Former Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has admitted his failure to adequately address a serial abuser within the Church of England was due to being overwhelmed by the extensive abuse crisis. In his first interview post-resignation in November, Welby acknowledged to the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg, “Every day more cases were coming across the desk that had been in the past, hadn’t been dealt with adequately, and this was just, it was another case. It was an absolutely overwhelming few weeks.” He maintained this was not an excuse, but rather, a reason for his failures, stating, “The reality is I got it wrong. As archbishop there are no excuses.”
Welby also lamented the societal tendency to judge public leaders harshly without forgiveness, arguing that expecting perfection from leaders leads to having no leaders. He had been the first archbishop in over 1,000 years to quit, following an independent review that criticized his handling of abuse allegations against John Smyth, a powerful barrister accused of abusing about 130 boys. The review suggested that if Welby had formally reported the allegations to the police a decade ago, justice could have been served.
Welby, who had volunteered at the evangelical Christian holiday camps where the abuse occurred in the late 1970s, said he was unaware of the allegations at the time. However, the review indicated it was “most probable” he had some knowledge about Smyth’s concerning behavior. Welby’s resignation had plunged the Church of England into crisis.
In his resignation statement, Welby took personal and institutional responsibility for the prolonged period from 2013 to 2024. A victim of Smyth’s abuse, known as Graham, expressed disappointment at Welby’s explanation, arguing that no one is too busy to address safeguarding issues and questioned why there weren’t immediate and significant responses to the abuse reports. The selection process for Welby’s successor, led by the UK’s former spy chief, Lord Evans of Weardale, is underway with an announcement expected in the autumn.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/mar/29/justin-welby-overwhelmed-scale-abuse-c-of-e-to-take-action
