London — Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, first among equals in the Anglican Communion, has announced his resignation. The move comes soon after release of a damning report that shows how Welby and other church officials repeatedly ignored, covered up, and brushed off allegations of abuse by the late John Smythe, who violently and sadistically abused hundreds of boys and young men over several decades.
Earlier, we reported that, in at least one instance, our research makes clear that Welby lied under oath about his role in addressing abuse within the church.
In announcing his resignation, Welby accepted that he “personally failed to ensure… the awful tragedy was energetically investigated”
Welby’s failure to address the Smythe allegations follows a pattern typical in the Episcopal Church and the Church of England, which is to ignore, brush-off, and minimize allegations, versus conducting appropriate investigations and acting on the results.
Currently Anglican Watch is tracking multiple incidents involving rape, abuse, sexual harassment, and criminal activity by Episcopal clergy, all of which have been covered up or ignored by bishops, including Alan Gates, Lucinda Ashby, Todd Ousley, Clay Matthews, Robert Wright, Michael Curry, George Sumner, Shannon Johnston, Susan Goff, Glenda Curry, Jennifer Brooke-Davidson, Gayle Harris, and others.
Anglican Watch will post additional information as soon as we have it.
Leave a Reply