by Ian Paul, Psephizo
Last month, Justin Welby was interviewed at the Cambridge Union, and some of his comments once more hit the headlines. When I heard about this, I could not help rolling my eyes. Despite having initially welcomed his appointment, and having then tried hard to work with him well as a member of the Archbishops’ Council, I sadly came to the conclusion that as archbishop he has done immense damage to the Church of England—damage that it is going to take a decade (or in some instances a generation) to undo (see my reasoning here).
When, I wonder, will Justin actually get the message that what we now need from him is dignified silence? As one person on commented on the YouTube video:
I find it extraordinary that some of the brightest minds in the Land are taking counsel from an individual that left the church in disgrace. An individual most certainly part of the problem and not the solution in my opinion. Why does Welby continue to have a public profile when his failure to respond left so much destruction behind?
The particular comments that hit the headlines were, once again, about the questions of marriage and sexuality. Despite them only occupying three-and-a-half minutes (from 34.02 to 36.41), Justin manages to illustrate everything that has gone wrong in this debate—and all the problems with his own leadership.