A file image of Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby’s tenure in office ends Monday (January 6, 2025), after an investigation found that he failed to tell police about serial abuse by a volunteer at Christian summer camps as soon as he became aware of it.

Archbishop Welby, the head of the Church of England and spiritual leader of the global Anglican Communion, will lay down his bishop’s crozier – a ceremonial long staff – in a symbolic act which marks the end of his ministry. Most of his official functions will be delegated to the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell.

Archbishop Welby had announced in November that he would resign after an independent investigation into the late John Smyth, a prominent attorney who the report said sexually, psychologically and physically abused about 30 boys and young men in the United Kingdom and 85 in Africa from the 1970s until his death in 2018.

The 251-page report of the Makin Review concluded that Archbishop Welby failed to report Smyth to authorities when he was informed of the abuse in August 2013, soon after he became Archbishop of Canterbury. Had he done so, Smyth could have been stopped sooner.

Archbishop Welby’s initial refusal to step aside kindled anger about a lack of accountability at the highest reaches of the church.

Archbishop Welby’s resignation comes against the backdrop of widespread historical sexual abuse in the Church of England. A 2022 report by the Independent Inquiry Into Child Sexual Abuse said a culture that gave more support to alleged perpetrators than their victims helped make the Church of England “a place where abusers could hide.”

The Archbishop of Canterbury is the symbolic head of the Anglican Communion, which has more than 85 million members in 165 countries. While each national church has its own leaders, the Archbishop of Canterbury is considered first among equals.

Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell. File.
| Photo Credit: AFP

The senior clergyman who is due to take temporary charge of the Church of England faced calls to resign on Monday over his handling of the case of a priest accused of sexual misconduct.

The BBC reported that Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell let a priest remain in his post despite knowing he had been barred by the church from being alone with children and had paid compensation to one of his accusers.

The case occurred when Cottrell was bishop of Chelmsford in eastern England. He is now the second-most senior bishop in the Church of England. He is due to take over next month as the church’s spiritual head from Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, who resigned in November over the way he handled separate sexual abuse claims.

Cottrell said in a statement that he had faced a “horrible and intolerable” situation over the priest, David Tudor.

“I suspended David Tudor from office at the first opportunity, when a new victim came forward to the police in 2019,” he said. “Up until 2019, there were no legal grounds to take alternative action.”

Tudor was eventually fired by the church and barred for life from the ministry in October after acknowledging he had sexual relationships with two teenage girls, aged 15 and 16, in the 1980s.

“I am deeply sorry that we were not able to take action earlier, but that was the situation I inherited,” Cottrell said. “It is extremely disappointing that this story is being reported as if it was an abuser being ignored or even protected. Actually, nothing could be further from the truth.”

Bishop of Newcastle Helen-Ann Hartley, one of the few bishops to publicly criticize the way the church has handled abuse allegations, said she felt “incredulity” at the latest claims.

She said Cottrell lacked the “credibility or moral authority” to be the church’s figurehead.

“My personal view is that the evidence before us makes it impossible for Stephen Cottrell to be that person in which we have confidence and trust to drive the change that is needed,” she told the BBC.

The archbishop of Canterbury is spiritual leader of the global Anglican Communion, which has 85 million adherents in 165 countries. It has been riven by sharply divergent views on issues such as gay rights and the place of women in the church.

The latest allegations are likely to add to soul-searching and anger about a lack of accountability at the highest reaches of the church.

Welby resigned last month after an investigation found that he failed to tell police about serial physical and sexual abuse by a volunteer at Christian summer camps as soon as he became aware of it. An independent investigation concluded that abuse by the late John Smyth could have been stopped sooner if Welby had reported it promptly to authorities.

Welby plans to step down by Jan. 6 — the Feast of the Epiphany — and Cottrell is due to take over until a permanent replacement is selected, a process likely to take months.