Church of England leader Justin Welby urged to resign over abuse cover-up
Pressure on Welby follows a damning report which concluded the Church of England had covered up a serial abuse case
Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury and spiritual leader of the global Anglican church, faced mounting calls to resign on Monday over a report that his institution had covered up prolific abuse of boys and young men.
In office since 2013, Welby apologised last week after the report described a barrister who ran summer camps for young Christians, John Smyth, as the most prolific serial abuser associated with the Church of England, as it is also known.
Welby said he had “no idea or suspicion” of the allegations before 2013, but the independent report concluded that it was unlikely he would have had no knowledge of the concerns regarding Smyth in the 1980s.
Helen-Ann Hartley, one of the church’s 108 bishops, became the most senior person in the institution to call for Welby to resign when she said on Monday his position was now untenable.
A petition calling for his departure – started by three members of the Church’s governing body, the General Synod – has received over 2,900 signatures.
