London | The archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of 85 million Anglicans worldwide, has been forced to step down, copping the blame for not acting on early warnings about a prolific sex abuser within the Church of England.
Justin Welby, a 68-year-old former oil executive, who was ordained as a priest in 1992 and became the 105th archbishop of Canterbury in 2013, said in a statement that he had to “take personal and institutional responsibility” for failing to act against John Smyth.
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Hans van Leeuwen covers British and European politics, economics and business from London. He has worked as a reporter, editor and policy adviser in Sydney, Canberra, Hanoi and London. Connect with Hans on Twitter. Email Hans at hans.vanleeuwen@afr.com
