Pressure mounts on Anglican leader to resign over abuse scandal

The leader of the global Anglican communion, Justin Welby, faced mounting pressure on Monday to resign following a damning report which concluded that the Church of England had covered up a serial abuse case.

Three members of the General Synod, the Church’s national assembly, have initiated a petition demanding that Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, step down in light of the revelations.

The report found that the Church had repeatedly failed to act over the “abhorrent” abuse committed by John Smyth, a lawyer who organised evangelical summer camps in the 1970s and 1980s.

Smyth is believed to have assaulted as many as 130 boys and young men, beginning at his home in southern England after grooming them at the camps.

Dozens more are thought to have been abused in African countries, after Smyth relocated to Zimbabwe in 1984 and then to South Africa in 2001, according to the report.

The extent of the abuse makes him the most prolific known serial abuser associated with the Church.

The findings of the long-awaited independent review concluded that Welby “could and should” have formally reported the abuse to the authorities in 2013.

Smyth died in South Africa in 2018 at age 75, while under investigation by British police, and he never faced any criminal charges.

Welby, the Church of England’s highest-ranking cleric, said last week that he was “deeply sorry that this abuse happened” and that he “had no idea or suspicion of this abuse before 2013,” when he became archbishop.

‘No Longer Tenable’

He told Britain’s Channel 4 News that he had considered resigning but ultimately decided against it.

“If I’d known before 2013 or had grounds for suspicion, that would be a resigning matter then and now. But I didn’t,” he told the broadcaster.

However, the petition by three members of the General Synod — which comprises 483 lay members and clergy — urges Welby to step down.

The petition argues that Welby “held a personal and moral responsibility to pursue this further… which he failed to fulfil.”

“Given his role in allowing abuse to continue, we believe that his remaining as the Archbishop of Canterbury is no longer tenable,” it adds.

By Monday morning, the petition had garnered nearly 2,000 signatures, while a growing number of priests were speaking out against him.

The vicar of St Anne’s Church in southwest London, Giles Fraser, told BBC Radio on Monday that it was “a terrible situation.”

“I’m afraid he’s lost the confidence of his clergy. He’s lost the confidence of many of his bishops, and his position is completely untenable,” he said.
In another BBC interview on Sunday, Bishop of Stepney Joanne Grenfell declined to support Welby’s continuation in his role.

“I really appreciate that the archbishop has wholeheartedly apologised for what he could have and should have done differently in 2013,” she said, adding, “I think there’s still an awful lot to do.”

AFP