Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, leader of the Church of England and the global Anglican Communion, has announced that he will be resigning amid outrage over an abuse cover-up scandal.
In a statement posted to the Church of England’s website on Tuesday, Welby announced his decision to step down having received “the gracious permission of” King Charles III.
“The Makin Review has exposed the long-maintained conspiracy of silence about the heinous abuses of John Smyth,” stated Welby. “When I was informed in 2013 and told that police had been notified, I believed wrongly that an appropriate resolution would follow.”
“It is very clear that I must take personal and institutional responsibility for the long and retraumatizing period between 2013 and 2024.”
Welby went on to say that he hoped “this decision makes clear how seriously the Church of England understands the need for change and our profound commitment to creating a safer church.”
“The last few days have renewed my long-felt and profound sense of shame at the historic safeguarding failures of the Church of England. For nearly twelve years I have struggled to introduce improvements. It is for others to judge what has been done,” he stated.
“In the meantime, I will follow through on my commitment to meet victims. I will delegate all my other current responsibilities for safeguarding until the necessary risk assessment process is complete.”
Welby believed that his resignation “is in the best interests of the Church of England,” and he prayed that “this decision points us back towards the love that Jesus Christ has for every one of us.”
Earlier this month, an independent investigation released a report, known as the Makin Report, which found that a figure named John Smyth likely abused over 100 boys and young adult men while they attended Christian camps from the late 1970s into the early 1980s.
Smyth had died in 2018 at the age of 75 while living in Zimbabwe, with British authorities reportedly being in the process of having him extradited back to the United Kingdom to face charges.
“Despite considerable efforts by individuals to bring to the attention of relevant authorities the scope and horror of Smyth’s conduct, including by victims and by some clergy, the steps taken by the Church of England and other organizations and individuals were ineffective and neither fully exposed nor prevented further abuse by him,” stated the investigative report, as quoted by Episcopal News Service.
Many accused Welby of failing to properly act when these credible abuse allegations were first reported to him and other church leaders back in 2013, with the archbishop facing mounting calls for his resignation.
An online petition was started last week calling for Welby to step down, garnering more than 13,000 signatures by the time that the Church of England leader had agreed to resign.
“Given his role in allowing abuse to continue, we believe that his continuing as the Archbishop of Canterbury is no longer tenable. We must see change, for the sake of survivors, for the protection of the vulnerable, and for the good of the Church,” stated the petition.
“With sadness, we do not think there is any alternative to his immediate resignation if the process of change and healing is to start now.”
