The leader of the Anglican Church worldwide, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, is facing strong calls to resign.
This pressure comes after a report revealed that the Church of England ignored serious abuse by John Smyth, a lawyer who led evangelical camps in the 1970s and 1980s.
Three members of the General Synod, the Church’s assembly, have started a petition urging Welby to step down. The report shows that Smyth harmed around 130 boys and young men after meeting them at these camps, making him one of the most significant serial abusers linked to the Church.
The independent review found that Welby, who said he first learned of the abuse in 2013, could have formally reported it but did not. Smyth passed away in 2018 in South Africa while under police investigation but never faced charges.
Last week, Welby expressed deep regret, saying he had no knowledge of the abuse before 2013. He admitted he considered resigning but decided to continue, stating, “If I’d known before 2013 or had grounds for suspicion, that would be a resigning matter then and now. But I didn’t.”
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Despite this, the petition, now signed by more than 1,600 people, argues that Welby had a duty to act more firmly.
Some church leaders, like Giles Fraser, vicar of St Anne’s Church in London, have said that Welby has “lost the confidence of many of his bishops,” calling his position “untenable.”
