Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby resigns over child abuse report

Justin Welby has announced that he will resign as the Archbishop of Canterbury.

First ordained in 1992, Welby served as a Canon of Coventry Cathedral, Dean of Liverpool and Bishop of Durham before becoming the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury in 2013.

He recently faced calls to resign for abandoning the Church’s historic teaching on sexual ethics, but is now stepping down after the Makin Review concluded that he “held a personal and moral responsibility” to ensure that a series of child sex abuse cases were properly investigated.

‘Sorrow’

In a statement, the Archbishop said: “The Makin Review has exposed the long-maintained conspiracy of silence about the heinous abuses of John Smyth.

“When I was informed in 2013 and told that police had been notified, I believed wrongly that an appropriate resolution would follow. It is very clear that I must take personal and institutional responsibility for the long and retraumatising period between 2013 and 2024.”

He emphasised: “As I step down I do so in sorrow with all victims and survivors of abuse.”

The report concluded the Church of England had covered up the abuse of barrister John Smyth, who abused an estimated 130 boys at Christian holiday camps in the 1970s and 1980s.

Previous controversy

The Archbishop’s announcement comes after a petition by General Synod members calling for him to resign gathered over 11,000 signatures.

It follows similar calls last month after Welby stated that sexual activity only had to be within a ‘committed relationship’ “whether it’s straight or gay”.

However, Revd Dr Ian Paul, one of the petition’s authors, said the Makin Review was “a big enough issue” on its own for him to resign, adding that otherwise it would have been hard to uphold the importance of safeguarding with “credibility”.

Successor

The appointment process is expected to take at least six months, as it involves public consultation before the Crown Nominations Commission presents its preferred candidate to the Prime Minister, who then advises King Charles to appoint them.

The candidate is likely to be a bishop, although it is not required.

Potential candidates include the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, who has supported the CofE’s prayers to “affirm same-sex relationships”, and Bishop of London Sarah Mullally, who has also admitted she would be happy to bless same-sex marriages.