Archbishop retires amid cathedral behaviour failings

The Archbishop of Wales has announced his retirement from the role with immediate effect.

In a statement issued on Friday evening, Andrew John confirmed he would also be retiring as Bishop of Bangor on 31 August.

His sudden retirement follows a turbulent period for his Bangor diocese, after the publication of the summaries of two reports into failures last month.

The summaries mentioned "a culture in which sexual boundaries seemed blurred" and excessive alcohol consumption as well as governance and safeguarding weaknesses at Bangor Cathedral.

There is no suggestion the archbishop has behaved inappropriately.

The full reports have not been published, but an implementation group and oversight board were formed by the church to make improvements and implement recommendations.

After calls were made in some quarters for the archbishop to resign, he offered his "most heartfelt apology to any members of the cathedral community who have been hurt or who feel I have let them down".

When BBC-produced Newyddion S4C asked the church about serious incident reports they were told had been made to the Charity Commission, it was revealed six had been made in a little over a year relating to charities associated with the diocese.

The commission has now confirmed it has launched a regulatory compliance case into the charities.

Two priests within Bangor Cathedral have also called publicly for an independent inquiry into the cathedral and diocese.

Newyddion S4C has seen letters from other church members calling on church authorities to launch such an inquiry.

Senedd member Sian Gwenllian, whose Arfon constituency includes Bangor, confirmed this week she had also written to the archbishop and other church leaders supporting those calls.

On Tuesday, after a series of interview bids had been rejected, the archbishop was approached as he made his way to a meeting in Cardiff to discuss the situation in Bangor.

He refused to answer any questions or make any comment on the situation at his diocese.

After a lengthy meeting discussing the situation within the Bangor Diocese, the Representative Body, who are trustees of the Church in Wales, drafted and agreed upon a statement declaring they had no confidence in the leadership at the diocese of Bangor.

It is understood the Archbishop of Wales attempted to amend the statement but the trustees refused that request.

They did, however, give him time to discuss the implications of the statement with those close to him.

The Church in Wales did not wish to comment on Tuesday's meeting.

On Friday evening, the Church in Wales issued a statement thanking Mr John for his service.

Recent events at Bangor diocese were not mentioned.

Mr John said it had "been an enormous joy to serve in the Church in Wales for over 35 years" and thanked "the clergy and congregations of this wonderful diocese."

Senior Bishop for the Church in Wales Gregory Cameron said: "Andy has dedicated 36 years of his life to ordained ministry in the Church in Wales, and has served with commitment and energy to proclaim the Christian Gospel and draw people to deeper faith in Jesus Christ.

"He has given so much for the good of the Church in Wales.

"He now lays down his considerable responsibilities in the same spirit in which he has served for these decades."

Chairman of the Body of Representatives Medwin Hughes said he wanted to "place on record my sincere gratitude for all he has achieved, together with my admiration for the integrity of his ministry to the people of Wales".

He added: "All members of the Representative Body will continue to hold the archbishop and his family in our prayers."

Mr John became Bishop of Bangor in 2008 and was elected Archbishop of Wales in December 2021.

He was the 14th person to hold the title.