Why Are There Calls For The Archbishop Of Canterbury To Resign?

The Archbishop of Canterbury is refusing to step down after being accused of not doing more to report a man thought be one of the most prolific child abusers in the church’s ranks.The serving bishop, Justin Welby, is under growing pressure to resign because of his reported “failures” to take stronger action relating when allegations were first brought to his attention.Members of the Church of England’s ruling body, the General Synod, have launched a petition calling on him to step down, saying he has ”lost their trust … given his role in allowing abuse to continue”.The calls relate to reports of abuse by the late John Smyth, a British barrister who died in 2018.It is claimed Smyth abused more than 100 boys and young men in a scandal that was “covered up” by the Church for decades.The archbishop had volunteered at the holiday camps where the abuse took place in the late 1970s but has said he was unaware of the allegations at the time.