Welby's resignation will have repercussions around the world. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the symbolic head of the Anglican Communion, which has more than 85 million members in 165 countries, including the Episcopal Church in the United States. While each national church has its own leaders, the Archbishop of Canterbury is considered first among equals.
The Archbishop resigned on Tuesday after an investigation found he failed to report serial physical and sexual abuse by volunteer John Smith at Christian summer camps to police immediately after he became aware of it.
The 251-page Makin Review concluded that Welby failed to report Smith to authorities when he was told of the abuse in August 2013, shortly after he became Archbishop of Canterbury. Had he done so, Smith might have been stopped sooner and many victims might have been spared the abuse, the investigation found.
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