Mila Hughes, Coventry Socialist Party
The resignation of Archbishop Justin Welby amid the Church of England’s abuse scandal has revealed a rot that extends way beyond one person. The Makin Report’s findings of systemic cover-ups, including decades of no action against the abuse perpetrated by John Smyth, expose the Church as a symbol of institutional decay and elite privilege. These findings demand more than an apology; it requires a transformative shift towards genuine accountability, led not by bishops but by the working class and survivors themselves.
Welby’s resignation follows years of institutional failures. Despite being informed of Smyth’s abuses as early as 2013, the Church’s leadership failed to ensure proper legal action was taken, allowing the former archbishop to live above the law. The report outlines a “conspiracy of silence” upheld by those in power, a clear indictment of the Church’s hierarchy.
Welby’s exit, though significant, is not enough. Survivors and campaigners rightly argue that other senior figures complicit in these failures must step down. Yet, more resignations, while necessary, will not address the systemic issues.
In this scandal, as in numerous others, safeguarding mechanisms from the capitalist institutions are either non-existent or implemented only after public outrage – primarily concerned with limiting reputational damage rather than justice for survivors.
Calls from within the Church for further resignations highlight the depth of the crisis. However, figures like Bishop Stephen Conway and Archbishop Stephen Cottrell remain defensive, resisting calls to step down, despite their roles in mishandling abuse disclosures. This division reveals disagreements about what course of action will do least institutional damage.
The Church’s failure to act against Smyth parallels the broader capitalist failures in safeguarding the public, from underfunded social services to privatising healthcare. Both are symptoms of a system designed to protect the few at the expense of the many.
The resignation of Welby should be the beginning, not the end, of a broader movement for accountability and systemic change throughout society.
Survivors of abuse deserve more than apologies and resignations; they deserve a system that is geared towards the needs of all to prevent future harm. That can be achieved by the working class struggling for socialist change, to build a society where institutions serve people, not profit and power.
