UK Priest Who Married Prince Harry And Meghan Markle Steps Down Over Child Abuse Scandal.
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, who played a pivotal role in officiating Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding and later led King Charles III’s coronation, announced his resignation on Tuesday amid growing pressure following revelations of mishandled child abuse allegations within the Church of England.
Welby admitted in a statement that he had failed to ensure a thorough investigation into abuse claims dating back decades.
The allegations involved a volunteer at Christian summer camps who was accused of abusing children, and the Archbishop acknowledged that his actions—or lack thereof—had allowed this individual to continue causing harm.
The resignation came on the heels of a recent report that concluded Welby had not done enough to prevent one of the Church’s most prolific abusers from continuing his offenses. This marks an unprecedented moment in the Church’s history, as Welby is the first Anglican archbishop to step down in connection with an abuse scandal.
In his resignation letter, Welby expressed deep regret, acknowledging both personal and institutional responsibility for the Church’s failure to act on the abuse claims.
“The past few days have intensified my deep sense of shame over the Church of England’s historic safeguarding failures,” he said. “As I step down, I do so in sorrow alongside all victims and survivors of abuse.”
During his decade-long tenure, Welby faced several significant challenges, notably dealing with divisive issues such as LGBTQ rights and women’s ordination, which led to tensions between liberal Anglican churches in the West and their more conservative counterparts in regions like Uganda and Nigeria. These controversies had already placed Welby at odds with some members of the global Anglican community.
The resignation is expected to be met with approval from Anglican leaders in conservative regions, many of whom had voiced their lack of confidence in Welby’s leadership. Looking ahead, the next Archbishop of Canterbury will face the daunting task of uniting an increasingly fragmented Church while addressing the broader decline in church attendance, which has dropped by 20% in the UK since 2019.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office expressed respect for Welby’s decision, and the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, publicly stated that Welby’s resignation was “the right and honorable decision.”
As the Anglican Church processes this historic resignation, attention will now turn to how it will address the ongoing issues surrounding safeguarding, unity, and the dwindling presence of the Church in the UK’s religious landscape.
