The governors of the Anglican Centre in Rome have announced the resignation of its director, Archbishop Bernard Ntahoturi, after an allegation of sexual misconduct.
The Anglican Centre in Rome is the permanent Anglican Communion presence in Rome. Its director is also the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Personal Representative to the Holy See.
The resignation was announced Dec. 21 in a statement by the Anglican Centre’s governors (an independent board of trustees). The governors “are now taking urgent steps to appoint an interim director, who will also act as the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Representative to the Holy See,” they said in a statement.
Details of the allegation against Archbishop Ntahoturi have not been made public. The governors have invited “anyone with a safeguarding concern or requiring support” to contact the Church of England’s national safeguarding team.
Archbishop Ntahoturi was installed in October 2017. He previously served as Primate of the Anglican Church of Burundi. Before ordination, he was a civil servant who was chief of staff to Jean-Baptiste Bagaza, former president of Burundi. He served four years in prison after a military coup in 1987. Later, he was appointed Bishop of Matana and then Archbishop of Burundi. He also worked as vice chairman of the country’s commission on truth and reconciliation.
Ntahoturi’s resignation comes at a time of significant change at the Anglican Centre. The current Chair of Governors, Bishop Stephen Platten, will step down at the end of this year after 15 years in the chair and 30 years of serving the Anglican Centre.
In the New Year, Platten will be succeeded by the Rt. Rev. Michael Burrows, Bishop of Cashel, Ferns, and Ossory in the Church of Ireland.
Adapted from ACNS
Matthew Townsend is a Halifax-based freelance journalist and volunteer advocate for survivors of sexual misconduct in Anglican settings. He served as editor of the Anglican Journal from 2019 to 2021 and communications missioner for the Anglican Diocese of Quebec from 2019 to 2022. He and his wife recently entered catechism class in the Orthodox Church in America.
