Church of England must do more to combat abuse, bishop says after Archbishop of Canterbury resigns

LONDON -- The only Church of England bishop to publicly demand the resignation of former Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said Wednesday that his departure wasn't enough to solve the church’s “profound failure” in safeguarding vulnerable people or ease the trauma suffered by victims of abuse.

Welby, 68, stepped down Tuesday after an independent review found that he failed to alert police as soon as he learned of serial physical and sexual abuse perpetrated by a volunteer at Christian summer camps. That failure allowed the man to continue abusing boys and young men for another five years, the Makin Review said in a report released last week.

Helen-Ann Hartley, the bishop of Newcastle, said that it was right for Welby to resign, but his departure won’t resolve the institution’s shortcomings. Her comments echoed those of victims and at least one senior government minister.

“This resignation does not solve the church’s profound failure over safeguarding and the ongoing trauma caused to victims and survivors of church-related abuse, nor does it excuse others whose neglect of their duties is exposed by the Makin report,” Hartley said in a statement.

It wasn't immediately clear who will replace Welby, with the process likely to take months.

Welby’s resignation roiled the church and sent ripples around the world. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the leader of the Church of England and the symbolic head of the Anglican Communion, which has more than 85 million members in 165 countries, including the Episcopal Church in the United States. While each national church has its own leaders, the Archbishop of Canterbury is considered first among equals.

Welby, a former oil executive who left the industry in 1989 to study for the priesthood, was a controversial figure even before the scandal. A skilled mediator who has worked to resolve conflicts in Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa, he struggled to unite the Anglican Communion, which has been riven by sharply divergent views on issues such as gay rights and the place of women in the church.

The Church of England on Thursday released the results of the independent inquiry into John Smyth, a prominent attorney who the report alleged sexually, psychologically and physically abused about 30 boys and young men in the United Kingdom and 85 in Africa from the 1970s until his death in 2018.

The 251-page report concluded that Welby failed to report Smyth to authorities when he was informed of the abuse in August 2013, soon after he became Archbishop of Canterbury. Had he done so, Smyth could have been stopped sooner and many victims could have been spared the abuse, the inquiry found.

Church of England authorities first learned of the allegations against Smyth in 1982 when they received the results of an earlier investigation into his behavior. The recipients of that report “participated in an active cover-up” to prevent its findings from coming to light, the Makin Review found.

Mark Stibbe, one of Smyth’s victims, applauded Welby’s decision, but said it wasn’t enough.

“What I think the survivor group would like is more resignations because that means more accountability — people taking responsibility for having been silent when they should have spoken,” Stibbe told Britain’s Channel 4 television on Tuesday.

Welby initially refused to resign, saying he didn’t inform law enforcement agencies about Smyth because he was incorrectly told that police were already investigating and he shouldn’t do anything to interfere with their work. Even so, he took responsibility for not ensuring that the allegations were pursued as “energetically” as they should have been.

When he finally decided to step down, Welby said that the investigation had exposed the “long-maintained conspiracy of silence” about Smyth’s abuse.

“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,” Welby said in a statement announcing his resignation. “As I step down I do so in sorrow with all victims and survivors of abuse.”

Welby’s supporters have argued that he was instrumental in changing the culture of the church and providing more resources to protect the victims of abuse.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting, speaking in a personal capacity, said there are still deep and fundamental issues for church leaders to address.

“What I would say — and I’m speaking as an Anglican, not as a government minister — to other leaders of my church is that don’t think that one head rolling solves the problem,'' he told the BBC.

Hartley said that while the church has taken some steps to change its safeguarding culture, that progress is being “undermined by the arrogance of a few.”

“Now is the time for a proper conversation about honesty, trust, transparency, independence and accountability when it comes to safeguarding and the Church of England, and I for one welcome that opportunity wholeheartedly,” she said.