AUSTRALIA
The Advertiser
Nigel Hunt and Michael McGuire
The Advertiser
GRIEF and satisfaction were the overriding emotions for departing Anglican Archbishop Jeffrey Driver on Sunday when he told his flock the time had come for him to retire.
The satisfaction came from a job well done over an 11-year tenure, the grief from the fact that so much of that time was spent dealing with the problem of child sexual abuse perpetrated by members of the Anglican Church.
Archbishop Driver was elected in 2005 at a time when the church was deeply demoralised following the damaging Brandenburg child abuse scandal that cost former Archbishop Ian George his job.
“I saw that was something that needed to be done, not just because it was a problem, but because God calls on us to act well in those sort of circumstances,’’ Archbishop Driver said yesterday.
“We had huge issues relating to abuse, child sexual abuse. That’s doesn’t just affect the immediate survivors but whole communities are affected as well, and related to that there is a loss of morale and confidence in the church.’’
Archbishop Driver’s first major task was to grapple with a multimillion-dollar class action launched by more than 70 abuse victims and the subsequent financial impact it had on the diocese.
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