Leader of the Anglican Church steps down
Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, has resigned from his post after coming under fire for his handling of an abuse scandal in the Anglican Church. As head of the Church of England, he was criticised for not making public decades of abuse against over 100 boys and young men by a Church employee who died in 2018.
He failed to live up to his own high standards
The Times rakes Welby over the coals:
“While repeatedly lecturing other leaders and institutions on their ethics, he failed to live up to his own high standards or to protect the vulnerable under his charge. It's not enough to feel remorse. He needed to take responsibility for his and his church's catastrophic lapse of judgement. By refusing to go until he was forced out by his own vicars, bishops and public opinion, he has further weakened the institution and shown himself up as a hypocrite rather than the moral conscience of the nation.”
This must be only the beginning
Welly's resignation doesn't solve the problem, warns The Daily Telegraph:
“Welby was not the only high-ranking cleric to fail the victims of the appalling John Smyth. There are still clergy, many more culpable than Welby, named in the Makin review who retain their permission to officiate at services. There are still unaccountable structures within the Church's methods of dealing with complaints. There are still countless victims who go unlistened to and ignored. If Welby's resignation is to mean anything, it must be the beginning of better practice throughout the Church.”
A late but appropriate step
For the Catholic newspaper La Croix, the resignation is a clear acknowledgement of moral responsibility:
“It may rightly be said that this decision comes very late in the day, and above all that it comes, once again, in the wake of a report revealing very old facts. ... Nevertheless, Dr Welby's resignation is also a strong and clear signal to all the world's institutional leaders and opinion shapers. This applies even more to religious leaders, whose followers often look to them for guidance in distinguishing between right and wrong. They hold a moral office that comes with a responsibility: the responsibility to recognise one's errors and to step down when the situation demands it.”