LONDON (AP) — Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, head of the Church of England and spiritual leader of the global Anglican Communion, resigned Tuesday 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.
Pressure on Welby had been building since Thursday, when the archbishop’s refusal to accept responsibility for his failure to report the abuse in England and in Africa in 2013 kindled anger about a lack of accountability at the highest reaches of the church. By Tuesday afternoon, Welby acknowledged that mistake.
“It is very clear that I must take personal and institutional responsibility for the long and retraumatizing period between 2013 and 2024,” Welby said in the statement announcing his resignation. “I believe that stepping aside is in the best interests of the Church of England, which I dearly love and which I have been honored to serve.”
Dr Welby had initially tried to cling on, but was effectively forced to fall on his sword after senior colleagues joined criticism and more than 12,000 people signed a petition. Keir Starmer had also pointedly refused to back him.
In a statement two days ago, Dr Welby said: 'Having sought the gracious permission of His Majesty The King, I have decided to resign as Archbishop of Canterbury.
Good riddance, sir.
The LGBTQ Issue
Just a couple weeks ago, the ArchBishop of Canterbury, who’s the spiritual head of the Church of England and the titular head of the Anglican Communion, made a bombshell statement in an interview. But first, let’s go back to 2017.
2017
In 2017 he was asked in an interview with Alastair Campbell “Is gay sex sinful?” His response was, “I haven’t got a good answer.”
This is a question that any pastor ought to be able to answer immediately. “Yes.” Welby responded by saying, “I haven’t got a good answer.”
2024
In late October, the archbishop went back into an interview with the same journalist, Alastair Campbell. In that interview, Campbell simply asked him if he now had a better answer. And the Archbishop said he did have a better answer. This is what he said,
“All sexual activity should be within a committed relationship, whether it’s straight or gay.”
You heard that right. This man, who is the senior cleric in the entire Church of England, didn’t even have an answer to the question in 2017. Now he gives a disastrous unbiblical answer. It is a colossal failure. It is a huge misrepresentation of the clear teachings of Scripture, and for the last two millennia, the unbroken consensus and understanding of the Christian Church.
This really is a bombshell. It’s hard to imagine theologically anything that could be worse than this. It is a complete abdication of responsibility. He should have resigned over this statement three weeks ago. He resigns now over a sexual abuse scandal.
As stated, Good riddance.
****
“Be sure your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23).