Dear Friends,
Having sought the gracious permission of His Majesty the King, I have decided to resign as Archbishop of Canterbury. This stunning announcement on Tuesday morning took our collective breath away. It was news that made headlines throughout the Anglican Communion.
The timing of the announcement was made soon after the release of the Makin Review. The review is an exhaustive study of the terrible abuses against young men and boys at the hand of John Smyth – abuses that took place over years. The study points to the Church’s failure to protect the victims, to bring healing to them, to report to the authorities and to keep Mr. Smyth accountable. The trail of hurt and trauma for the victims and their families is nothing short of devastating. It could have been stopped!
I have begun to read the review. It’s a painful but important thing for me to do, to pay close attention to the impact statements of the broken, to glean what has been learned by the investigation, to see how we can put into practice ways to keep the Church safe, and how not to repeat but to learn from the past and from others. As the Makin Review makes clear, our first and foremost calling is to create a safe Church, free from harassment, abuse and harm. This is key to our own calling in the Diocese of Toronto, and it is the foundation of our own Sexual Misconduct Policy.
In his statement, the archbishop admits, When I was informed in 2013 and told that police had been notified, I believed wrongly that an appropriate resolution would follow. It is a painful admission. The ball was dropped, assumptions were made and the heartbreaking hurt continued. Archbishop Justin’s decision to resign was a necessary, brave and important thing to do, for the sake of his own integrity and that of the Church. By doing so, he reminds all of us of our sacrificial duty to serve one another, in particular the most vulnerable. We must always be vigilant and aware of the safety of others in our care. This is the responsibility of the bishops, priests, deacons and lay leaders serving in all of our ministries. We must not assume!
O God of infinite mercy,
forgive the sins of this broken Church
for all the ways that we have failed You:
for protecting our institution instead of our children,
for prioritizing the powerful over the vulnerable,
for covering our pride with the disguise of piety,
for showing more concern for our assets than our treasure.
Shelter in your infinite care all those who are abused by the Church.
Allow them to learn and to know that in You they are safe, and in You they are loved.
And grant that all we who call ourselves Christians,
will seek always to see and to serve you in all others, particularly the vulnerable,
to advocate for those whose voices are quiet, lost, or disregarded,
and to protect the dignity and sanctity of every human life,
each a Child of God, your creation and your redeemed.
We ask this in humility and grief,
and in the name of our crucified and risen Saviour, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Yours in Christ,
The Rt. Rev. Andrew Asbil
Bishop of Toronto
