Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby had announced his resignation on Tuesday, expressing deep regret over his handling of abuse allegations against a former volunteer at Christian summer camps.
Welby, the spiritual leader of 85 million Anglicans worldwide, acknowledged he had failed to ensure a thorough investigation into abuse spanning decades.
In his resignation letter, Welby stated his responsibility for the Church of England’s “historic safeguarding failures” and voiced a renewed “sense of shame” over the issue.
“I step down in sorrow with all victims and survivors of abuse,” Welby wrote, stressing the Church’s commitment to reform.
Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell described Welby’s resignation as “the right and honourable thing to do.”
Welby’s decade-long leadership was marked by internal disputes over LGBTQ+ rights and women’s ordination, often dividing Anglican churches across regions. African churches, particularly in Uganda and Nigeria, had lost confidence in Welby’s leadership, welcoming news of his resignation.
The resignation follows last week’s release of the independent Makin Report, which criticized Welby’s handling of allegations against John Smyth, a British lawyer and serial abuser associated with Christian camps in England. Smyth, who worked with the Iwerne Trust and continued his abuse in Africa, inflicted severe physical and sexual abuse on over 100 boys and young men between the 1970s and his death in 2018.
Welby’s successor will face the challenge of maintaining unity within the global Anglican community and reversing a notable decline in British church attendance, which has fallen by 20% since 2019.
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