Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, who is quitting over his handling of the case of a notorious child abuser, has scaled down his public work and will complete his official duties by 6 January, Lambeth Palace says.
John Smyth physically, sexually and psychologically abused as many as 130 boys and young men at Christian summer camps in England and Africa over five decades.
Outrage over how Smyth was able to get away with his crimes came to a head when an independent review concluded that Smyth – the most prolific serial abuser associated with the Church – might have been brought to justice had Welby reported him to police in 2013.
Welby resigned following days of pressure to do so, as campaigners branded the scandal “just the tip of the iceberg”, saying more senior Church leaders should also quit.
He had initially refused to stand down when the report was published, saying he had “no idea or suspicion of this abuse” before 2013 but acknowledging the review had found that after its wider exposure that year he had “personally failed to ensure” it was “energetically investigated”.
As he announced his resignation last week, he said he was quitting “in sorrow with all victims and survivors of abuse” and that the previous few days had renewed his “long-felt and profound sense of shame at the historic safeguarding failures of the Church of England”.
One bishop, Jayne Ozanne, a prominent LGBT+ campaigner who sat on the Archbishops’ Council, warned the Church of England was “not a safe institution”.
She said Welby’s resignation had to be a “watershed moment” for the Church, telling the BBC: “This is just the tip of the iceberg, there are many other abusers that have been covered up for the good of the Church.”
Smyth died aged 77 in Cape Town in 2018 while under investigation by Hampshire Police, and was “never brought to justice for the abuse”, the independent Makin Review said.
Lambeth Palace said on Wednesday: “Following the announcement last week of his resignation as the Archbishop of Canterbury, Archbishop Justin intends to complete his official duties by the upcoming Feast of Epiphany (January 6).
“Archbishop Justin intends very little public-facing activity between now and Epiphany, but plans to honour a small number of remaining commitments.
“At Epiphany, the Archbishop of Canterbury’s official functions will be delegated to the Archbishop of York – more details will be provided on this in due course.
“The date on which Archbishop Justin formally ceases to hold office will be set in agreement with the Privy Council.”
Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell, the second-most senior bishop in the Church of England, has appeared to rule himself out of the running to replace Welby.
At the age of 66, he is nearing the Church of England retirement age of 70.
