Justin Welby to quit as archbishop of Canterbury over handling of abuse scandal

Justin Welby to quit as archbishop of Canterbury over handling of abuse scandal

The archbishop of Canterbury has stepped down amid intense pressure over his handling of one of the church’s worst abuse scandals.

Justin Welby’s decision, announced on Tuesday, comes after mounting demands from victims and members of the clergy for him to quit.

Pressure on him had intensified since the publication last week of a damning report on the Church of England’s cover-up of abuse by John Smyth in the UK in the late 1970s and early 80s, and later in Zimbabwe and, it is suspected, South Africa.

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