The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, the Church of England’s most senior cleric, resigned “with regret” on Tuesday, saying he had failed to secure a proper investigation into allegations of abuse by a camp volunteer. will see Christians decades ago.
Welby, also the spiritual leader of 85 million Anglicans around the world, faced calls to resign after a report last week found he had not taken sufficient action to stop the Church’s most prolific serial abuser.
In his resignation letter, Welby said he must take “personal and institutional responsibility” for the lack of action regarding the “heinous abuses.”
Continues after advertising
“The last few days have renewed my long-felt and deep sense of shame at the Church of England’s historic failures to protect,” Welby said.
“I hope this decision makes clear how seriously the Church of England understands the need for change and our deep commitment to creating a safer church. As I step down from office, I do so out of regret for all victims and survivors of abuse.”
The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, the Church’s second-highest clergyman, called Welby’s resignation “the right and honorable thing to do.”
Continues after advertising
Welby’s tenure covered a decade of great upheaval, in which he was forced to navigate disputes over homosexual rights and women clergy between liberal churches, mainly in North America and the United Kingdom, and their conservative counterparts, especially in Africa.
Anglican churches in African countries such as Uganda and Nigeria are likely to welcome Welby’s resignation, after saying last year they no longer had confidence in him.
His successor’s main challenges will include holding together the increasingly divided global Anglican community and trying to reverse the decline in church attendance, which has fallen by a fifth in the UK since 2019.
