'I think it's very sad for an archbishop to resign'

Dr Ian Paul said the resignation of the Archbishop of Canterbury in such circumstances was "unprecedented"

A Nottingham theologian who helped launch a petition against the outgoing Archbishop of Canterbury says he is sad to see the Church of England leader depart.

Justin Welby confirmed on Wednesday he will resign after a damning report into the prolific child abuser John Smyth.

Dr Ian Paul, a member of the General Synod and the Archbishops' Council, said the move "has never ever happened, to my knowledge, in the history of the Church of England".

He said he hoped the organisation would be able to show the public it had changed under a new leader.

'Very sad'

On Thursday, the Makin review was published by the Church of England, which found "horrific" and violent abuse of more than 100 children and young men was covered up for decades.

It found Mr Welby did not follow up rigorously enough on reports of Mr Smyth's abuse, adding he "could and should" have reported the case to authorities when details were presented to him in 2013.

Mr Smyth, who died in his 70s in Cape Town in 2018, was accused of attacking boys at his Winchester home who he had met at a Christian summer camp in Dorset during the 1970s and 1980s.

Dr Paul said the "unprecedented" nature of the archbishop's resignation was also an "extremely painful" moment for victims of abuse.

"I think it's very sad for an archbishop to resign," he said.

"On Sunday morning I was talking about the wonderful good news we have in Jesus, and how he transforms lives [at] his invitation, and then on Monday, here we are talking about the failures of the senior leadership.

"I think the other thing that I feel really sad about is the way this has trawled up again for survivors."

Justin Welby announced his resignation as Archbishop of Canterbury on Tuesday

Dr Paul said the Church of England's senior leadership needed "a change of culture" to respond to the crisis, and pointed to work in local churches to show how safeguarding of children "has been transformed".

"On the ground, the Church of England churches are a safe place, that's not the issue - the issue that [the Makin review] is criticising is the senior leadership," he said.

"[Mr Welby] in the past has said when organisations fail, the leaders need to take responsibility, so he had to do this because of his own words."

Calling for independent scrutiny to ensure the Church of England is not "marking our own homework", Dr Paul said such a move had been supported by members of the Archbishops' Council "for many years".

"I hope and pray that it will happen," he said.