The religious leader Justin Welby, who crowned King Charles III and married Prince Harry to Meghan Markle, announced his resignation on Tuesday after an investigation determined that he did not report to the police about physical and sexual abuse committed by a volunteer at Christian summer camps when he became aware of it.
In his resignation statement, Welby took personal and institutional responsibility for not adequately addressing the abuses between 2013 and 2024, stating that stepping down was the best thing for the Church of England, which he loves and has served honorably. His actions have sparked criticism and pressure from various sectors.
The case of sexual abuse concealed by Welby has shaken the Church of England, especially due to John Smyth, a lawyer who perpetrated abuses against teenagers and young people at Christian camps in Great Britain, Zimbabwe, and South Africa for five decades. Smyth's victims, such as Andrew Morse, have seen Welby's resignation as an opportunity for the church to more broadly confront the damage caused by historical abuse.
Welby's resignation is set against the backdrop of a widespread sexual abuse scandal in the Church of England, which has been highlighted in reports of child abuse. Despite his supporters, who emphasize his efforts to change the church's internal culture since he took office in 2013, the investigation into past crimes has triggered his departure.
The details of the independent investigation into John Smyth, who abused approximately 30 children in the UK and 85 in Africa from the 1970s onward, revealed that Welby did not act or inform the authorities when he became aware of the abuse in 2013, at the beginning of his tenure as Archbishop of Canterbury. With this decision, the religious leader leaves his role as head of the Church of England and spiritual leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion.
