The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Justin Welby, has resigned, days after a damning report into prolific child abuser John Smyth.
While in the eye of the storm, last week, Welby insisted he would not resign.
In his resignation statement, Welby says he “must take personal and institutional responsibility for the long and retraumatising period between 2013 and 2024”.
He says he was informed in 2013 that the police had been notified, adding: “I believed wrongly that an appropriate resolution would follow”.
The report found the police referral had not been made, but that it was “reasonable to conclude” that Welby received the assurance. It also found Welby should have made further attempts to pursue the matter.
The second most senior bishop in the Church, the Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell, says he admires Welby for stepping down and that the Church made “real progress” in safeguarding under his leadership.
