Justin Welby, the former Archbishop of Canterbury has spoken about how therapy has helped him deal with the failures that ultimately led to his resignation as head of the Anglican Communion.
Welby stood down as Archbishop in November 2024 following the publication of the Makin report into the Church of England’s handling of abuse allegations against the late John Smyth. Smyth died in 2018 and is believed to be responsible for abuse going back decades in both Britain and Africa.
The Makin report said that Welby had not done enough once he became aware of the allegations. Following the review Welby conceded that he had “personally failed to ensure … [that] the awful tragedy was energetically investigated”.
However, Welby has also contested some of Makin’s findings, telling the Cambridge Union that subsequent evidence confirmed that the allegations against Smyth had in fact been reported to the authorities and that the police had told the Church not to investigate further as doing so could harm their enquiries.
Now, speaking to broadcaster Gyles Brandreth on the Rosebud Podcast, Welby has spoken of the help he has received since the “loneliest” moment of his resignation.
“I’ve been seeing a psychotherapist for a considerable period of time. And a psychiatrist. Very helpful. It’s not about saying, ‘oh, it didn’t matter’, or anything like that, quite the reverse – how does one live with such a failure?”
Welby also reiterated his views on the Makin report, again conceding that the claim he had not done enough to prioritise victims was “absolutely correct”, but taking issue with other points.
“The initial perception was that we’d not reported it to the police – in fact, it had been reported to the police," he said.
Keith Makin, author of the Makin report, has stood by his work. According to the Telegraph, he said, “My report makes it clear that the matter was communicated to the police but that Bishop Welby did not pursue it beyond being assured by the Ely diocese that the police were investigating.
“My report makes the point that Bishop Welby knew of John Smyth and it should have been the case that he should take more interest than a simple assurance. I concluded that Bishop Welby carried a personal and a moral responsibility to ensure that he pursued the matter.”
