Bishop calls for Welby to quit over failure to pursue serial abuser

A Church of England bishop has added her voice to growing calls for the archbishop of Canterbury to resign over his failure to pursue a sadistic abuser of children when allegations were brought to his attention.

- Harriet Sherwood

Helen-Ann Hartley, the bishop of Newcastle, said Justin Welby's position was untenable and he should quit. A line needed to be drawn, she added.

"I think that it's very hard for the church, as the national, established church, to continue to have a moral voice in any way, shape or form in our nation when we cannot get our own house in order with regard to something as critically important [as abuse]," Hartley told the BBC.

Andrew Morse, who was beaten by John Smyth as a teenager, also called on Welby to resign, saying it would send a powerful personal and public message that the church would no longer cover up abuse.

"His resignation would be a positive step in a very bleak situation that has existed ever since Smyth started beating me and my friends more than 40 years ago," he told the Guardian.

Morse added that Welby and his advisers at Lambeth Palace, the archbishop's headquarters, had prioritised the reputation of the church over and above the plight of Smyth's victims and their "inactivity that was tantamount to a cover-up" had allowed Smyth to continue to abuse with impunity.

"There hasn't been a day that I haven't felt the reverberations [of the abuse]," Morse added. "I still lie awake at night trying to process what happened. I have only survived because of love, support and professional help.

"I'd hope Welby would see this as an opportunity to draw a line, to say enough is enough. I feel his conscience must be telling him this."

Members of the Church of England's ruling body, the General Synod, have launched a petition calling on Welby to quit, "given his role in allowing abuse to continue". By 8pm yesterday the petition had more than 7,200 signatures.