The leader of the world's Anglican communion, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, announced on Tuesday he was resigning following a damning report that concluded the Church of England covered up a serial abuse case.

Welby had faced days of growing pressure to quit after the independent probe found Welby "could and should" have formally reported decades of abuse by a Church-linked lawyer to authorities in 2013.

A petition demanding his resignation, launched in the wake of the report's revelations, has garnered nearly 14,000 signatures while leading clergy, including some bishops, were increasingly urging him to quit.

"It is very clear that I must take personal and institutional responsibility for the long and re-traumatising period between 2013 and 2024," 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.

"As I step down I do so in sorrow with all victims and survivors of abuse."

The independent Makin Review concluded that John Smyth, a lawyer who organised evangelical summer camps in the 1970s and 1980s, was responsible for "prolific, brutal and horrific" abuse of as many as 130 boys and young men.

It found the Church of England - the mother church of Anglicanism - covered up the "traumatic physical, sexual, psychological and spiritual attacks", which occurred in Britain, Zimbabwe and South Africa over several decades.

Smyth, who lived in Africa from 1984, died aged 75 in South Africa in 2018 while under investigation by British police. He never faced any criminal charges.

Appointed the Church of England's highest-ranking cleric in 2013, Welby has apologised for what occurred but previously insisted he would not resign because he did not know about the wrongdoing before then. (AFP)