YORK (UNITED KINGDOM)
Daily Mail [London, United Kingdom]
February 10, 2025
By Sam Merriman
The Archbishop of York admitted he has ‘made mistakes’ as he addressed the Church of England’s ruling body yesterday at a time of unprecedented crisis for the Church.
Stephen Cottrell, the de facto leader of the CofE, faced the wrath of clergy as he survived a vote to stop him from giving a customary address at the opening of General Synod on Monday.
A third of Synod members declined to give Archbishop Cottrell their backing when voting on the motion arguing that his position is ‘no longer tenable’.
After surviving the vote, Archbishop Cottrell used his presidential address to admit that the Church has ‘failed greatly’ and acknowledged that ‘trust has been broken and confidence damaged’.
But despite this he suggested that he will not step aside – adding that he will ‘commit myself’ to ‘lead and serve the Church of England for the sake of this nation and the world’.
Mr Cottrell addressed Synod as the most senior bishop in place of former Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, who was forced to resign last year over the Church’s worst child abuse scandal.
The Archbishop of York, who is the temporary leader of the CofE until a replacement to Dr Welby is appointed in the autumn, has himself faced calls to step down over his handling of sex abuse allegations.
Separately he was also reportedly aware of allegations against John Perumbalath, the former bishop of Liverpool who stepped down last month over allegations of sexual misconduct, before he was enthroned in Liverpool in 2023.
In a show of anger from Synod members yesterday, Archbishop Cottrell was subject to a revolt with a motion made to try and block his opening address that argued his position is ‘no longer tenable’.
The Archbishop of York survived the vote – proposed by a lay Synod member who said it was intended to ‘send a message to the nation’ – with 73 members voting in favour of the motion, 239 against it and 43 abstaining.
In his address Archbishop Cottrell said that ‘all of us, and I assure you I begin with myself, must be subject to proper processes of accountability’.
‘Sometimes that accountability will mean there are lessons to be learned,’ he said. ‘Sometimes, it will mean that it is no longer appropriate for someone to hold public office. Sometimes criminal proceedings.’
He said that Dr Welby had done the ‘honourable thing’ by standing down and added: ‘I know that trust has been broken and confidence damaged. And I am more sorry about this than I can say. I know mistakes have been made. And I know that I have made mistakes.’
But he faced a backlash from some quarters of the Church yesterday. The only bishop who publicly called for Dr Welby to step down said that Archbishop Cottrell is the ‘wrong person’ to be leading the Church.
Bishop of Newcastle Helen-Ann Hartley told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: ‘I do not think that it’s appropriate for the Archbishop of York to be in post, and certainly to be leading change that the Church needs at this time.’
And a prominent Synod member, Reverend Ian Paul, wrote a scathing open letter to Archbishop Cottrell in which he said that ‘far from solving the problems, you are the problem’.
Dr Paul, who is also a member of the Archbishops’ Council, wrote: ‘You have featured at the centre of the recent scandals about safeguarding, clergy conduct, and the exercise of power. How can the one who has caused these problems be the one to solve them?’
It added: ‘We need leaders who will not hold on to power, but will step aside when trust is lost, and when they are the centre of the stories that are causing so much offence.’
Yesterday, was the first of five days of debate and votes on a variety of topics as Synod met for the first time since Dr Welby was forced to quit. Today, members will vote on a new safeguarding model for the Church that would see it outsourced to a new independent organisation.
Meanwhile the bishop in charge of safeguarding, Bishop of Stepney Joanne Grenfell, admitted the CofE is ‘broken’.
Her comments came as statements from victims of the Church’s worst child abuser, John Smyth, were read out yesterday.
One statement from an anonymous victim said: ‘The moral leadership of the Church of England hinges crucially on the transparency of her leaders.
‘I do not believe full transparency has been shown in this regard. Put more bluntly, some people have been lying.
‘If the Church of England does not show moral leadership, then she will die..’
Meanwhile the bishop in charge of safeguarding, Bishop of Stepney Joanne Grenfell, admitted the CofE is ‘broken’.
Her comments came as statements from victims of the Church’s worst child abuser, John Smyth, were read out yesterday.
One statement from an anonymous victim said: ‘The moral leadership of the Church of England hinges crucially on the transparency of her leaders.
‘I do not believe full transparency has been shown in this regard. Put more bluntly, some people have been lying.
‘If the Church of England does not show moral leadership, then she will die.’