LONDON — Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby resigned on Tuesday after an independent investigation found he failed to warn authorities about a serial physical and sexual abuser who preyed on more than 100 young boys and men at Christian holiday camps on two continents.

Welby found out in 2013, shortly after taking the reins. global Anglican churchThe independent Makin Review found that John Smyth victimized around 30 boys and young men in the UK and 85 in Africa over five decades.

But allegations of harassment against Smyth were not made public until 2017, when police launched an investigation, prompted by a report by Britain’s Channel 4 television network.

Welby, spiritual leader of 85 million Anglicans worldwide, said: inside a statement He said he was resigning “with regret” and “with the gracious permission of His Majesty the King”.

In his resignation letter, Welby acknowledged his “personal and institutional responsibility” for “wrongly” believing that there was no need to make a formal report to the police when Smyth was first mentioned to him.

He said the time of his departure would be decided later because “it is my duty to fulfill my constitutional and church responsibilities.”

Welby has faced growing calls to resign since the 251-page report into Smyth, a prominent lawyer who volunteered at Christian holiday camps, was published on Thursday.

“John Smyth was horrifically abusing children and young men” reporthelp. “His abuse was prolific, brutal and horrific. His victims suffered traumatic physical, sexual, psychological and spiritual assaults.”

Since July 2013, Church of England He had knowledge of Smyth at the “highest level” and was required to report him to the relevant authorities “properly and effectively”.

“There was a distinct lack of curiosity among these senior figures and a tendency to minimize the issue, as evidenced by the lack of further questioning and follow-up,” the report said.

Independent investigators also reported that Welby and Smyth crossed paths at Christian holiday camps run by a British foundation from 1975 to 1979, and that they exchanged Christmas cards for several years.

“He knew John Smyth from the Iwerne camps and was in John Smyth’s dormitory for two camps,” the report quoted the report as saying. “He described being ‘impressed’ by John Smyth and responding to his apparent brilliance and charismatic (in the layman’s sense) personality. But he says they were never close.

Smyth was already under investigation by UK police when he died in 2018 in Cape Town, South Africa, at the age of 77.

Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury, said Welby’s resignation was “the right and honorable thing to do”.

“As a church, we continue to work towards and must achieve a more victim-centred and trauma-informed approach to safeguarding within the Church of England, and this must address wider questions around culture and leadership.” he said in a statement.

Andrew Morse, who said he was abused by Smyth in his youth he told The Guardian He said Welby’s resignation was “a positive step in the very bleak situation that has existed since Smyth started beating me and my friends over 40 years ago”.

A petition calling for Welby’s resignationcreated by members of the National Assembly Church of EnglandIt had collected more than 13,000 signatures at the time of its announcement on Tuesday.

Asked if Welby would resign British Prime Minister Keir Starmer He said the matter must ultimately be handled by the church, but stressed the “clearly horrific” allegations of abuse, adding that it was clear the victims had been “failed very, very badly”.

Although Welby said he was not made aware of Smyth’s abusive behavior until 2013, the Makin Review found: in 1982 An internal investigation had been conducted into Smyth, and those who received this report “participated in an active cover-up” to prevent the findings from coming to light.

The investigation revealed that Smyth moved to Zimbabwe in 1984 and later to South Africa. He continued to abuse boys and young men in Zimbabwe, and there is evidence that this abuse continued in South Africa.

Hannah Peart reported from London and Corky Siemaszko reported from New York City.