A prominent bishop in the Church of England has publicly urged the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, to resign, claiming his leadership is “untenable” after the release of a harrowing report on John Smyth QC, a serial abuser linked to the Church.
The Bishop of Newcastle, Helen-Ann Hartley, is the most senior Church figure yet to call for Mr. Welby’s resignation, following accusations that he “allowed abuse to continue” between 2013 and Smyth’s death in 2018.
The Makin review, which scrutinized how Church leaders responded to reports of abuse by Smyth, revealed that Welby “could and should” have escalated the case to authorities when he first learned of it in 2013.
Instead, he did not actively pursue the matter, despite knowing that Smyth’s “abhorrent” abuse affected more than 100 boys and young men.
Smyth, a former Church volunteer, had abused up to 130 boys and young men across the UK and Africa over nearly fifty years.
Reflecting on her stance, Bishop Hartley told the BBC, “I think rightly people are asking the question, ‘Can we really trust the Church of England to keep us safe?’ And I think the answer at the moment is ‘no’.” She stated that while Mr. Welby stepping down wouldn’t “solve the safeguarding problem,” it would be “a very clear indication that a line has been drawn, and that we must move towards independence of safeguarding.”
Since the Makin review’s findings were released, calls for accountability have intensified.
Last week, Mr. Welby publicly acknowledged he had “personally failed” to “energetically investigate” the case and admitted he considered resigning but decided against it.
Nevertheless, dissatisfaction persists, with over 7,000 people signing a petition calling for his resignation. Members of the General Synod, the Church’s legislative body, have also accused him of “allowing abuse to continue” from 2013 to 2018.
Smyth, who died in 2018 while under investigation, is considered one of the most prolific serial abusers associated with the Church.
According to the Makin report, Smyth sought out boys at Christian camps and prestigious schools, such as Winchester College, and lured them to his home in Winchester, where he would beat them with a garden cane in a soundproofed shed.
In the UK alone, he abused between 26 and 30 boys in the 1970s and 1980s. He later relocated to Africa, where he targeted and abused at least 85 boys aged 13 to 17.
The Church had knowledge “at the highest level” of Smyth’s abusive actions as early as 2013, according to the report, but failed to report him to the police in the UK or South African authorities.
This inaction, according to the review, constituted a “missed opportunity” to bring Smyth to justice and prevent further harm.
In 2017, Hampshire Police initiated an investigation into Smyth after a Channel 4 documentary brought the abuse allegations to the public’s attention.
Shortly after, Mr. Welby told the broadcaster, “I genuinely had no idea that there was anything as horrific as this going on and the kind of story you showed on the clip. If I’d known that, I would have been very active, but I had no suspicions at all.”
However, the recent review contradicted this claim, stating that “enough was known to have raised concerns” by 2013.
One of Smyth’s victims, Mark Stibbe, recounted his ordeal, describing how Smyth led him to a specially soundproofed shed where he was subjected to a brutal caning that left him fearing for his life.
“He basically caned me so many times that I thought I was going to die,” he said. Another survivor, Andy Morse, expressed disbelief in Welby’s account, saying to the Telegraph, “I don’t believe he was telling the truth…I’m not sure that he would have had knowledge of the detail, but I think he would have had knowledge of the summary.”
Several prominent voices within the Church have echoed calls for Welby’s resignation.
Reverend Richard Coles, a broadcaster and former pop star, stated on X, “Anyone in authority who knew about an abuser and did not act properly so that abuse continued should resign.” Giles Fraser, vicar of St Anne’s Church in Kew, said on BBC Radio 4’s Today program that Mr. Welby had “lost the confidence of his clergy” and “really [had] to go.”
This controversy adds to the tensions between Welby and Bishop Hartley, who recently received a letter from both the Archbishops of Canterbury and York regarding her decision to prevent Archbishop of York John Sentamu from preaching in her diocese due to his rejection of findings in a separate abuse case.
The letter, which Bishop Hartley perceived as “coercive,” seemed focused on restoring Sentamu’s ministry, leaving her unsettled by the apparent prioritization of clergy reputations over the wellbeing of victims.
As she reflected, “To be candid, we would very much like to see a resolution to this situation which enables Sentamu to return to ministry.”
Reverend Matthew Ineson, himself a survivor of abuse by a different Church cleric, joined the calls for Mr. Welby’s departure, noting, “If he doesn’t, the Church is showing… again it doesn’t understand what it’s like to be a victim.” Bishop Andrew Watson, one of Smyth’s victims who now serves as the Bishop of Guildford, has previously shared his distress at the “excruciating and shocking” abuse he endured.
Despite the growing calls for change, there are those cautioning against a quick dismissal.
Andrew Graystone, who authored a book on the Smyth case, expressed on X that he was “nervous” about simply calling for Welby’s resignation, stating that what is truly required is “a wholesale change of culture in the church.”
A spokesperson for Mr. Welby emphasized that the archbishop hopes the Makin review will aid in making the Church a safer institution and reiterated Welby’s “horror at the scale of John Smyth’s egregious abuse.”
