Sarah Mullally named the first woman to lead the Church of England

London (AP) – The bishop of London Sarah Mullally broke a glass ceiling stained on Friday when it was announced as the next Archbishop of Canterbury, the first time that a woman was chosen as spiritual leader of the Church of England.

Mullally, 63, a former cancer nurse who has become the youngest chief of nursing in England before joining the clergy, faces serious challenges in the church which include divisions on the treatment of LGBTQ women and people. It will also have to face the concerns that church leaders have not done enough to eliminate the sexual abuse scandals that have rekindled the church for more than a decade.

The choice of Mullally as a designated Canterbury Chevêque marks an important step for an church which ordered its first priests priests in 1994 and its first bishop in 2015. It has followed 105 men who occupied the role since St. Augustine became the first archbishop of Canterbury in the year 597.

“There was a time when priest priests – the idea of ​​that – seemed absurd,” said George Gross, an expert in monarchy and modern religious thinking at King’s College in London. “But we have moved a long way compared to this. And if you can have a Prime Minister, you have a monarch woman, it seems, why don’t you have the woman Archbishop of Canterbury? ”

Mullally will replace the old archbishop Justin WelbyWho announced his resignation in November after an independent investigation discovered that he had not spoken to the police of physical and sexual abuses in series by a volunteer in the Christian summer camps as soon as he became aware of it.

“The new archbishop will be faced with the decline in the frequentation of the church, with swollen management structures and clergy reserving on what people do in the room,” said Andrew Grastone, defender of church abuse survivors. “But the biggest challenge for the new archbishop is to restore confidence after a decade of abuse scandals.”

Mullally sees hope despite the uncertain times

Mullally addressed the faithful for the first time in her new role as a desk in the cathedral of Canterbury where she opened with a prayer and spoke of the hope that she has seen despite uncertain times in the world and difficulties within the Church, referring to “the inheritance of deep damage and distrust” so as not to protect the members of the church.

She said her first vocation was to follow Christ and disseminate his message. But she also addressed some of the key problems to which the nation is faced, including migration which created political divisions, a debate on a bill in the Parliament to legalize the dying assisted, to which she opposed, and she mentioned the “horrible violence” of the attack on the synagogue on Thursday in Manchester against Yom Kippur, the healthiest day of the Jewish year.

“We are witnessing the hatred that rises through fractures in our communities,” said Mullally. “I know that the god who is with us approaches those who suffer. We, then as a Church, have the responsibility of being a people who resist the Jewish community against anti -Semitism in all its forms. Hatred and racism of any kind can not be allowed to tear us away. ”

The Archbishop of Canterbury is the first among the equals

Anglican communion has more than 85 million members distributed in 165 countries, including the episcopal church in the United States. While each national church has its own chief, the Archbishop of Canterbury is considered to be among the equals.

Mullally noted that it was a historical moment for the church and joyful personally and for many – recognition of the divisions that exist in Anglican communion and the fact that his appointment would not be well received in certain circles.

She thanked the women who had been before her and said that she intended to be a shepherd in the church to allow the ministry and the vocation of others to flourish.

“I will not always get things right,” she said. “But I am encouraged by the psalmist who tells us that:” Although you fall, you will not fall down, because the Lord quickly holds you by your hand. ” I trust the truth of these words for me, for you, for the Church of England, for the nation. »»

The Anglican Future World Conference – known as Gafcon – which includes the archbishops of Nigeria, Rwanda and Uganda and criticized the blessing of the homosexual marriage church declared that the appointment was painful and would still divide the Church because it said that it had promoted non -biblical and revisionist teachings concerning marriage and sexual morality “.

“Although there are some who will be happy with the decision to appoint Mgr Mullally as the first woman archbishop of Canterbury, the majority of Anglican communion still believes that the Bible needs a only male episcopate,” said Reverend Laurent Mbanda in a statement for the group. “Consequently, his appointment will make it impossible for the Archbishop of Canterbury to serve as a unity within communion.”

The Vatican and the King welcome the appointment of Mullally

The Vatican congratulated Mullally and wished her when she takes up “considerable” challenges that she faces.

“I pray for the Lord to bless you from all the donations you need for the very demanding ministry to which you have now been called, equipping yourself to be an instrument of communion and unity for the faithful, among which you will serve,” said Cardinal Kurt Koch, prefect of the Vatican office for relations with other Christians.

The Catholic and Anglican churches separated in 1534 after the English king Henri VIII was denied a cancellation of the marriage. A half-millennial later, the two churches engaged in the official theological dialogue for decades but remain divided on a multitude of problems, including women’s bishops and LGBTQ +people.

Mullally will officially become the Archbishop of Canterbury during a ceremony in the cathedral of Canterbury in January and will then be inducted during an official ceremony likely to include members of the royal family.

King Charles III, who approved his appointment, congratulated Mullally and noted the importance of his role which will have ramifications in the world.

The process of choosing Mullally by a committee of about twenty people chaired by the former director general of the MI5, the British national espionage agency, took almost a year.

It was not a process transparent and there was no published list of candidates, or an open vote. It was more a slow process to use various interest groups to determine which of the current bishops could advance the Church.

There was anticipation that a leader could be chosen for the first time, although Mullally was not among those considered horses.

___

The writer Associated Press, Nicole Winfield, contributed from Rome.