Archbishop Justin Welby, former head of Anglican Church, admits he was 'wrong'

The Primate of the Anglican Church since 2013, Archbishop Justin Welby, announced his resignation in November 2024, after a report denouncing his silence over a large-scale sexual scandal. In a recent interview with the BBC, he stated that he “can have no excuses.”

On March 30, the BBC broadcasted an interview with Archbishop Justin Welby, the former head of the Anglican Church. In November 2024, he had announced his resignation from his role.

His decision to resign was taken after the release of an independent report that revealed the Anglican Church's poor handling of a case involving a layman who had committed sexual assaults on more than 130 children and young men over more than 40 years.

The abuser, John Smyth, a lawyer linked to the Church of England, died in 2018 in South Africa without ever having been troubled. Yet the report accused Welby – who was also the primate of 85 million Anglicans around the world – of not having reported these facts to the authorities in 2013, even though he became aware of them then. His resignation took effect on January 6, 2025.

'As archbishop, there can be no excuses'

In the BBC interview – his first statement since the announcement of his resignation – Welby acknowledged for the first time not having grasped the extent of the scandal and admitted he was “wrong.” Speaking to Laura Kuenssberg, journalist for the British public broadcaster, he said: “Every day, new cases that had not been adequately dealt with in the past arrived on my desk.”

“It was overwhelming; we were trying to establish priorities, but I think it was easy to be on the defensive,” he continued, adding that he was “wrong.” And, he added, “As archbishop, there can be no excuses.”

On the part of Welby, a broader analysis is added to his words spoken without evasion or ambiguity. During the interview, he estimated that there was sometimes a “rush” to judge the heads of institutions caught in the whirlwind of a scandal. “There is a lack of forgiveness; we do not treat our leaders as human beings,” he lamented, stating that “we expect them to be perfect.”

“If you want perfect leaders, you will not have leaders,” he said.

The abuse scandal caused shock in the United Kingdom and led to many calls to deeply reform the Church of England, whose supreme head is the British monarch. In February 2025, the team in charge of protection and safeguarding policy within the church published the names of ten other clergy members against whom it will “seek to initiate disciplinary procedures” in connection with this case.

'Insufficient evidence' for other church members

Among them is Archbishop George Carey, who served as Archbishop of Canterbury between 1991 and 2002, who was, according to this team, aware of Smyth’s actions and had received a copy of a report on the subject, which he “denies having seen.” The 89-year-old man gave up being a priest in December 2024, after the publication of another investigation accusing him of not having passed on to the police accusations of sexual assault targeting a bishop at the time when he was head of the institution.

About 30 other members of the Church of England, mother church of the “Anglican Communion,” will not be subject to disciplinary measures due to “insufficient evidence,” the team indicated. The Church of England has about 20 million baptized faithful, but the number of regular worshipers is estimated at just under one million, according to 2022 figures.

After Welby's resignation, Archbishop Stephen Cottrell of York, the second-highest dignitary of the church, aged 66, temporarily took over leadership of the institution. King Charles III will designate the future head of the Church of England at the end of a long selection process led by a former head of the internal security service, MI5. According to British media, his name will not be known before the autumn.