London – Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, head of the global Anglican Church, resigned on Tuesday after a review found that he and other senior church leaders covered up the “prolific and despicable” abuse of more than 100 boys and young men in the UK and other countries by a British lawyer who helped run Christian summer camps in the UK and in other countries.

John Smyth was accused of attacking boys and young men he met at Christian camps in the 1970s and 1980s. He died in South Africa in 2018, aged 77, without ever facing any legal proceedings.

“The last few days have renewed my deeply felt and deep sense of shame at the historic safeguarding failures of the Church of England,” Welby said in a statement announcing his resignation. “For nearly twelve years I have endeavored to introduce improvements. Others must judge what was done”.

An independent review by the Church of England into the handling of complaints against Smyth found last week that, “despite efforts by some individuals to bring the abuse to the attention of the authorities, the responses of the Church of England and others were completely ineffective and constituted a cover-up”, it said the review leader.

“I am so sorry that in places where these young men and boys should have felt safe and where they should have experienced God’s love for them, they were subjected to physical, sexual, psychological and spiritual abuse,” he said. Welby said in an initial. statement responding to the findings of the review. “I am sorry that the cover-up by many people who were fully aware of the abuse for many years meant that John Smyth was able to abuse overseas and he died before ever facing justice.”

Welby said he was not aware of Smyth’s abuse until 2013, the year he became archbishop.

“However, the review is clear that I personally did not ensure that, following disclosure in 2013, the horrific tragedy was vigorously investigated,” Welby said. “Since then, the way the Church of England engages with victims and survivors has changed beyond recognition. The checks and balances put in place try to ensure that the same thing could not happen today.”

The Archbishop of Canterbury is the most senior figure in the Church of England, also known as the Anglican Church. The Episcopal Church of New York, which has 1.6 million members, is part of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and there are more than 7,000 Episcopal churches in the US.

Welby played a central role in many high-profile events, including officiating Prince Harry and Meghan’s weddingThe Duke and Duchess of Sussex and delivering the sermon at the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.

“I think people are rightly asking the question, ‘Can we really trust the Church of England to keep us safe?’ And I think the answer at this point is no,” Bishop of Newcastle Helen-Ann Hartley told CBS News’ partner network BBC News, calling on Welby to step down.

Andrew Morse, who told the BBC he was abused for years by Smyth as a teenager, also called on Welby to resign. He said Welby’s “recognition that in 2013, which is really modern compared to the 1970s and 1980s, that he didn’t do enough, that he wasn’t rigorous… is enough in my mind to confirm that Justin Welby, along with countless other Anglican churches, were part of a cover-up of abuse.”

Morse said he was beaten several times by Smyth during his youth and that further abuse could have been stopped if Welby had acted when he learned of Smyth’s actions in 2013.

“Those African lives and those African victims are very much on my conscience — and I would hope on the archbishop’s conscience as well.”

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