An investigation found that Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby failed to report serial physical and sexual abuse by a volunteer at Christian summer camps to police as soon as he became aware of it, according to AP News.
Some members of the General Synod, the church’s national assembly, filed a petition calling on Welby to resign, as he had “lost the confidence of his clergy.” The pressure was compounded by the fact that Helen-Ann Hartley, the bishop of Newcastle, joined those who believed he should resign.
Calls for Welby’s resignation intensified since Thursday, when the church released the results of an independent investigation into John Smyth, who sexually, psychologically and physically abused about 30 boys and young men in Britain and 85 in Africa over five decades.
According to the report, Welby failed to report Smyth to authorities when he became aware of the abuse in August 2013. On Monday, his office released a statement in which Welby reiterated “horror at the scale of John Smyth’s egregious abuse.”
As he has said, he had no awareness or suspicion of the allegations before he was told in 2013 — and therefore, having reflected, he does not intend to resign. He hopes the Makin Review supports the ongoing work of building a safer church here and around the world.
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the head of the Church of England and spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion, which numbers more than 85 million members in 165 countries.
