The head of the Anglican Church resigns..."Covering Up Large-Scale Underage Sexual Abuse"

The head of the Anglican church, the Archbishop of Canterbury, has resigned after reports emerged that the Anglican church covered up a large-scale case of underage sexual abuse that began in the 1970s.

Canterbury Archbishop Justin Welby issued a statement on the 12th local time, saying, "I think it is best for the Episcopal Church that I resign."

Earlier, the Anglican Independent Investigative Committee concluded in a report released last week that the church had concealed allegations of child abuse by John Smith, a lawyer who carried out church-related work.

The panel also pointed out that Archbishop Welby should have reported the allegations to authorities since 2013, when he was briefed on them after taking over as the Anglican leader, but he did not.

Smith was accused of sexually abusing 30 boys he knew during church-related activities such as summer camps in England in the 1970s and 1980s, and later abusing 100 teenagers after moving to Africa.

British police launched an investigation after allegations were raised through a Channel 4 documentary in 2017, but Smith died in South Africa in 2018 and was never charged.