The spiritual leader of the Anglicans, Justin Welby, announced his resignation on Tuesday, days 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.
‘I hope this decision demonstrates the extent to which the Church of England understands the need for change, and our deep commitment to creating a safer Church,’ the 68-year-old Archbishop of Canterbury wrote in a press release.
His position had become untenable since the publication on Thursday of a ‘damning report on the role in this affair’ of the Church of England, of which he has been primate since 2013, and calls for resignation had multiplied.
The report sheds light on physical and sexual abuse committed by a lawyer associated with the Church of England, John Smyth, between the 1970s and the mid-2010s.
He points out that this lawyer who died in 2018, who attacked more than 130 boys and young men, could have been brought to justice if the Archbishop of Canterbury had warned the authorities in 2013, when the summit of the The Church has been informed.
“It is very clear that I must take personal and institutional responsibility for the long, traumatic period that passed between 2013 and 2024,” said Justin Welby, who apologized on Thursday.
‘These last few days have reignited the deep sense of shame I have long felt at the historic failings of the Church of England in safeguarding,’ he continued. ‘For almost twelve years, I struggled to make improvements. It is up to others to judge what has been done.’
Shortly before, Prime Minister Keir Starmer had estimated that John Smyth’s victims had ‘been seriously, very seriously abandoned’.
On Saturday, three members of the General Synod, the elected body responsible for deciding on questions of doctrine, launched a petition calling on Justin Welby to resign, which exceeded 14,000 signatures.
The Reverend Ian Paul, one of its authors, said on Tuesday that he was ‘deeply saddened by the situation’, hoping that it would be a ‘first step towards cultural change’ within the high authorities of the ‘Church.
‘Sadness for the victims’
In the morning, Justin Welby spoke via intermediaries with King Charles III, supreme governor of the Church of England, who accepted his resignation.
“As I step aside, I do so with deep sadness for all victims and survivors of assault,” said this married man and father of children, judging that stepping aside was “in the best interest of the Church of England’.
A familiar face to the British, Justin Welby has officiated at several major royal events, including the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II and the coronation of King Charles III.
Ordained deacon in 1992 after a lucrative career in oil and finance, Justin Welby has always displayed moderate views on social issues that traditionally divide the Church.
He supported a reform last year to allow the blessing of civil unions and marriages of same-sex couples, and was very critical of the conservative government’s bill aimed at deporting illegal migrants to Rwanda.
This affair once again undermines the Anglican religious institution, already accused four years ago in a previous report of having allowed a ‘culture’ to persist allowing perpetrators of sexual violence against minors to ‘hide’ and escape justice.
John Smyth, who chaired a charity running holiday camps with the Church of England, ‘is arguably the most prolific serial abuser associated’ with the institution.
The report details the ‘brutal and horrific’ physical, sexual and psychological suffering inflicted on his victims, in the United Kingdom but also in Zimbabwe, and in South Africa where he also lived.
The affair only came to light after the broadcast of a documentary by Channel 4 in 2017, although leaders of the cult had been aware of it since the early 1980s.
The Church of England is the mother church of the Anglican communion, which has around forty churches in 165 countries and 85 million faithful.
/ATS
