365 days) without any form of doubt or regret over what he was hiding from the rest of the world?
Has he ever been sleepless? I have.
Since I learnt of this story, I can’t stop imagining abused boys in diapers, being kissed after their punishment by their abuser. It makes me sick. It makes me sleepless.
Dear God. I must ask for your help again. In my first letter to you, I addressed the issue of the Church of England being homophobic. Now I sadly have to add that the Church of England also covers up child abuse.
As a paediatrician, I know how easy it is to sweep child abuse under the rug. We shouldn’t let that happen. God, please talk to your people and tell them that it is unacceptable.
Thank you.
I hope it will help me with my sleepless nights.
Sincerely yours,
Marceline
PS: Please appoint a woman as Mr Welby’s successor. It is time for a change. DM