The leader of the world’s Anglicans, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, on Tuesday announced he was resigning following a damning report that concluded the Church of England covered up a serial abuse case.
Welby had faced days of growing pressure to quit after an independent probe found Welby “could and should” have formally reported decades of abuse by a church-linked lawyer to authorities in 2013.
A petition demanding his resignation, launched in the wake of the report’s revelations, has garnered about 14,000 signatures while leading clergy, including some bishops, were increasingly urging him to quit.
Photo: Reuters
“It is very clear that I must take personal and institutional responsibility for the long and retraumatizing period between 2013 and 2024,” said Welby, 68. “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,” he said.
The independent review by Keith Makin concluded that John Smyth, a lawyer who organized evangelical summer camps in the 1970s and 1980s, was responsible for “prolific, brutal and horrific” abuse of as many as 130 boys and young men.
It found the Church of England — the mother church of Anglicanism — covered up the “traumatic physical, sexual, psychological and spiritual attacks,” which occurred in Britain, Zimbabwe and South Africa over several decades.
Smyth, who lived in Africa from 1984, died aged 75 in South Africa in 2018 while under investigation by British police. He never faced any criminal charges.
One of those who began the petition calling for Welby to resign said he was “pleased” he had taken responsibility.
Ian Paul, an associate minister at a church in Nottingham, England, said Welby had in the past said that “if an organization makes these errors, then the leaders must take responsibility.”
“He’s terminated other people’s ministries for safeguarding failings, and I don’t see there was any alternative than him doing the same himself,” he added.
Appointed the Church of England’s highest-ranking cleric in 2013, Welby has apologized for what occurred, but previously insisted he would not resign, because he did not know about the wrongdoing before then.
On Tuesday, he said he was told the year that police had been notified and had “believed wrongly that an appropriate resolution would follow.”
Hours earlier, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer had ratcheted up the pressure on Welby when he said Smyth’s victims had been “failed very, very badly.”
Asked whether Welby should stand down, Starmer, a former chief prosecutor for England and Wales, said it was “a matter, in the end, for the Church.”
“But I’m not going to shy away from the fact that these are horrific allegations and that my thoughts are with the victims in relation to it,” he added.
Starmer’s spokesman said later that the prime minister “respects the decision.”
British King Charles III, who is supreme governor of the Church of England, approved the resignation, Buckingham Palace said.
FRAUD ALLEGED: The leader of an opposition alliance made allegations of electoral irregularities and called for a protest in Tirana as European leaders are to meet Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party scored a large victory in parliamentary elections, securing him his fourth term, official results showed late on Tuesday. The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Albanian Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there. According to projections, the Socialist Party could have more lawmakers than in 2021 elections. At the time, it won 74 seats in the
A Croatian town has come up with a novel solution to solve the issue of working parents when there are no public childcare spaces available: pay grandparents to do it. Samobor, near the capital, Zagreb, has become the first in the country to run a “Grandmother-Grandfather Service,” which pays 360 euros (US$400) a month per child. The scheme allows grandparents to top up their pension, but the authorities also hope it will boost family ties and tackle social isolation as the population ages. “The benefits are multiple,” Samobor Mayor Petra Skrobot told reporters. “Pensions are rather low and for parents it is sometimes
CANCER: Jose Mujica earned the moniker ‘world’s poorest president’ for giving away much of his salary and living a simple life on his farm, with his wife and dog Tributes poured in on Tuesday from across Latin America following the death of former Uruguayan president Jose “Pepe” Mujica, an ex-guerrilla fighter revered by the left for his humility and progressive politics. He was 89. Mujica, who spent a dozen years behind bars for revolutionary activity, lost his battle against cancer after announcing in January that the disease had spread and he would stop treatment. “With deep sorrow, we announce the passing of our comrade Pepe Mujica. President, activist, guide and leader. We will miss you greatly, old friend,” Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi wrote on X. “Pepe, eternal,” a cyclist shouted out minutes later,
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
RSS