The Primate of the Church of England, the spiritual leader of the global Anglican Communion, is under pressure to resign after an investigation found he failed to report a series of physical and sexual abuse by a volunteer at Christian summer camps to police as soon as he became aware of it. From him.
Some members of General Synod, the church’s national assembly, have started a petition calling on Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby to step down, saying he has “lost the confidence of the clergy”. The petition had more than 1,800 signatures on Change.org by late Monday morning London time.
Adding to the pressure, a senior cleric added her voice to those who believe he should resign. Helen Anne Hartley, the Bishop of Newcastle, told the BBC that Welby’s position was “indefensible”.
Calls for Welby’s resignation have increased since Thursday, when the church published the results of an independent review into John Smith, who sexually, psychologically and physically abused about 30 boys and young men in the United Kingdom and 85 in Africa over five decades.
The 251-page report concluded that Welby failed to report Smith to authorities when he was informed of the abuse in August 2013, shortly after he became Archbishop of Canterbury.
Last week, Welby took responsibility for not ensuring that the charges were pursued as “actively” as they should have been after he learned of the violations, but said he had decided not to resign.
Get breaking national news
For news affecting Canada and around the world, sign up to get breaking news alerts delivered to you right as they happen.
On Monday, his office issued a statement reiterating Welby’s “horror at the scale of the terrible abuses committed by John Smith.”
“As he said, he had no knowledge or suspicion of these accusations prior to being informed of them in 2013 – and therefore, on reflection, he has no intention of resigning,” the statement read. “He hopes McCain’s review will support the continued work of building a safer church here and around the world.”
Church officials were first informed of the abuse in 1982, when they received the results of an internal investigation into Smith. McCain’s review found that recipients of that report “engaged in an active cover-up” to prevent its findings from coming to light.
Between 1984 and 2001, Smith moved to Zimbabwe and later to South Africa. He continued to abuse boys and young people in Zimbabwe, and there is evidence that the abuse continued in South Africa until his death in August 2018.
Smith’s abuse was not made public until a 2017 investigation by British television channel 4, prompting Hampshire Police to launch an investigation. Police were planning to question Smith at the time of his death and were preparing to extradite him.
McCain’s review found that had Smith been reported to police in 2013, it could have helped uncover the truth, prevented further abuse and led to a potential criminal conviction.
The review found: “In effect, three and a half years were lost, during which time John Smith could have been brought to justice and any abuse he was committing in South Africa could have been discovered and stopped.”
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the head of the Church of England and is seen as the spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion, which has more than 85 million members in 165 countries. He is considered first among equals in relation to the other primates in the company.
& Edition 2024 The Canadian Press
