Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby resigns over Church abuse scandal

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby has resigned, days after a damning report into a prolific child abuser associated with the Church of England

In his resignation statement, Justin Welby says the report “exposed the long maintained conspiracy of silence about the heinous abuses of John Smyth; saying he had failed to ensure a proper investigation into allegations of abuse by a volunteer at Christian summer camps decades ago.

He says when he was told in 2013 that Police had been notified, “I believed wrongly that an appropriate resolution would follow”

Welby, also spiritual leader of 85 million Anglicans worldwide, had faced calls to resign after a report last week found he had taken insufficient action to stop arguably the Church’s most prolific serial abuser and that he is taking personal and institutional responsibility” for lack of action on the “heinous abuses”.
“The last few days have renewed my long felt and profound sense of shame at the historic safeguarding failures of the Church of England,” Welby said.

“I hope this decision makes clear how seriously the Church of England understands the need for change and our profound commitment to creating a safer church. As I step down I do so in sorrow with all victims and survivors of abuse.”

“The last few days have renewed my long felt and profound sense of shame at the historic safeguarding failures of the Church of England,” Welby said.

Smyth was not brought to justice before his death in South Africa in 2018