“I believe my resignation is in the best interests of the Church of England, which I love and have had the honor of serving,” Archbishop Justin Welby said after his resignation, Reuters reported. Ta. He made the decision following public pressure after an independent report into Keith Makin's sexual misconduct was released last week.
Charles III accepted the priest's resignation. There was also a response from the British government on Tuesday evening, with a British government spokesperson saying: “Prime Minister Keir Starmer respects the Archbishop of Canterbury's decision to resign.”
“Words cannot describe the horror.” More than 100 people are thought to have been injured.
The Archbishop of Canterbury did not notify law enforcement authorities of what happened during a Christian summer camp where lawyer John Smith was active, according to the findings. In the 1970s and 1980s, a man used his status as a pastor to sexually abuse young boys. According to the investigation results, at least 115 people were injured.
“The abuse at the hands of John Smith was horrific. Words cannot adequately describe the horror of what happened,” Makin said. At the same time, he expressed gratitude to the victims who had the courage to share what they experienced at the hands of their torturers.
Resignation of Archbishop Justin Welby. “We have to take responsibility.”
Archbishop Welby was informed of Smith's abuse in July 2013, when he was already archbishop.
“When I was informed about them in 2013 and told that they had been reported to the police, I mistakenly believed that appropriate solutions would be taken. It is clear that I have to take personal and organizational responsibility, ”- said the 67-year-old priest.
Initially, he resisted pressure and did not resign. Over the next few days, the pressure intensified. The Church Times reported: “At the time of publication, more than 13,000 people had signed a petition calling for Archbishop Welby's resignation.”
John Smith dies during autopsy
As the Washington Post pointed out, if the pastor had reported the incident to law enforcement 11 years ago, he probably should have done so, but it likely would have led to a “thorough investigation and numerous It would have exposed the nature of serial abuse in the UK involving people' victims, and perhaps also convictions of perpetrators. ”
Archbishop Welby is said to have worked at one of Smith's summer camps in his youth in the late 1970s, according to the Guardian.
The newspaper's website described the torturer as a “prominent British lawyer.” Smith died during an investigation in South Africa in 2018, but was never brought to justice because he was suspected of abuse there as well.
Welby was ordained in 1992. Previously, he worked in the oil industry for over 10 years. He was elected Archbishop of Canterbury in November 2012. Selection was confirmed on February 4, 2013.
Shrodra: Reuters, “Washington Post”, “Guardian”, “Church Times”
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