WHEN JOHN SMYTH gave a presentation at their school about his Christian holiday camps in 1993, Rocky Leanders and his friends were "blown away". "This is Zimbabwe in the early 90s; the technology wasn't great. These guys set up a projector with colour videos of speed boats...abseiling, golf, tennis, paddle boarding, swimming pools, diving boards," said Leanders, who was 15 at the time.
Justin Welby resigned as archbishop of Canterbury last week after a review into the Church of England's handling of claims of abuse against Smyth found he could have been brought to justice had the archbishop formally reported the abuse to police a decade ago. Welby says that when he was informed about Smyth in 2013, he was told police had been notified and believed that an appropriate resolution would follow.
However, questions are still being raised about why senior church leaders in the UK and southern Africa did not stop Smyth from abusing boys in Zimbabwe and possibly South Africa.
Smyth, who left the UK for Zimbabwe in 1984, was accused of beating boys and young men and forcing them to strip naked. He died in Cape Town in 2018 with a UK police investigation against him still ongoing.
Denne historien er fra November 22, 2024-utgaven av The Guardian Weekly.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra November 22, 2024-utgaven av The Guardian Weekly.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
If kids get protected from online harm, how about the rest of us?
The Australian government has proposed a ban on social media for all citizens under 16.
'It's not drought - it's looting'
Spain is increasingly either parched or flooded - and one group is profiting from these extremes: the thirsty multinational companies forcing angry citizens to pay for water in bottles.
Life in the grey Zone
Neonatal care has advanced so far that babies born as early as 21 weeks have survived. But is this type of care always the right thing to do?
Out of tune? Band Aid under fire for Africa tropes as it turns 40
Forty years ago this month, a group of pop stars gathered at a west London studio to record a single that would raise millions, inspire further starry projects, and ultimately change charity fundraising in the UK.
Deaths shine spotlight on risks of drinking on party trail
Vang Vieng is an unlikely party hub. Surrounded by striking limestone mountains and caves in central Laos, it morphed from a small farming town to a hedonistic tourist destination in the early 2000s.
Different strokes My strange and emotional week with an AI pet
Moflin can develop a personality and build a rapport with its owner - and doesn't need food or exercise. But is it comforting or alienating?
Strike zone Waking up to the rising threat of lightning
When the Barbados National Archives, home to one of the world's most significant collections of documents from the transatlantic slave trade, reported in June that it had been struck by lightning, it received sympathy and offers of support locally and internationally.
Cheap pints and sticky carpets: the old-school pub is back
In the Palm Tree pub, east London, barman Alf is taking only cash at the rattling 1960s till.
Brain gain Can a radical tax scheme convince the country's brightest to stay?
In the autumn of 2018, I moved to Lisbon for a month-long course at the Universidade .de Lisboa.
Fear and sympathy in small town divided over asylum camp
A year after anti-immigration riots, a site for asylum seekers faces hostility while some locals try to help new arrivals
