Archbishop of Canterbury resigns amid abuse scandal DW 12 November 2024

The Anglican Church's top cleric, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, announced his resignation Tuesday after facing mounting pressure to resign over his handling of a decades-old abuse scandal.

Welby has been under pressure for days to resign after an independent investigation found he failed to tell police about decades of physical and sexual abuse by a volunteer at a Christian summer camp in 2013.

“It is abundantly clear that we must take personal and institutional responsibility for the long and traumatic period from 2013 to 2024,” Welby acknowledged in a statement.

“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,” the archbishop said. He added that he was resigning “in the best interests of the Church of England”.

Hours earlier, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer piled pressure on Welby, saying victims had been “failed very, very badly”.

What do we know about abuse scandals?

Last week, the independent Makin Report criticized Welby's handling of allegations of abuse in the 1970s. The report said British lawyer John Smith subjected more than 100 boys and young men to cruel and horrific physical and sexual abuse over a period of 40 years.

Smyth was chairman of the Iwerne Trust, which funded Christian camps in Dorset, England, and Welby served as boarding director before his ordination.

According to the report, the highest levels of the Church of England were aware of allegations of sexual abuse at the camp in 2013, and Welby became aware of the allegations that same year, months after he became archbishop.

Smyth moved to Zimbabwe in 1984 and later to South Africa. He continued to abuse boys and young men in Zimbabwe, according to the report, and there is evidence the abuse continued in South Africa until his death in August 2018.

Smyth's abuse was not made public until an investigation by Britain's Channel 4 television in 2017. This prompted Hampshire Police to launch an investigation. At the time of his death, police planned to question Smyth. They were also preparing to deliver him.

Who will succeed Welby?

Welby's tenure spanned a decade of upheaval as he dealt with disputes over gay rights and female clergy between liberal churches, mainly in North America and England, and conservative churches, especially in Africa.

Ugandan Anglican bishops debate same-sex blessing

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Anglican churches in African countries such as Uganda and Nigeria are expected to welcome Pastor Welby's resignation. They told me last year that they no longer trust him.

The church process for appointing a new archbishop of Canterbury requires a panel of clergy appointed by the British prime minister and the chairman to suggest two names.

Bishop Graham Usher of Norwich and Guli Francis-Dehqani, Bishop of Chelmsford, were elected as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury, succeeding Welby.

Usher supports gay rights and has been outspoken about the need to address climate change. Francis-Dehqani was born in Iran and spoke about how her brother was murdered in the aftermath of the Iranian revolution. She will be the first woman to hold that position.

dh/sms(AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)

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