Justin Welby, archbishop of Canterbury, resigns as leader of the Anglican Church

The leader of the Anglican Church, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, resigned in a statement Tuesday following allegations that the institution covered up physical and sexual assault of minors by a lawyer linked to the church for years.

"The last few days have renewed my long felt and profound sense of shame at the historic safeguarding failures of the Church of England," Welby said in a statement.

"I hope this decision makes clear how seriously the Church of England understands the need for change and our profound commitment to creating a safer church," Welby added.

His successor's main challenges will be keeping the increasingly divided worldwide Anglican community together and trying to reverse the decline in church attendance, which in Britain has fallen by a fifth since 2019.

Within the Anglican Communion, two factions are clashing for power. On the one hand, the U.K. and American congregations advocate a liberalization of doctrine, a path that Welby chose by accepting women in the clergy and by blessing homosexual marriages. In contrast, the African congregations, present in the English-speaking countries of the continent, call for greater conservatism and respect for the Anglican tradition.