Archbishop of Canterbury: Church must be stable presence in unstable world

The new Archbishop of Canterbury has said the Church of England must strive to be “a stable presence in an unstable world”.

Dame Sarah Mullally described it as a “humbling privilege” to take on her new role as she addressed the Church’s parliament for the first time as its top bishop.

She acknowledged the “significant challenges” faced by a Church which saw her predecessor Justin Welby resign over safeguarding failures.

The new archbishop, who was formally confirmed in her role at a service in St Paul’s Cathedral last month, gave her first presidential address at the Church’s General Synod on Tuesday.

She was greeted with a round of applause as she stood to speak, before telling those gathered in central London’s Church House: “I stand here among you by no means for the first time, but it is the first time as the Archbishop of Canterbury.

“It is a humbling privilege to be called to serve in this role.

“It brings with it a huge weight of responsibility, at a time when people love to remind me that the Church faces significant challenges.”

She repeated her previously stated intention to approach the role with “calm, consistency and with compassion”, adding “as we seek to be what the Church has for so long been: a stable presence in an unstable world”.

She described it as a “polarised world”, “fractured and anxious” and spoke of “deepening divides in our society”.

Dame Sarah told Synod members: “It is sometimes said that hope is a muscle that we must build and develop.

“In the seemingly impossible situations we see around the world, we must flex the muscle of hope.”

She added that this does not mean denying global challenges including “inequality and injustice, the volatility of global politics, and climate crisis and more – but it means that we say with confidence that God is in the midst of us”.

On the Church itself, Dame Sarah admitted it had in the past “fallen tragically short” on safeguarding.

The new archbishop has faced scrutiny over her own record on the handling of abuse allegations.

In January, a complaint against Dame Sarah over her handling of an abuse allegation by a man known as N against a priest in the Diocese of London was dismissed, although the complainant has lodged an appeal against the decision.

Mr Welby stepped down more than a year ago over safeguarding failures in the handling of the notorious case of prolific abuser and Christian camp leader John Smyth.

Addressing Synod, Dame Sarah said: “Safeguarding is a fundamental, non-negotiable responsibility, sharpened by our past failings and shaped by the work we still have to do.

“I am committed to bringing an approach of seriousness and focused direction to all matters relating to safeguarding in all contexts in the Church.

“This approach must be trauma-informed, put victims and survivors at the heart of all we do and be committed to proper independence.”

She said there had too often been a failure to “recognise or take seriously the abuse of power in all its forms”.

She added: “Robust and transparent processes are central to the health of any institution: proper process around appointments, clear guidelines around conduct and good process for the handling of concerns, complaints and whistleblowing.”

This week’s Synod will hear more on the Church’s progress on work to bring independence to the safeguarding process.

Dame Sarah is the first woman to be appointed to the Church’s top ministry role and is the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury.

Technically, the King is head of the Church of England but the person holding the role of Archbishop of Canterbury is the most senior bishop and the spiritual leader of the Church and the worldwide Anglican Communion.