Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has resigned from his position as the head of the Church of England following the publication of an independent review that determined he knew of abuse allegations against a church volunteer and failed to adequately investigate and report them.
The Makin Review found that the abuser, John Smyth, subjected his victims to “traumatic physical, sexual, psychological and spiritual attacks.”
“Having sought the gracious permission of His Majesty The King, I have decided to resign as Archbishop of Canterbury,” Welby said in a statement Tuesday, Nov. 12. “The Makin Review has exposed the long-maintained conspiracy of silence about the heinous abuses of John Smyth.”
“When I was informed in 2013 and told that police had been notified, I believed wrongly that an appropriate resolution would follow,” Welby said. “It is very clear that I must take personal and institutional responsibility for the long and retraumatising period between 2013 and 2024.”
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby
Justin Welby was ordained in the Church of England in 1992 and confirmed as the Archbishop of Canterbury in 2013. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the Church of England’s most senior bishop, as well as the head of the global Anglican Communion.
Welby drew controversy in October for responding to a question about gay sex by saying that he and the Archbishop of York “and the bishops by a majority—by no means unanimous, and the church is deeply split over this” believe that “all sexual activity should be within a committed relationship, and whether it’s straight or gay—in other words…we’re not giving up on the idea that sex is within marriage or civil partnership or whether marriage is civil or religious.”
The Makin Review was published on Nov. 7. It was led by Keith Makin, whose bio within the review says in part that he is “an experienced executive level manager, leader and consultant in the social care and health sectors,” as well as “a specialist in safeguarding of both children and adults.” It further says he is “the Chair of several safeguarding partnerships and leader/ author of Reviews, inquiries, and research on safeguarding issues.”
The Makin Review covers the period between 1970 and 2019 and investigates how the Church of England handled allegations of abuse perpetrated by John Smyth, an attorney who volunteered at Christian summer camps.
“John Smyth was an appalling abuser of children and young men. His abuse was prolific, brutal and horrific,” the review states. “His victims were subjected to traumatic physical, sexual, psychological and spiritual attacks. The impact of that abuse is impossible to overstate and has permanently marked the lives of his victims.”