The CofE is facing damning new scrutiny after a Channel 4 News investigation uncovered how notorious abuser John Smyth continued grooming boys and young men in South Africa - years after church leaders knew of his horrific past.
Smyth, a once-respected barrister and Christian leader, was first exposed in 2017 for beating and sexually abusing teenage boys at religious camps in the UK and Zimbabwe.
Despite senior figures in the Church being aware of his abusive behaviour by 2013, Smyth was never reported to authorities and was able to move to South Africa and continue his predatory behaviour unchecked.
Speaking exclusively to the news channel, the Archbishop of Cape Town criticised the Church of England for its failure to report Smyth's abusive behaviour, saying: 'I am disappointed that the Church of England did not act as they should have, despite knowing for decades.
'Of course, Archbishop Justin Welby could have done more. If I had known, I would have acted.'
Welby dramatically resigned in November and confessed he felt 'shame' over the way victims of the Church of England's most prolific child abuser were let down.
New revelations now paint a chilling picture of how Smyth integrated himself into Cape Town's church community, gaining access to teenage boys and students through Bible study groups, sleepovers at his home, and sports clubs.'
Shockingly, he took young men on 'retreats' to a secluded cottage near Pringle Bay, where they were encouraged to skinny dip daily - a disturbing echo of his past abuse in Zimbabwe, where a 16-year-old boy tragically died.
One victim, speaking anonymously, recalled: 'He insisted on one-on-one showers at the squash club.
'Definitely I felt uncomfortable. And over lunch he'd bring up lust, porn and masturbation. Generally his spiritual argument was God gave you a body, enjoy it, it's natural.
Disturbingly, in 2016, he planned to take children as young as seven away to 'camp'.
One former church member, who briefly considered allowing their child to attend, revealed: 'We were considering it. Then, a complaint surfaced about his behaviour in the showers.
'That was it - we said absolutely no way. Looking back, it's chilling to think what could have happened.'
It was also revealed in November that Smyth had a particular interest in pupils from Winchester College, the famous public school (and alma mater of Rishi Sunak) near his idyllic family home in Hampshire.
Young members of the school’s Christian Forum, which sent a delegation to the camps, would be invited over for Sunday lunch and a swim in the pool, before being lured into Smyth’s shed, where they would be instructed to confess various sins.
He would then instruct them to strip naked, before undoing his trousers and using a garden cane to inflict brutal punishment beatings.
'He made me strip off my clothes and he got out a cane and started to beat me,’ recalled Mark Stibbe, who went on to become an Anglican vicar.
‘He said, “This is the discipline that God likes, it’s what’s going to help you become holy”.’
Another victim, Richard Gittins, was beaten so hard he needed to wear a nappy to cover his wounds: ‘He said it wasn’t enough to repent your sins; that they needed to be purged by beatings. I had to bleed for Jesus.’
A third later told reporters: ‘After ten strokes, I felt my skin burn. After 20, I felt blood trickling down from my buttocks to my legs. At 30, he stopped and embraced me from behind, leaning against my back, nuzzling his face against my neck and whispering how proud he was of me.’
But instead of acting, church leaders ignored the warnings, failed to report Smyth, and allowed him to continue targeting young men for more than three years.
The review criticises the Church's handling of the case, stating: 'There was a distinct lack of curiosity shown by these senior figures and a tendency to minimise the matter.
'Three and a half years were lost - a time in which John Smyth could have been brought to justice and his abuse in South Africa stopped.'
The Archbishop of Canterbury said he was stepping down after a damning report found his failure to act meant 'abhorrent' serial abuser John Smyth was never brought to justice.
Despite the damning evidence, many of the senior figures who failed to stop Smyth remain in their roles - sparking growing anger among victims and campaigners.
This latest investigation raises serious questions about how many other abuse cases the Church of England has ignored - and whether those responsible for covering up Smyth's abusive behaviour will ever be held accountable.
The Church of England's Lead Safeguarding Bishop Joanne Grenfell has responded to the publication of a report by the Anglican Church in South Africa examining its failure to respond adequately to a warning from the Church of England about the abuse perpetrated by John Smyth.
The report also makes recommendations on ACSA's safeguarding process.
Bishop Joanne said: 'The report published today by the Anglican Church in South Africa, ACSA, will be a harrowing reminder of the horrific abuse inflicted by the late John Smyth. We are aware that any fresh focus is retraumatising for victims and survivors, who continue to be offered support.
'As I commented when the Makin Review was published in November, it is appalling that any clergy person could believe that covering up abuse was justified in the name of the Gospel. It is evident that Smyth was allowed to go abroad in the 1980s, with the full knowledge by some in the Church of his abuse. This was wrong and should not have happened.
'The Makin Review already made clear that information about Smyth's abuse was reported to the police (on a number of occasions) and to ACSA. ACSA's own review confirms today that they did receive this information from the Diocese of Ely in 2013. While they state that they have not found any evidence of abuse by Smyth within their churches, they do admit that the Diocese of Cape Town's communication of the danger which Smyth posed between when they were informed of that danger (2013) and when he died (2018) fell short of what the circumstances demanded.
'This
is sobering to read. I am glad both that ACSA rapidly commissioned
their own review in response to the Makin Review, and that they are now
transparent about its findings. We join them in penitence for the
failings of our Churches and in redoubling our efforts to care for and
listen to victims and survivors, and to take all necessary and possible
steps to respond well to all allegations of abuse.'