Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby Resigns Following Child Abuse Scandal

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has announced his resignation following the release of a damning independent review into the Church of England’s handling of abuse by John Smyth, a prominent barrister and lay preacher who subjected as many as 130 boys and young men to years of horrific physical, sexual, and psychological abuse. The review, known as the Makin Review, revealed serious safeguarding failures within the Church and concluded that Welby could have done more to ensure the abuse was reported to police when he was informed of it in 2013.

In a statement on Tuesday, Welby, 68, said he had sought the “gracious permission” of King Charles III to step down and would relinquish his role as the leader of the Church of England. “I believe stepping aside is in the best interests of the Church of England,” Welby wrote. “The Makin Review has exposed the long-maintained conspiracy of silence about the heinous abuses of John Smyth.”

The scandal, which stretches back to the 1970s, centers on John Smyth, who ran summer camps for young Christians and later became a key figure in evangelical circles. He was accused of subjecting boys, some as young as 13, to sadistic beatings and sexual abuse, often in a highly manipulative and spiritually abusive context. Despite multiple opportunities to intervene, the Church failed to report Smyth to law enforcement until after he had already relocated to Zimbabwe and later South Africa, where he continued his abuse until his death in 2018.

The Makin Review found that when Welby became Archbishop of Canterbury in 2013, he was informed of Smyth’s past abuse but was misled into believing that police had been notified and that the matter would be properly handled. The report concluded that this “misunderstanding” was a significant missed opportunity to bring Smyth to justice earlier and prevent further abuse.

“I was told that police had been notified, and I believed wrongly that an appropriate resolution would follow,” Welby admitted in his resignation letter. “It is very clear that I must take personal and institutional responsibility for the long and re-traumatising period between 2013 and 2024.”

The resignation marks a rare and unprecedented event in the history of the Church of England, where no Archbishop of Canterbury has ever stepped down due to mishandling of abuse cases. It follows increasing pressure from survivors of Smyth’s abuse, Church officials, and the wider public, many of whom have called for greater accountability.

The Archbishop’s decision to step down was welcomed by some members of the clergy, including Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell, who said that it was “the right and honourable thing to do,” acknowledging that while progress had been made in safeguarding under Welby’s leadership, “there is much further to go.” Similarly, Bishop of London Dame Sarah Mullally praised Welby’s decision, calling it an “urgent impetus” for change in the Church’s safeguarding practices.

However, the resignation has also sparked calls for broader accountability. Some survivors, including former vicar Mark Stibbe, a victim of Smyth’s abuse, said that Welby’s resignation was a necessary step but expressed hope that others would also be held accountable for their role in covering up the abuse.