A silent child abuse scandal

The resignation of Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, leader of the Church of England and second in line to King Charles III, has created an image and credibility crisis in the institution. His resignation comes under pressure following the publication of a report into the abuse of more than a hundred children and young people by now-departed lawyer John Smith. Canterbury officiated at the coronation of Charles III in May 2023. How does this matter affect the Sovereign as head of the Church?

“After requesting the permission of His Majesty the King, I have decided to resign the post of Archbishop of Canterbury,” Welby said in a statement published this Tuesday, November 12. independent investigation makin review “John Smith’s appalling abuses reveal long conspiracy of silence.” Welby has revealed that he was informed of the case in 2013 and was told that the police had been informed, so he “wrongly” thought there would be an “appropriate resolution”.

With his resignation he stands “with the pain of all victims and survivors of abuse.” The bishop confessed, “The past few days have refreshed my deep sense of shame over the historic failures of safeguarding the Church of England. For almost twelve years I have struggled to bring about reform. It is for others to judge whether Has been done.” , who accepts his “responsibility”.

As Bishop of Canterbury until his resignation, Welby, 68, was a distinguished member of the House of Lords and held the highest position in the Anglican Church after the monarch. He was in charge of her coronation in a solemn religious ceremony that took place at Westminster Abbey in London in May 2023. He also attended the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022; And married Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in 2018.

Prime Minister: “The allegations are terrible”

The resignation follows mounting pressure initiated by three members of the deliberative body of the Church of England (General Synod), who collected thousands of signatures to reverse their steps. These demands also included demands from the British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, who has declared that “the allegations regarding this case are appalling”, and has shown his support for the victims, as he said, “they are taken seriously.” “Failed by.”

According to the independent inquiry into the handling of the Smith case, some victims have endured the abuse in silence for more than 40 years and “the responses of the Church of England and others were completely ineffective and amounted to a cover-up.” The study also concludes that Smith is possibly “the greatest abuser associated with the church” and that if the archbishop had formally alerted authorities in 2013, he could have been brought to justice.

According to the report, Smith, who ran a Christian summer camp, died aged 75 while being investigated by Hampshire Police in Cape Town in 2018, and “was never brought to justice for his abuse”. . In a personal statement after learning of this investigation, Welby indicated that he “had no idea or suspicion of this abuse prior to 2013.” However he admitted that, as stated in the analysis, he did not “personally” ensure that, after the revelations in 2013, the terrible tragedy was rigorously investigated.

He also apologized for “not meeting the victims immediately” after Channel 4 revealed “the full horror of the abuse” in 2017. “I promised to meet him and didn’t see him until 2020. That was bad,” he admitted. Smith’s victim Andrew Morse, whom he met when they were students at Winchester College, Hampshire, described Smith as a predator on BBC Radio Four’s Today program and said that Welby’s admission that he had raped her after 2013 has not done enough, “enough to confirm that Justin Welby, along with countless other members of the Anglican Church, was part of a cover-up of abuse.”