Church of Uganda welcomes Archbishop Welby's resignation
Justin Welby (L) who resigned the Archbishop of Canterbury and Stephen Samuel Kaziimba Mugalu(R) the Archbishop of the Church of Uganda. PHOTOS/FILE
What you need to know:
- The Church believes that if Welby had handled the matter sooner after becoming aware of it in 2013, Smyth would have been earlier apprehended for his reported crimes. Smyth died in 2018.
- This month, the Church will focus on promoting the welfare of children and urging communities to prioritise their safety.
The Anglican Church of Uganda has expressed support for the resignation of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, over handling an abuse scandal that rocked the religious entity. Canterbury serves as a global seat of the Anglican Church.
Welby, who served as the most senior leader in the Church of England from 2013 to 2024 confirmed his resignation in a November 12 public statement following a report of the horrendous exploitations of child abuser John Smyth.
“The Makin Review has exposed the long-maintained conspiracy of silence about the heinous abuses of John Smyth,” Welby said.
And in solidarity with the abused victims, Welby said he was stepping down from office.
“When I was informed in 2013 and told that police had been notified, I believed wrongly that an appropriate resolution would follow. It is very clear that I must take personal and institutional responsibility for the long and retraumatisng period between 2013 and 2024…. As I step down, I do so in sorrow with all victims and survivors of abuse,” Welby said.
A Canadian-born barrister, John Smyth, who doubled as an evangelist, ran Christian camps in South Africa, Zimbabwe and the United Kingdom, where he was implicated for sexually and physically abusing boys and young men.
The Church believes that had Welby handled the matter sooner after becoming aware of it in 2013, Smyth would have been earlier apprehended for his reported crimes. Smyth died in 2018.
Archbishop of the Church of Uganda Stephen Samuel Kaziimba welcomed the resignation, citing Welby’s failure to address the allegations in the Church of England.
“It grieves us deeply that so many people suffered from the continued abuse of John Smyth over many years simply because the church’s leadership covered up the abuse, did not uphold the moral teaching of the Bible and the Church, and failed to defend the vulnerable,” Archbishop Kaziimba said, adding, “Unfortunately, this is the same compromised leadership that has led to the fabric of the Anglican Communion being torn at its deepest level.”
The Church, Kaziimba said, would continue to pray for the victims of abuse.
This month, the Church will focus on promoting the welfare of children and urging communities to prioritise their safety.
BBC News yesterday reported that more survivors were calling for resignations from the Church, including those who actively covered up the abuses.
In an interview with the Daily Monitor, Church of Uganda Provincial Treasurer Balaam Muheebwa agreed with calls for other leaders to step down. “Justin was not the only one covering up what was going on,” he said.
Welby’s resignation comes almost a year after the Anglican Church of Uganda broke away from Canterbury. The decision was made following the Church of England’s move to allow clergy to preside over same-sex marriages, a move the Anglican Church of Uganda strongly opposes.
