The archbishop of Canterbury is to step down amid intense pressure over his handling of one of the church’s worst abuse scandals.
Justin Welby’s decision, announced on Tuesday, comes after mounting demands from victims and members of the clergy for him to quit.
Pressure on him had intensified since the publication last week of a damning report on the Church of England’s cover-up of abuse by John Smyth in the UK in the late 1970s and early 80s, and later in Zimbabwe and, it is suspected, South Africa.
About 130 boys are believed to have been victims of Smyth, a powerful barrister who died in 2018.
The independent Makin review into the abuse concluded Smyth could have been brought to justice had the archbishop formally reported it to police a decade ago.
Welby said his decision, which came five days after the report was published, was “in the best interests of the Church of England, which I dearly love and which I have been honoured to serve”.
The announcement came hours after Keir Starmer, the prime minister, refused to publicly back him. A petition started by three members of the General Synod – the church’s parliament – had amassed more than 13,000 signatures calling for the archbishop to quit.
In a statement posted by Lambeth Palace, Welby, the spiritual leader of 85 million Anglicans worldwide, 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.”
Statement from the Archbishop of Canterbury.https://t.co/aNnuLBMapo pic.twitter.com/pIIR1911QU
— Archbishop of Canterbury (@JustinWelby) November 12, 2024
The king approved Welby’s resignation on Tuesday morning.
The archbishop said the exact timing of his departure was yet to be confirmed, adding: “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. As I step down I do so in sorrow with all victims and survivors of abuse.
“The last few days have renewed my long-felt and profound sense of shame at the historic safeguarding failures of the Church of England. For nearly 12 years I have struggled to introduce improvements. It is for others to judge what has been done.
“In the meantime, I will follow through on my commitment to meet victims. I will delegate all my other current responsibilities for safeguarding until the necessary risk assessment process is complete.”
Welby said last week he had considered resigning over his “shameful” decision not to act on reports of abuse by Smyth when he was informed of them in 2013.
But Lambeth Palace had said in a statement on Monday that Welby had “apologised profoundly both for his own failures and omissions, and for the wickedness, concealment and abuse by the church more widely”, and did not intend to resign.
Starmer is not believed to have spoken to Welby before he announced his resignation but Downing Street said the prime minister “respects the decision”.
Welby, who had public roles at the funeral of the late Queen and the coronation of King Charles, will have consulted his team of close and trusted advisers on whether or not to quit.
Key among them will have been Stephen Cottrell, the archbishop of York, whose judgment is widely respected. Welby’s personal chaplain, Tosin Oladipo, will have offered spiritual guidance.
The views of his wife, Caroline, will also have been critical in his decision-making process, it is believed.
Cottrell said on Tuesday that it was “the right and honourable thing” for Welby to have “decided to take his share of responsibility for the failures identified by the Makin review”.
The bishop of London, Dame Sarah Mullally, said the move provided “the urgent impetus we need to change the face of safeguarding”.
But Andrew Graystone, author of Bleeding for Jesus, a book about Smyth’s abuse, said the church needed “a wholesale change of culture at the top of the organisation”, with other clergy taking responsibility for failing to act.
He said: “At least 11 bishops knew about John Smyth’s abuse, but failed to stop him. In addition there were literally scores of rank and file church leaders and members who stood by, feeling it was someone else’s job to act. This is not about the incompetence of one man. It is a deep-seated cultural issue about the privilege in the church.”
Alan Collins, a partner in the sexual abuse team at the law firm Hugh James, who represents a number of Smyth’s victims, said Welby’s resignation was a side issue. He said: “The spotlight must be on how the Church of England failed its victims so dreadfully for over 40 years, and the immediate priority is the Church of England addressing the needs of its victims.”
Welby had faced calls to resign from Smyth’s victims, members of the General Synod and Helen-Ann Hartley, the bishop of Newcastle, who said his position was untenable.
James, a survivor of abuse committed by Smyth, said it was a mistake to presume that Welby’s departure would satisfy all victims. He added: “There were plenty of other senior clerics who were aware of Smyth’s abuse, from early, too. Replacing the archbishop of Canterbury without a real change in culture is not enough as far as I’m concerned.”
Smyth sadistically abused private schoolboys who attended evangelical Christian holiday camps in the late 1970s and early 80s. Across five decades, he 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.
When the abuse was discovered, Smyth was allowed to move abroad with the full knowledge of church officials, where he continued to act with impunity.
He died aged 77 in Cape Town in 2018 while under investigation by Hampshire constabulary, and was “never brought to justice for the abuse”, the Makin review said.
Welby volunteered at the holiday camps in the 1970s but has denied any knowledge of concerns about Smyth. However, the report said this was “unlikely”.
It added: “[Welby] may not have known of the extreme seriousness of the abuse, but it is most probable that he would have had at least a level of knowledge that John Smyth was of some concern … It is not possible to establish whether Welby knew of the severity of the abuses in the UK prior to 2013.”
• In the UK, the NSPCC offers support to children on 0800 1111, and adults concerned about a child on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adult survivors on 0808 801 0331. In the US, call or text the Childhelp abuse hotline on 800-422-4453. In Australia, children, young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, or Bravehearts on 1800 272 831, and adult survivors can contact Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380. Other sources of help can be found at Child Helplines International
