A leading academic has told GB News that Justin Welby will leave a “sad legacy” following his resignation as Archbishop of Canterbury.
Dr James Orr said the Church of England is going through “an intense period of self examination over cultural matters”.
Speaking to GB News, he explained that the Anglican Communion had rejected what they saw as Welby’s “accommodation of liberal values and same sex relations”.
The Church of England is “no longer seen as the mothership of the Anglican Communion”, Dr Orr added.
Dr James Orr says Justin Welby leaves a ‘sad legacy’
PA / GB NEWS
Justin Welby has announced his resignation as Archbishop of Canterbury amid mounting pressure over his handling of the John Smyth abuse case.
The 68-year-old church leader expressed “a profound sense of shame at the historic safeguarding failures of the Church of England”.
James Orr joined Martin Daubney on GB News
GB NEWS
The resignation follows revelations about a “long-maintained conspiracy of silence” regarding the heinous abuses committed by John Smyth.
An investigation found Welby had failed to promptly inform police about serial physical and sexual abuse by a volunteer at Christian summer camps.
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In a statement, Welby confirmed he had sought “the gracious permission of His Majesty The King” before deciding to resign.
He acknowledged that when informed in 2013 about the abuse case, he “believed wrongly that an appropriate resolution would follow”.
Justin Welby has stepped down as the Archbishop of CanterburyPA
“It is very clear that I must take personal and institutional responsibility for the long and retraumatising period between 2013 and 2024,” Welby said.
The exact timing of his departure will be determined after reviewing his constitutional and church responsibilities.
Dr Orr painted a broader picture of challenges facing the Church, telling GB News there will be “enormous ideological ruptures”.
He suggested many would have preferred Welby resigned earlier over other matters.
The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has often waded into political matters
“The position of Archbishop of Canterbury is no longer seen as first among equals within the Anglican Communion,” Dr Orr noted.
He concluded that this diminished standing would be “as sad a legacy as the one for which he resigned for earlier today”.
Pressure had been mounting on Welby to step down from his position as head of the Church of England.
A petition started by three members of the General Synod, the church’s parliament, called for his resignation.
The petition, which demanded Welby’s departure, gathered more than 10,000 signatures.
Some members of the General Synod stated that Welby had “lost the confidence of his clergy”.
“I believe that stepping aside is in the best interests of the Church of England,” Welby concluded in his statement.