The Great
Anglican Pastor of the World and the Archbishop of Canterbury in England,
Justin Welby, on November 12, 2024 announced his resignation after being
pressured by his colleagues who met in the leadership of this church.
Bishop Welby, who
had served in the role for 12 years, resigned after the publication of an
independent inquiry report last week which found that he did nothing in 2013
after a report was made that Bishop John Smyth abused 130 boys at the Christian
schools he ran in Winchester.
In his message,
Bishop Welby said: “I believe that this decision shows how well Anglicans
understand the changes and our goals to create a safe church. When I criticize,
I do so out of grief for victims and survivors of violence.”
This Pastor
announced that in the days following the publication of this report, he felt a
great rebuke because he had not been able to fight the weaknesses of the
Anglican Church, yet he was the Pastor who should look after it.
The investigation
revealed that Bishop Smyth took children to his home in the 1970s and 1980s,
beat them, and subjected them to sexual, psychological and religious abuse.
After Keith
Makin, who chaired the inquiry, released the report on November 7, 2024, Bishop
Welby expressed regret, explaining that he had considered resigning after
taking no action on the allegations against Smyth, but felt he should remain in
the role.
The Anglican
pastor in Newcastle, Bishop Helen-Ann Hartley, three representatives of this
church in Parliament and the union of pastors of this church, had asked Bishop
Welby to resign for the good of the church.
Bishop Hartley
said: “It is difficult to find words to express what the report tells us. I
think people would ask, 'Can we really trust Anglicanism to keep us safe?' And
I think the answer now is 'No'."
Bishop Smyth was
removed from England, sent to serve in Zimbabwe, and continued to South Africa
where he died in 2018 as the justice system was preparing to open his file.
