There is increasing pressure for Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, to resign following revelations of mishandled child abuse cases linked to the Church of England. A recent independent review, conducted by the archbishops’ council, uncovered decades-long abuse of over 100 young boys by John Smyth QC, a British barrister, which was concealed within the church.

Smyth, who passed away in Cape Town in 2018, was accused of violently assaulting boys he met at Christian summer camps in the 1970s and 1980s. Reports indicate he inflicted 14,000 lashes with a garden cane on eight boys and 8,000 strokes on two more over three years. The report highlighted that Smyth is among the most prolific serial abusers associated with the Church of England.

The review criticized Welby for not taking decisive action when informed of Smyth’s actions in 2013. It stated that he “could and should” have reported the allegations to authorities at the time, potentially bringing Smyth to justice before his death. Three general synod members, the church’s governing body, have since petitioned for Welby’s resignation over these failings.

Bishop Helen-Ann Hartley of Newcastle, the highest-ranking church official to publicly call for Welby’s resignation, expressed that the church risks losing its moral authority by failing to address such issues effectively.

Hartley said it would be hard for the church to “continue to have a moral voice” when “we cannot get our house about something as critically important.”

“It’s very hard to find the words to respond adequately to what the report tells us,” Bishop Hartley told the BBC.

“I think rightly people are asking the question ‘Can we really trust the Church of England to keep us safe?’ And I think the answer at the moment is ‘no’.”

She said while Welby’s resignation would not “solve the safeguarding problem,” it would “clearly indicate that a line has been drawn and that we must move towards independence of safeguarding.”

I’m deeply sorry— Welby

In a statement, Welby said he was “deeply sorry that this abuse happened” and “sorry that concealment by many people who were fully aware of the abuse over many years meant that John Smyth was able to abuse overseas and died before he ever faced justice.

“I had no idea or suspicion of this abuse before 2013,” he said.

ACCOMPLISH MAGAZINE