by A N Wilson, The Times
Dame Sarah Mullally may wish to atone for slavery and confront misogyny, but why can’t the Church of England simply focus on its rich traditions?
The ceremony in St Paul’s Cathedral on Wednesday saw the confirmation of Dame Sarah Mullally as the next Archbishop of Canterbury. She will be enthroned in Canterbury in March. Understandably enough, much of the media coverage has spoken of the event rather as if she were a politician taking on the role of party leader. There has been talk of the various “issues” in her in-tray which she will be expected to tackle. What is her “policy” on same-sex marriages? How will she address the scandals of child abuse?
It is possible that Mullally, and the other bishops of the established church, consider it their duty to have views on all these issues. Her remarks on taking up her new role, having been Bishop of London for a number of years, appear to suggest so. She gave firm commitments not only to support the victims of abuse but also to confront the scourge of misogyny. Earlier in the week she had committed herself, and the Church of England, to continuing Justin Welby’s idea that £100 million should be paid in reparations for the implication of the 18th-century church in the evil slave trade.
Meanwhile, in a few parishes, large congregations allow their members to nurse the illusion that a religious revival is under way. Popular evangelical congregations will continue to believe that, if only the bishops stop watering the mixture, it is simply a matter of time before all the other churches will become as prosperous as they are. And in a very few Anglo-Catholic parishes — some of which do, and some of which do not, accept the ordination of women — there is comparable optimism.