Victims of the Church of England's worst ever child abuser have demanded more resignations after the Archbishop of Canterbury quit in ‘shame’ over the scandal.
Justin Welby had been under days of pressure after a damning review into the most prolific abuser associated with the Church of England, barrister John Smyth, found he might have been brought to justice had the archbishop formally alerted authorities in 2013.
Announcing his decision to step down over his handling of the scandal, he said: “The last few days have renewed my long felt and profound sense of shame at the historic safeguarding failures of the Church of England.”
Smyth, a lay church reader, abused as many as 130 boys over five decades before his death in 2018, the independent Makin review found.
Victims have now called for further heads to roll within the Church of England - but the Archbishop of York has rejected that suggestion.
Victim Richard Gittins said bishops “who kept the stories to themselves” should now be the focus of questioning.
After Mr Welby publicly announced he was resigning, Mr Gittins told Sky News: “I’m pleased he’s resigned.
“It now shows that he’s taken some action, and I think this also means that the focus can be turned on other people who knew and haven’t done anything about it.
“So he’s moved away, so that other people can answer the questions that need to be put to them, particularly bishops.
“Although he’s the highest person in the church, he’s not the most responsible for the cover-up.
“So I think it’s time now to focus the attention on other bishops who kept the stories to themselves.”
Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell said: “Those who actively covered this up (should resign), which was not bishops.
“When people speak about the Church of England we need to remember we are speaking about literally thousands of branches, parishes, chaplaincies.”
Asked if more bishops should resign, he said: “The Archbishop of Canterbury has resigned.”
Mr Cottrell added: “Yes (that is enough) because he has resigned for the institutional failings.”
Mark Stibbe, a former vicar and author, told Channel 4 News that he thought Mr Welby had made the right decision in standing down, but called for others to also go.
"We asked for the Archbishop of Canterbury, who we know knew about the abuses in 2013, and the Bishop of Ely and other senior figures in the Church of England to do the right thing, and Justin Welby has done the right thing,” he said.
"He has admitted that at a personal and at an institutional level we have been failed and other people can see that.
"What I think the survivor group would like is more resignations because that means more accountability, people taking responsibility for having been silent when they should have spoken."
Another victim of Smyth, Andrew Morse, has said he was subjected to after-prayer beatings as a boy between 1978 and 1982.
Mr Morse said he first met Smyth while a pupil at Winchester College, Hampshire, and told the Daily Telegraph that the Archbishop had taken a "brave step" by resigning.
He said that it would "bring some measure of closure" to victims, but added: "Obviously he's just the leader and there are countless other Anglican churchmen who equally bear responsibility.
"But I think by taking this step, he's providing an example for them whether they follow it or not."
Among those facing calls to quit is the Bishop of Lincoln, Stephen Conway, who has apologised for not taking “further action” after allegations about Smyth were reported to his then diocese in 2013.
The past week had seen a range of people, from the Bishop of Newcastle to abuse victims and members of the General Synod – the Church of England’s parliament – insist that Mr Welby’s position had become “untenable” over the scandal.
In a statement on Tuesday, he said: “Having sought the gracious permission of His Majesty The King, I have decided to resign as Archbishop of Canterbury.
“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.”
The King approved the resignation on Tuesday morning.
Mr Welby said he believed his resignation was in the church’s best interests, that he was quitting “in sorrow with all victims and survivors of abuse” and that the past few days had “renewed my long felt and profound sense of shame at the historic safeguarding failures of the Church of England”.
He said: “I believe that stepping aside is in the best interests of the Church of England, which I dearly love and which I have been honoured to serve.”
Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell said it was “the right and honourable thing to do” for Mr Welby to have “decided to take his share of responsibility for the failures identified by the Makin Review”, while
Bishop of London Dame Sarah Mullally said the move “provides the urgent impetus we need to change the face of safeguarding in the Church of England”.
Over five decades between the 1970s until his death, Smyth is said to have subjected as many as 130 boys and young men in the UK and Africa to traumatic physical, sexual, psychological and spiritual attacks, permanently marking their lives.
A lay reader who led Christian summer camps, Smyth died aged 75 in Cape Town in 2018 while under investigation by Hampshire Police, and was “never brought to justice for the abuse”, the review said.
Mr Welby knew Smyth because of his attendance at Iwerne Christian camps in the 1970s, but the review said there was no evidence that he had “maintained any significant contact” with the barrister in later years.
The archbishop said he had “no idea or suspicion of this abuse” before 2013.
The report said Smyth “could and should have been formally reported to the police in the UK, and to authorities in South Africa (church authorities and potentially the police) by church officers, including a diocesan bishop and Justin Welby in 2013″.
Mr Welby’s resignation means the starting gun has been fired on the lengthy and secretive process of appointing a new spiritual leader for England’s established church.
His successor is unlikely to be named before late spring next year and may not be in post until even later, raising questions over whether Mr Welby will remain in the role until then or will step aside for a caretaker.
One of the Synod members behind a petition which had gathered thousands of signatories calling for Mr Welby’s resignation said he was “deeply saddened” by what had happened.
The Rev Dr Ian Paul said: “I’m saddened that this episode has come up, I’m grieved for the victims, the survivors and that they’ve had to go through this again.
“I think it’s very sad that this whole episode has happened, I think it’s sad that the Makin Report had to happen, and I think it’s sad that it’s taken so long for meaningful action to take place.
“If I’m pleased about anything it’s that Justin has taken himself at his own words. I’ve never been interested in picking on somebody or tokenism or scapegoating.”
He said he hoped “this is the first step towards the kind of cultural change in senior leadership that the Makin Review is pointing us towards”.
Dame Sarah said: “Archbishop Justin’s decision reflects a recognition of the standards to which we are all held. It also creates the necessary space to enable change.
“We need a genuinely survivor-focused approach, with independent scrutiny and mandatory reporting at its heart. From this moment, the Church must drive fundamental safeguarding reform.”
Dr Joanne Grenfell, the Church of England’s lead safeguarding bishop, said the failings identified in the Makin Report into Smyth’s abuse meant it was “now necessary for others to take up the baton” on safeguarding.
She described her “sadness” at news of Mr Welby’s resignation but said she respected and understood it.
She added: “I have worked closely with Archbishop Justin since I took on this role and have greatly valued his personal commitment to good safeguarding and his desire to see the whole Church make this a priority.”
