The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby is facing growing pressure to resign over a damning report into a barrister, John Smyth, thought to have been the most prolific serial abuser to be associated with the Church of England.
READ MORE:The Archbishop of Canterbury's position looked increasingly untenable last night after a senior bishop told him to resign.
A petition calling for Mr Welby to go – started by three members of the Church's ruling body, the General Synod, and backed by several high-profile priests – passed 7,500 signatures last night. Mr Welby was forced to apologise last week after a long-awaited review concluded that barrister John Smyth's 'abhorrent' serial abuse of more than 100 boys and young men was covered up.
Bishop of Newcastle, Helen-Ann Hartley said the Church was in danger of 'losing complete credibility' when it came to safeguarding In 2013, Mr Welby was advised that a 'police referral had been made' and believed it was being investigated. However, this was not the case. Read More STEPHEN GLOVER: Welby railed against slavery while staying silent about a monstrous abuser Yesterday morning he insisted that he 'does not intend to resign'.
Mr Walker, one of the co-sponsors of the petition calling for Mr Welby to go, added: 'It is incredibly rare for bishops to speak out of turn these days. I feel very sorry for Archbishop Welby but this can't go on.' Giles Fraser, vicar of St Anne's in Kew, west London, said Mr Welby had 'lost the confidence of the clergy'
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