Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the leader of the Church of England, has resigned – because he failed to act in the case of serial abuser John Smyth. Last week, the Makin Report, detailing a decades-long cover-up, was finally made public. The Other Cheek’s summary of the 5000 pages of the report and appendices is here Finally revealed: a trail of destruction by an evangelical leader and a deadly cover-up.
The Makin report says that it was impossible to establish whther Welby knew of the extent Smyth’s savage beatings of boys and young men before 2013 despite being part of the network centred on the Iwerne camps for public school boys. He “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.” But failure to act in the decade of being Archbishop, including making sure the police were informed, has led to Welby’s resignation.
Stephen Bates the veteran religion reporter for the Guardian commented “Welby is paying for the institution’s inertia. There is a lengthening string of sexual abuse cases: Peter Ball, the supposedly saintly former bishop of Gloucester, ended up in jail for indecent assault of young men, but only 20 years after he was forced to resign his bishopric. Or what of the plight of Matthew Ineson, bullied and ignored by bishops including the former archbishop of York John Sentamu, for years after he complained that the cleric who had abused him as a teenager was still officiating? That abuser, the Rev Trevor Devamanikkam, killed himself in 2017 hours before he was finally supposed to appear in court.”
Here is Welby’s Statement:
“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.
It is my duty to honour my Constitutional and church responsibilities, so exact timings will be decided once a review of necessary obligations has been completed, including those in England and in the Anglican Communion.
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 twelve 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.
I ask everyone to keep my wife Caroline and my children in their prayers. They have been my most important support throughout my ministry, and I am eternally grateful for their sacrifice. Caroline led the spouses’ programme during the Lambeth Conference and has travelled tirelessly in areas of conflict supporting the most vulnerable, the women, and those who care for them locally.
I believe that stepping aside is in the best interests of the Church of England, which I dearly love and which I have been honoured to serve. I pray that this decision points us back towards the love that Jesus Christ has for every one of us.
For above all else, my deepest commitment is to the person of Jesus Christ, my saviour and my God; the bearer of the sins and burdens of the world, and the hope of every person.
Response from Australian Anglicans
The Diocese of Tasmania thanks the Archbishop of Canterbury for resigning to take personal and institutional responsibility for failing to act against a sexual abuser. The Makin Report into the church’s handling of allegations of serious abuse by the late John Smyth points to many institutional failures.
The author of the report said: “Despite the efforts of some individuals to bring the abuse to the attention of authorities, the responses by the Church of England and others were wholly ineffective and amounted to a coverup.”
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has taken the right course of action to step down as an acknowledgment of the seriousness of this failure.
Sexual abuse is always an abhorrent breach of trust, and especially so in the church. The Diocese of Tasmania failed to protect people in the past, for which we continue to apologise. It is never right to conceal abuse.
We have made many changes in the last 25 years to ensure the safety and wellbeing of vulnerable people in our churches and institutions.
Please pray for all survivors of abuse and Archbishop Welby.
If you have been abused in the past by anyone in the Anglican Church in Tasmania, we encourage you to make contact with the authorities.
Image: Justin Welby Image Credit: FCO
Those families, children and individuals affected by abuse can contact
• Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800,
• Bravehearts on 1800 272 831,
• adult survivors contact Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380.