Ep. 415: Missionary Murder for Hire, Archbishop of Canterbury Resigns

On today’s program, the wife of slain missionary Beau Shroyer has been arrested in connection with his death—investigators suspect she hired the man she was having an affair with to kill her husband. We’ll have details. And, a Pennsylvania church trying to disassociate from the Evangelical Presbyterian Church has been charged for sharing information with MinistryWatch. We’ll take a look. Plus, South Carolina pastor John-Paul Miller—whose wife Mica Miller died by suicide earlier this year—has been hit with an assault charge just days after FBI raided his house. But first, the Church of England head Justice Welby has resigned over his handling of a sexual abuse case. Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, head of the Church of England and spiritual leader of the global Anglican Communion, resigned Tuesday. The producer for today’s program is Jeff McIntosh. We get database and other technical support from Stephen DuBarry, Rod Pitzer, and Casey Sudduth. Writers who contributed to today’s program include Danica Kirka, Jessica Eturralde, Kim Roberts, Tony Mator, Marissa Greene, Shannon Cuthrell, and Brittany Smith. Until next time, may God bless you.   MANUSCRIPT   FIRST SEGMENT Warren:  Hello everybody. I’m Warren Smith, coming to you from Charlotte, North Carolina. Christina: And I’m Christina Darnell, in for Natasha Cowden this week, also coming to you from Charlotte, North Carolina. And we’d like to welcome you to the MinistryWatch podcast. Warren:  On today’s program, the wife of slain missionary Beau Shroyer has been arrested in connection with his death—investigators suspect she hired the man she was having an affair with to kill her husband. We’ll have details. And, a Pennsylvania church trying to disassociate from the Evangelical Presbyterian Church has been charged for sharing information with MinistryWatch. We’ll take a look. Plus, South Carolina pastor John-Paul Miller—whose wife Mica Miller died by suicide earlier this year—has been hit with an assault charge just days after FBI raided his house. Christina:  But first, the Church of England head Justice Welby has resigned over his handling of a sexual abuse case. Warren:  Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, head of the Church of England and spiritual leader of the global Anglican Communion, resigned Tuesday. The resignation came after an investigation found that he failed to tell police about serial physical and sexual abuse by a volunteer at Christian summer camps as soon as he became aware of it. Pressure on Welby had been building since Thursday, when release of the inquiry’s findings kindled anger about a lack of accountability at the highest reaches of the church. Welby’s resignation comes against the backdrop of widespread historical sexual abuse in the Church of England. A 2022 report by the Independent Inquiry Child Sexual Abuse found that the Church of England had become “a place where abusers could hide.” Christina:  Welby’s supporters had argued that he had been instrumental in changing the culture of the church since he became Archbishop of Canterbury in 2013. Warren: But it was an investigation into crimes that began long before that date that ultimately led to his downfall. The church on Thursday released the results of an independent investigation into Smyth, who sexually, psychologically and physically abused about 30 boys and young men in the United Kingdom and 85 in Africa beginning in the 1970s. The 251-page report of the Makin Review concluded that Welby failed to report Smyth to authorities when he was informed of the abuse in August 2013, soon after he became Archbishop of Canterbury. Christina: Our next story is a sad and strange tale involving American missionaries in Angola. Warren: Investigators suspect the wife of a slain missionary in the West African country of Angola was the "mastermind" of his killing and was having an affair with one of the men...