Welby has ‘performed the fitting factor’ by resigning

A vicar who helped organise a extensively supported petition calling for Justin Welby to step down as Archbishop of Canterbury has welcomed his resignation. 

Rev Marcus Walker, founding father of the Save the Parish motion, was a co-sponsor of the petition on Change.org signed by over 14,000 folks. 

“Justin Welby has performed the fitting factor and my prayers are with him and his household right now,” Walker stated on X.

“Prayers additionally for many who had been brutalised by John Smyth, for whom the previous couple of days may have introduced again a lot distress.

“Now the Church must work out the way to transfer ahead with knowledge and care.”

Welby introduced his resignation on Tuesday afternoon after days of mounting scrutiny over his failure to report sadistic abuse by Christian camp organiser, the late John Smyth QC, to the police after changing into conscious of it in 2013.

The Archbishop’s failings had been detailed in a scathing report by Keith Makin which stated that the Church of England’s actions amounted to a “cover-up”. Speaking to Channel 4 News’ Cathy Newman, Welby denied a cover-up however admitted “incompetence”.

Gavin Ashenden, former chaplain to the late Queen Elizabeth II, was among the many critics who had referred to as for Welby’s resignation. He additionally welcomed right now’s announcement.

“Many of the victims of John Smyth will likely be vastly relieved by the resignation of the Archbishop of Canterbury on the grounds, as he described them to Cathy Newman, of ‘incompetence’,” he stated. 

“His private incompetence, and the collusion of his workplace in failing to supply adequate vitality and sources to reply to the complaints of victims and that of his workplace led to it taking 10 years for a report on the sexual abuse of kids by the main Anglican barrister to come back into the sunshine of day.

“Only his resignation may fulfill the calls for each for justice and the reassurance that the Church of England recognised it had failed each of the victims and its members.”

Welby turned Archbishop of Canterbury in 2013 and had been attributable to retire in 2026. He got here beneath intense strain to resign following the publication of the Makin report final Thursday, with critics saying that he had misplaced the belief of the Church of England and that his place had change into “untenable”. 

The Bishop of Newcastle, Helen-Ann Hartley, was probably the most excessive profile determine within the Church of England to name for Welby’s resignation, telling the BBC that his place had change into “untenable”.

“I feel that it’s extremely laborious for the church, because the nationwide, established church, to proceed to have an ethical voice in any method, form or kind in our nation, once we can not get our personal home so as with regard to one thing as critically necessary [as abuse],” she stated.