England’s leading Archbishop steps down amid sex abuse scandal
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has resigned after the release of a severe report detailing instances of physical and sexual abuse involving children. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
Justin Welby has stepped down as Archbishop of Canterbury, the leading cleric in the Church of England, after taking full responsibility for his lack of action concerning a late pastor who abused children for decades without facing criminal prosecution.
His resignation comes in the wake of the Makin Review, an independent investigation into the severe mistreatment of schoolboys by youth pastor John J. Smyth, who passed away in 2018.
“It is very clear that I must take personal and institutional responsibility for the long and retraumatizing period between 2013 and 2024,” Welby stated in his resignation letter posted on his official website. "As I step down I do so in sorrow with all victims and survivors of abuse.”
Welby emphasized that stepping aside was in the best interests of the Church of England, which he holds dear and has cherished serving. He also mentioned that recent developments had “renewed my long felt and profound sense of shame at the historic safeguarding failures” within the church.
He revealed that he was made aware of allegations against Smyth in 2013, the year he became archbishop, but “believed wrongly that an appropriate resolution would follow.”
Smyth, originally from Canada, was a lawyer who became involved with the Church of England’s children's ministry. He died in 2018 while under investigation for abuse, and he was never charged criminally.
“The abuse at the hands of John Smyth was prolific and abhorrent. Words cannot adequately describe the horror of what transpired,” stated Keith Makin, the former UK government official who led the independent review of the abuse claims, in the report introduced this week.
“Despite the efforts of some individuals to bring the abuse to the attention of authorities, the responses by the Church of England and others were wholly ineffective and amounted to a coverup,” Makin noted.
The report revealed that Smyth exploited his role as a lay preacher to target boys and young men for his “clearly sexually motivated, sadistic regime” of severe beatings during the 1970s and 1980s. He reportedly brought his victims home and flogged them with a garden cane, at times causing injuries severe enough that some had to resort to wearing diapers due to bleeding.
Following the report’s release, Bishop Joanne Grenfell and National Director of Safeguarding Alexander Kubeyinje expressed their deep remorse, stating, “We are deeply sorry for the horrific abuse inflicted by the late John Smyth and its lifelong effects, already spanning more than 40 years.”
They also condemned the silence of some Church of England clergy who were aware of Smyth’s actions, citing fear of reputational damage. “It was wrong for a seemingly privileged group from an elite background to decide that the needs of victims should be set aside, and that Smyth’s abuse should not therefore be brought to light,” they asserted.
The Makin Review estimated that at least 100 young men, including future Bishop Andrew Watson, had fallen victim to Smyth's actions.
The Church of England was founded in the 16th century during the split between King Henry VIII and the Roman Catholic Church. While the English monarch holds the title of its head, the Archbishop of Canterbury is regarded as the highest-ranking member of the clergy.
Anna Muller contributed to this report for TROIB News
His resignation comes in the wake of the Makin Review, an independent investigation into the severe mistreatment of schoolboys by youth pastor John J. Smyth, who passed away in 2018.
“It is very clear that I must take personal and institutional responsibility for the long and retraumatizing period between 2013 and 2024,” Welby stated in his resignation letter posted on his official website. "As I step down I do so in sorrow with all victims and survivors of abuse.”
Welby emphasized that stepping aside was in the best interests of the Church of England, which he holds dear and has cherished serving. He also mentioned that recent developments had “renewed my long felt and profound sense of shame at the historic safeguarding failures” within the church.
He revealed that he was made aware of allegations against Smyth in 2013, the year he became archbishop, but “believed wrongly that an appropriate resolution would follow.”
Smyth, originally from Canada, was a lawyer who became involved with the Church of England’s children's ministry. He died in 2018 while under investigation for abuse, and he was never charged criminally.
“The abuse at the hands of John Smyth was prolific and abhorrent. Words cannot adequately describe the horror of what transpired,” stated Keith Makin, the former UK government official who led the independent review of the abuse claims, in the report introduced this week.
“Despite the efforts of some individuals to bring the abuse to the attention of authorities, the responses by the Church of England and others were wholly ineffective and amounted to a coverup,” Makin noted.
The report revealed that Smyth exploited his role as a lay preacher to target boys and young men for his “clearly sexually motivated, sadistic regime” of severe beatings during the 1970s and 1980s. He reportedly brought his victims home and flogged them with a garden cane, at times causing injuries severe enough that some had to resort to wearing diapers due to bleeding.
Following the report’s release, Bishop Joanne Grenfell and National Director of Safeguarding Alexander Kubeyinje expressed their deep remorse, stating, “We are deeply sorry for the horrific abuse inflicted by the late John Smyth and its lifelong effects, already spanning more than 40 years.”
They also condemned the silence of some Church of England clergy who were aware of Smyth’s actions, citing fear of reputational damage. “It was wrong for a seemingly privileged group from an elite background to decide that the needs of victims should be set aside, and that Smyth’s abuse should not therefore be brought to light,” they asserted.
The Makin Review estimated that at least 100 young men, including future Bishop Andrew Watson, had fallen victim to Smyth's actions.
The Church of England was founded in the 16th century during the split between King Henry VIII and the Roman Catholic Church. While the English monarch holds the title of its head, the Archbishop of Canterbury is regarded as the highest-ranking member of the clergy.
Anna Muller contributed to this report for TROIB News
