The Makin Review has exposed the long-maintained conspiracy of silence about the heinous abuses of John Smyth. When I was informed in 2013 and told that police had been notified, I believed wrongly that an appropriate resolution would follow.
It is very clear that I must take personal and institutional responsibility for the long and re-traumatising period between 2013 and 2024.
I hope this decision makes clear how seriously the Church of England understands the need for change and our profound commitment to creating a safer church.
As I step down, I do so in sorrow with all victims and survivors of abuse. The last few days have renewed my long-felt and profound sense of shame at the historic safeguarding failures of the Church of England.
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