Archbishop of Canterbury Welby resigns over child sexual abuse
by URN · The ObserverThe Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has resigned following criticism over his handling of a report into child sexual abuse by John Smyth, a former Key figure associated with the Church of England.
Welby faced mounting pressure after it was revealed last week that he failed to follow up on reports regarding Smyth’s abuse of more than 100 boys and young men. Smyth, who died in Cape Town in 2018 at age 75, is accused of sexually, psychologically, and physically abusing about 30 individuals in the UK and 85 in Zimbabwe and South Africa over a span of five decades.
Welby’s resignation follows the publication of an independent review last week, which found that the Church of England had covered up Smyth’s abuses.
The report suggested that Smyth might have been brought to justice if Welby had formally reported the allegations to police a decade earlier. On Monday, more than 8,000 members of the General Synod, the church’s parliament, signed a petition calling for Welby’s resignation.
In a letter on Tuesday, Welby announced his decision, saying he had sought permission from King Charles to step down.
“Having sought the gracious permission of His Majesty The King, I have decided to resign. When I was informed in 2013 and told that police had been notified, I wrongly believed that an appropriate resolution would follow...I must take personal and institutional responsibility for the long and re-traumatising period between 2013 and 2024,” he wrote.
Welby also pledged to meet with Smyth’s victims as part of his commitment to address the harm caused.