Spattered by scandal, the head of the Anglican Church resigns

The spiritual leader of the Anglicans, Justin Welby, announced his resignation on Tuesday, after the publication of a report accusing the Church of England of having covered up a scandal of physical and sexual assaults committed by a lawyer linked to the institution religious.

“I hope this decision makes clear how much the Church of England understands the need for change, and our deep commitment to creating a safer Church,” Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, wrote in a statement. .

The 68-year-old cleric had been facing calls for resignation for several days, after the publication of this report, damning the lack of reaction from the Church of England, of which he has been primate since 2013.

The scandal left more than 130 victims, boys and young men.

These attacks were committed by a lawyer, John Smyth — who died in 2018 — as part of his activities with the Church of England between the 1970s and the mid-2010s.

Justin Welby, who a few days ago apologized in this affair, described these attacks as “abhorrent”.

“It is very clear that I must take personal and institutional responsibility for the long, traumatic period that passed between 2013 and 2024,” he added in the press release announcing his resignation.

“These last few days have reignited the deep sense of shame I have long felt about the historic failings of the Church of England in safeguarding. For almost twelve years, I have strived to make improvements. It is up to others to judge what has been done,” said the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Justin Welby is a well-known face among the British having officiated at several major royal events in recent years, including the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II and the coronation of King Charles III.

Between the 1970s and the mid-2010s, John Smyth, a lawyer who chaired a charity running holiday camps with the Church of England, was accused of molesting 130 boys and young men in the UK and then in Africa, notably in Zimbabwe and South Africa, where he had settled.

If the top of the Church was officially informed of these facts in 2013, religious leaders had been aware of them since the early 1980s but kept them quiet as part of a “concealment campaign”, concluded a investigation commissioned by the Church, in a report published last Thursday.

John Smyth “is arguably the most prolific serial abuser associated with the Church of England,” says the report, which details the “brutal and horrific” physical, sexual and psychological suffering inflicted on his victims.

For example, he would bring young boys to his home in the south of England where he would beat them with a cane, sometimes until they bled, citing theological justifications.

The report also concluded that the Archbishop of Canterbury “could and should have” reported the lawyer’s abuse to the police from 2013.

The affair only finally came to light after the broadcast of a documentary by Channel 4 in 2017.

The Church of England is the mother church of the Anglican communion, which has around forty churches in 165 countries and 85 million faithful.