LONDON — The archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev. Justin Welby, resigned Tuesday after a damning report concluded that he had failed to pursue a proper investigation into claims of widespread abuse of boys and young men decades ago at Christian summer camps.
Pressure had mounted rapidly on Welby, who serves as the spiritual leader of 85 million Anglicans worldwide, since the report was published last week. Helen-Ann Hartley, a senior figure in the church and the bishop of Newcastle, called on him to step aside, while Prime Minister Keir Starmer pointedly declined to back him.
Welby’s resignation brings to an abrupt end an eventful and occasionally stormy tenure, during which he presided over momentous public ceremonies like the coronation of King Charles III and became an impassioned voice on issues like migration.
But Welby struggled to hold together a church cleaved between liberals and traditionalists. Though he has not been accused of any abuse, he was ultimately brought down by the same type of sex-abuse scandals that have toppled leaders of the Catholic Church.
“It is very clear that I must take personal and institutional responsibility for the long and retraumatizing period between 2013 and 2024,” Welby said in a statement Tuesday, confirming that he had sought permission from the king to resign.
“I hope this decision makes clear how seriously the Church of England understands the need for change and our profound commitment to creating a safer church,” Welby said.
The Church of England is much smaller than the Catholic Church, which counts more than 1 billion adherents. Welby resigned as a result of the serial abuse by a single person, while reports put the number of Catholic clergy perpetrators well into the thousands — for individual countries alone.
Under the Church of England’s rules, managing the selection of Welby’s successor falls to a committee known as the Crown Nominations Commission. It submits the name of a preferred candidate and a backup to the prime minister, who then advises the monarch on the appointment.
That process could take several months, experts on the church said, and it is cloaked in mystery. By custom, candidates for archbishop do not promote themselves for the job, whose roots date to 597. Welby, 68, confessed to astonishment that he had been chosen as the 105th archbishop. He has held the job since 2013 and was scheduled to retire in 2026.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
© 2024 The New York Times Company