The Archbishop of Canterbury’s Resignation Deemed “Very Sad”

A theologian from Nottingham, who was involved in initiating a petition opposing the departing Archbishop of Canterbury, expressed sorrow regarding the Church of England leader’s resignation. Justin Welby confirmed his resignation on Wednesday, following the release of a critical report concerning John Smyth, a prolific child abuser. Dr. Ian Paul, who serves on both the General Synod and the Archbishops’ Council, stated that this action “has never ever happened, to my knowledge, in the history of the Church of England”. He expressed hope that the institution would demonstrate its transformation to the public under new leadership. The Church of England released the Makin review on Thursday, which revealed that “horrific” and violent abuse involving over 100 children and young men had been concealed for decades. The review determined that Mr. Welby failed to rigorously pursue reports of Mr. Smyth’s abuse, noting that he “could and should” have reported the matter to authorities when he received details in 2013. Mr. Smyth, who passed away in his 70s in Cape Town in 2018, faced accusations of assaulting boys at his Winchester residence whom he had encountered at a Christian summer camp in Dorset throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Dr. Paul commented that the “unprecedented” nature of the archbishop’s resignation also represented an “extremely painful” moment for abuse victims. He stated, “I think it’s very sad for an archbishop to resign.” He continued, “On Sunday morning I was talking about the wonderful good news we have in Jesus, and how he transforms lives [at] his invitation, and then on Monday, here we are talking about the failures of the senior leadership.” “I think the other thing that I feel really sad about is the way this has trawled up again for survivors,” he added. Dr. Paul asserted that the senior leadership of the Church of England required “a change of culture” to address the crisis, highlighting efforts in local churches as evidence that child safeguarding “has been transformed.” He stated, “On the ground, the Church of England churches are a safe place, that’s not the issue – the issue that [the Makin review] is criticising is the senior leadership.” He further remarked, “[Mr Welby] in the past has said when organisations fail, the leaders need to take responsibility, so he had to do this because of his own words.” Advocating for independent scrutiny to prevent the Church of England from “marking our own homework,” Dr. Paul noted that this initiative has received support from members of the Archbishops’ Council “for many years.” “I hope and pray that it will happen,” he concluded.