The resignation of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby was not a bolt from the blue. Since the previous Thursday when the conclusion of the Makin report had been made public, the pressure received by the spiritual leader of the Anglican church daily increased. The General Synod of the Church gathered more than 1,500 signatures of clergy to request his removal, while the related publications of the British press were increasing daily.
The Makin Report investigated the actions of lawyer John Smyth. According to her finding, the lawyer in question had physically, psychologically and sexually abused boys and young men from the 1970s onwards at church summer camps. In turn, the head of the Church of England is accused of not notifying the authorities when he was informed of his actions in 2013.
In his resignation statement he says, among other things: “Having sought the kind permission of His Majesty the King, I have decided to resign as Archbishop of Canterbury. The conclusion of the Makin report exposed the long conspiracy of silence about the heinous acts of John Smythe. When I was informed in 2013 and told that the police had been notified, I mistakenly believed that they would act as they should.”
He then emphasizes that “it is very clear” that he must take “personal and institutional responsibility for the long and traumatic period between 2013 – 2024”. He clarifies that it is his duty to honor his “constitutional and ecclesiastical” responsibilities and therefore the exact time of his replacement will be decided once all his current obligations are completed.
“I hope this decision makes clear how seriously the Church of England takes the need for change and our deep commitment to creating a safer church,” the Archbishop said. At the same time, he meaningfully emphasizes that: “For almost twelve years I struggled to make improvements. It is for others to judge what has been done … I will keep my commitment to meet with the victims.”
He asks everyone to keep his wife Caroline and children “in their prayers. They have been my most important support throughout my ministry and I will be eternally grateful for their contribution.”
Finally, he emphasizes that he believes “it is in the interest of the Church of England, which I love very much and which I have had the honor to serve”.
Read also:
Femicide in Agrinio: The 30-year-old man was arrested – He had been raped in his father’s house
Who was Vardis Vardinogiannis: Life, media and business activity
Marco Rubio: From the fierce confrontation with Trump to the doorstep of the State Department – The “drugged” remarks that remained
Nikos Plakias: “Children were burned alive and they are trying to cover up even now…”
SYRIZA: Party organs with “holes” and patches – New balances in the Political Secretariat and debate of the “4”
If shame were a party
!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)
{if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?
n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};
if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version=’2.0′;
n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;
t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];
s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,’script’,
‘
fbq(‘init’, ‘726515947549353’);
fbq(‘track’, ‘PageView’);
#Shock #Britain #Archbishop #Canterbury #resigns #child #abuse #coverup #scandal
