Welby announced he was resigning after an independent report found he failed to tell police about the alleged abuse.
The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, the highest-ranking cleric in the Church of England, has announced his resignation, saying he failed to ensure a proper investigation into allegations of physical and sexual abuse by a volunteer at a Christian summer camp dating back decades.
In his resignation letter on Tuesday, Welby said he took “personal and institutional responsibility” for the lack of action against “egregious abuses.”
“Over the past few days, I have felt a long-felt and deep sense of shame about the Church of England’s failure to safeguard its history,” Welby said.
“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. “I grieve with all victims and survivors of abuse as I resign,” he said.
Welby, 68, resigned five days after the independent Makin Report singled him out for criticism of his handling of abuse allegations in the 1970s.
British lawyer John Smyth subjected more than 100 boys and young men to “cruel and appalling” abuse over 40 years, according to the report.
Smith beat some of his victims with up to 800 blows with a cane and provided them with diapers to absorb bleeding, the report said.
He would then straddle his victims, sometimes kissing their necks or backs.
Smyth was chairman of the Iwerne Trust, which funded a Christian camp in Dorset, England, where Welby worked as a boarding staff member before his ordination.
The report said Smith moved to Africa in 1984 and continued the abuse in Zimbabwe and South Africa until his death in 2018.
‘Failure and omission’
According to the report, the highest levels of the Church of England were aware of allegations of sexual abuse at the camp in 2013, and Welby learned of the allegations the same year, just months after becoming archbishop.
Welby apologized for “failures and omissions” but said he had “no knowledge” of the allegations before 2013. The report concluded that was unlikely and accused him of failing to fulfill his “personal and moral responsibility” to ensure a proper investigation.
He added that if the allegation had been reported to police in 2013, a full investigation would have been conducted and Smith may have been charged before his death.
The church process for appointing a new archbishop of Canterbury requires a body of clergy and a chair appointed by the British prime minister to submit two names to him.
Bishop Norwich Graham Usher and Bishop Guli Francis-Dehqani of Chelmsford were appointed as the 106th Archbishops of Canterbury, succeeding Welby.
