Justin Welby
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The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, resigned with “sadness” on Tuesday, saying he failed to ensure that allegations of abuse against volunteers at a Christian summer camp decades ago were properly investigated.
Welby is the senior bishop of the Anglican Church and the spiritual leader of the 85 million Anglicans around the world. As a result, he faced calls to resign.
Welby said in a statement: “Over the past few days, I have once again felt a deep sense of shame at the historic failure to safeguard the Church of England.”
“I hope this decision demonstrates how seriously the Anglican Church understands the need for change and our deep commitment to creating a safer Church. My heart goes out to all victims and survivors of abuse as I resign .
Welby’s tenure marked a decade of major upheaval, as he was forced to mediate debates over gay rights and female clergy between liberal churches, mainly in North America and Britain, and conservative churches, especially in Africa. .
Anglican churches in African countries such as Uganda and Nigeria are likely to welcome Welby’s resignation because they said last year they no longer had confidence in him.
Key challenges for his successor will include uniting the increasingly divided Anglican community around the world and trying to reverse declining church attendance, which has fallen by a fifth since 2019.
Report talks of ‘cruel and horrific’ abuse
Welby resigned five days later after the independent Markin Report singled out Welby for his handling of abuse allegations in the 1970s.
According to reports, British lawyer John Smyth carried out “cruel and horrific” physical and sexual abuse of more than 100 boys and young people over 40 years.
Reports said Smith struck some victims as many as 800 times with a cane and provided diapers to stop the bleeding. He would then drape himself over his victim, sometimes kissing their neck or back.
Smith is chairman of the Ewaine Trust, which provides funding for Christian camps in Dorset, England, where Welby worked as a hostel before being appointed.
According to reports, Smith moved to Africa in 1984 and continued the abuse until his death in 2018.
The highest levels of the Church of England were reportedly aware of allegations of sexual abuse in refugee camps in 2013, with Welby only becoming aware of them as late as the same year, months after he became archbishop.
The report said that if the claims had been reported to police in 2013, a full police investigation could have been launched and Smith could have faced charges before his death. The Makin Report was commissioned in 2019.
Welby apologized for the “failures and oversights” but said he had “no knowledge or suspicion” of the allegations before 2013. “Personal and ethical responsibility”.
The church’s process for appointing a new Archbishop of Canterbury requires a body of clergy and a chairperson nominated by the British prime minister to nominate two candidates to him.
The Bishop of Norwich, Graham Usher, and the Bishop of Chelmsford, Gulley Francis Dehkani, are both tipped to succeed Welby as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury.
Usher supports gay rights and has been outspoken about the need to combat climate change.
Frances-Dehkani, who was born in Iran, has told how her brother was murdered after the Iranian revolution. She will be the first woman to hold the position.
