What we know as Justin Welby quits as Archbishop of Canterbury

The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has announced he will resign after facing mounting pressure to quit over his handling of a Church of England abuse case.

Demands for Welby's resignation had grown over recent days after an independent review concluded that barrister John Smyth, who was thought to have abused as many as 130 boys and young men over decades, might have been brought to justice if Welby formally alerted authorities in 2013.

A petition, started by three members of the General Synod, the church’s parliament, calling for Welby to quit has received more than 11,500 signatures.

While the archbishop initially rejected calls to resign, he announced he had changed course in a statement on Tuesday.

"The Makin Review has exposed the long-maintained conspiracy of silence about the heinous abuses of John Smyth... It is very clear that I must take personal and institutional responsibility for the long and retraumatising period between 2013 and 2024," he said.

Here, Yahoo News explains the events leading to Welby's resignation, and what could happen next.

Why has Justin Welby quit?

Last week's publication of the independent Makin Review was the culmination of a decades-long campaign of cruelty waged by barrister John Smyth – who is thought to be the most prolific abuser associated with the church.

Across five decades in three different countries. Smyth is said to have subjected as many as 130 boys and young men to "traumatic physical, sexual, psychological and spiritual attacks".

Smyth died in Cape Town in 2018, aged 77, while under investigation by Hampshire Police, meaning he never faced justice for his crimes, but the Church of England first began to receive reports of Smyth's crimes in 2013 when a victim came forward.

After a Channel 4 documentary exposed Smyth's abuse in 2017, Hampshire Police opened an investigation, and the barrister was being considered for a request to be extradited to the UK. This followed a 1982 report by the Iwerne Trust, which ran evangelical Christian holiday camps in Britain, which was not made public until 2016.

Welby knew Smyth because of his attendance at Iwerne camps in the 1970s, but the Makin Review said there was no evidence that he had “maintained any significant contact” with him in later years.

The archbishop said he had “no idea or suspicion of this abuse” before 2013, but acknowledged that after its wider exposure following the first victim's report, he had “personally failed to ensure” it was investigated.

Stephen Cottrell, the Archbishop of York, said Justin Welby’s resignation was “the right and honourable thing to do”, and said the church must "continue to work towards, and must achieve, a more victim-centred and trauma-informed approach to safeguarding".

What Justin Welby said in his statement

Welby said in a statement, issued by Lambeth Palace on Tuesday, that he is “stepping aside in thel best interests of the Church of England”.

"Having sought the gracious permission of His Majesty The King, I have decided to resign as Archbishop of Canterbury," he said.

“The Makin Review has exposed the long-maintained conspiracy of silence about the heinous abuses of John Smyth.

“When I was informed in 2013 and told that police had been notified, I believed wrongly that an appropriate resolution would follow.

“It is very clear that I must take personal and institutional responsibility for the long and retraumatising period between 2013 and 2024."

He added: "I hope this decision makes clear how seriously the Church of England understands the need for change and our profound commitment to creating a safer church. As I step down I do so in sorrow with all victims and survivors of abuse.

“The last few days have renewed my long-felt and profound sense of shame at the historic safeguarding failures of the Church of England. For nearly 12 years I have struggled to introduce improvements. It is for others to judge what has been done.

“In the meantime, I will follow through on my commitment to meet victims. I will delegate all my other current responsibilities for safeguarding until the necessary risk assessment process is complete.

“I ask everyone to keep my wife Caroline and my children in their prayers. They have been my most important support throughout my ministry, and I am eternally grateful for their sacrifice."

Welby concluded: “I believe that stepping aside is in the best interests of the Church of England, which I dearly love and which I have been honoured to serve. I pray that this decision points us back towards the love that Jesus Christ has for every one of us.

“For above all else, my deepest commitment is to the person of Jesus Christ, my saviour and my God; the bearer of the sins and burdens of the world, and the hope of every person.”

What happens next?

In his statement, Welby also says he has a duty to honour "constitutional and church responsibilities".

This means exact timings of his departure will be decided following a review of "necessary obligations" in England and the international Anglican Communion of more than 85 million members.

The Church of England will now be preparing to choose a new leader and says the process normally takes around nine months.

The responsibility of this lies with Crown Nominations Commission (CNC), whose job is to submit the name of a preferred candidate to prime minister Sir Keir Starmer, who is constitutionally responsible for tendering advice on the appointment to the King.

The commission, established in the 1970s, carries out a review of background material and results of the consultations, discussion of the challenges for the next archbishop, before voting on the recommended candidate to put forward.

Once the King has approved the chosen candidate, and he has indicated a willingness to serve, Number 10 will announce the name of the Archbishop-designate.

Read more

• What happens now the archbishop of Canterbury has resigned? (The Guardian)

• Welby put reputation above victims, now he must quit, says abuse survivor (The Telegraph)

• Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby considered resigning over 'appalling' barrister abuse scandal (Sky News)