The Church of England faced pressure on Wednesday to ensure people are held accountable for systematically covering up abuse allegations, a day after the Archbishop of Canterbury resigned over the church abuse scandal.
Justin Welby stepped down as spiritual leader of the global Anglican church on Tuesday, saying he had failed to ensure a proper investigation into allegations of abuse by a volunteer at Christian summer camps decades ago.
Welby resigned after coming under pressure over a report which found failings in his handling of the case of John Smith, a barrister who abused at least 115 children and young people before his death.
The report has increased pressure to hold others accountable for safety failures.
Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell, the second most senior bishop in the Church of England, told BBC radio: “We… know that there was a very systematic cover-up by some people and those people need to be punished.”
Cottrell said some lessons could be learned from the review, but he was not referring to the bishops.
“The church is a very, very large organization and a very dispersed organization. We’re a place where…thousands and thousands of people, anyone can be a part of our church, so it’s a challenge to protect such an organization. “
Bishop faces demands for resignation
The Bishop of Lincoln, Stephen Conway, who was briefed about abuse allegations against Smith in 2013 – the same year as Welby – is facing calls to resign. The BBC quoted an unnamed victim of Smith as saying that Conway did not take adequate steps when she was told about the abuse.
Conway apologized on Tuesday for not vigorously pursuing Welby’s office, Lambeth Palace, about the matter and said he had done everything in his power as a bishop.
The review said Welby was misadvised about the actions taken in Conway’s then-diocese of Ely, adding that he was misinformed that a referral had been made to the police.
“My understanding is that this matter was reported to police in Cambridgeshire (in eastern England) and referred to police in Hampshire, where the abuse occurred,” Conway said.
Asked about Welby’s omissions, Cottrell said: “Under his watch great steps have been taken in safeguarding the church, but in this case, perhaps he trusted others too much.”
Welby spent years trying to prevent the breakup of the global Anglican communion, often struggling to please liberals or conservatives as he fought for gay rights and female clergy.
But as Archbishop Stephen Kazimba, head of the Anglican Church of Uganda, was rebuked by Welby for supporting strict anti-homosexuality legislation in Uganda, he said on Wednesday that Welby has divided the Anglican community around the world.
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