In his speech, Mr Welby told the House of Lords that a head had to roll after the publication of the review to deal with the scandal.
The speech drew a backlash from abuse victims who said he showed no remorse for the suffering of survivors and said Welby’s delivery of jokes struck a “frivolous” tone.
“The reality is that there comes a time when you are technically leading a particular organization or area of responsibility where a mistake—whether one is personally responsible or not—is embarrassing. It takes a head to roll.” Lord’s on Thursday.
“And there’s only one head that turns well in this case.”
He also cited a 14th-century predecessor who was beheaded, adding: “I hope not literally.”
On Thursday, Mark Steib, who previously told the BBC he had been groomed and beaten by Smith in the 1970s, said the archbishop’s joke about Rowling’s “one head” was “disturbing”. was
“Smith’s survivors want all those responsible to step down,” Mr. Steib added.
Another of Smith’s victims, named in the McCain report as Graham Jones, said Mr Welby had the tone of his speech “absolutely wrong”.
In a statement Friday, the archbishop said he wanted to “wholeheartedly apologize” for the hurt he caused.
“I understand that my words – the things I said, and the things I left out – caused more pain to those who were traumatized by John Smith’s heinous abuse, and continue to cause harm, and with its far-reaching effects, perpetrators of abuse,” the statement said.
“It was not meant to ignore the experience of survivors, or make light of the situation – and I deeply regret having done so.
“It remains the case that I take both personal and institutional responsibility for the long and retrograde period following 2013, and the damage it has caused to survivors.
He concluded: “I feel a deep sense of shame at the historic safeguarding failures of the Church of England.”
Joanne Grenfell, Julie Conalty and Robert Springett, lead bishops for safeguarding the Church of England, wrote to survivors of abuse after Mr Welby’s speech, calling it “wrong and wrong”.
“Both in content and delivery, the speech was completely insensitive, with no focus on victims and survivors of abuse, particularly those affected by John Smith, and regarding the resignation of the archbishop,” the letter said. shed light on the events.”
“This was wrong and wrong. We recognize and deeply regret that this has caused you further harm in an already distressing situation.”
The letter said the church had “seriously failed” to meet its safeguarding responsibilities “for many years” and described Mr Welby’s speech as “antithetical to all that we now see as a culture shift”. And you’re trying to work with everyone to fix it.”
Mr Welby will step down on January 6 with the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, until a permanent replacement is found – a search expected to take around six months.
His resignation follows the publication of the Makin Report, which found that the Church of England had covered up Smith’s abuse for decades.
A barrister and preacher, Smith is believed to have abused more than 100 boys and young men at Christian summer camps in England and later in South Africa and Zimbabwe in the 1970s and 1980s.
He is believed to have continued his abuse until 2018 when he died in Cape Town aged 75.
The independent review said church officials, including Mr Welby, “could and should have” reported Smith to police and authorities in South Africa in 2013.
Mr Welby said he was “told the police had been informed” in 2013. and “falsely believed that an appropriate resolution would follow.“