Archbishop of Canterbury’s tenure ends after resigning over failures in handling abuse scandal

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby resigns over failure to report abuse, sparking accountability concerns in Church of England.

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.