Mr Welby announced he was resigning after an independent report found he had failed to tell police about the alleged abuse.
The Church of England’s most senior cleric, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, has resigned for failing to ensure a proper investigation into allegations of physical and sexual abuse by volunteers at a Christian summer camp decades ago. Announced.
In his resignation letter on Tuesday, Mr Welby said he must take “personal and institutional responsibility” for the lack of action against “heinous abuse”.
“The last few days have renewed the deep sense of shame I have felt for many years over the Church of England’s historic security failures,” Mr Welby said.
“I hope this decision makes clear how seriously the Church of England understands the need for change and our deep commitment to creating a safer church.As I resign, I “It is with sadness that I resign along with all victims and survivors of abuse,” he said.
Mr Welby, 68, resigned five days after the independent Makin Report singled him out for criticism over his handling of abuse allegations dating back to the 1970s.
The report revealed that British lawyer John Smith subjected more than 100 boys and young people to “brutal and horrific” abuse over four decades.
The report said Smith hit some victims up to 800 times with a cane and provided them with diapers to absorb the blood.
He then covered his victims, sometimes kissing their necks and backs.
Mr Smith is chairman of the Iwan Trust, which funds Christian camps in Dorset, England, where Mr Welby worked as a boarding officer before being ordained.
The report said Smith moved to Africa in 1984 and continued to abuse people in Zimbabwe and South Africa until his near death in 2018.
“Failure and dropout”
The report said the highest levels of the Church of England were made aware of the accusations of sexual abuse at the camp in 2013, and that Mr Welby learned of the accusations in the same year, a few months after becoming archbishop.
Mr Welby apologized for the “omissions and omissions” but said he had “no knowledge or suspicion” of the allegations before 2013. The report concluded that that was unlikely and accused him of failing in his “personal and moral responsibility” to ensure a proper investigation.
He added that had the allegations been reported to police in 2013, a full-scale investigation could have been carried out and Mr Smith could have been charged before his death.
The church’s process for appointing a new archbishop of Canterbury requires a panel of clergy and a chair appointed by the British Prime Minister to recommend two names to the archbishop.
Bishop Graham Asher of Norwich and Bishop Gri Francis Decani of Chelmsford are the favorites to succeed Welby as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury.
