It is an ancient ritual that saw Dame Sarah Mullally installed as the first-ever leader of the Church of England at St Paul’s Cathedral in London on Wednesday. Mullally, 63 years old, married and mother of two adult children, became the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury yesterday. The Church of England has just over a million members and has a historically central position as the “mother church” of the Anglican Communion. However, today it only represents a small proportion of the 85 million Anglicans worldwide.
Previously, in addition to being Bishop of London, she was also a nurse and, between 1999 and 2004, Chief Nursing Officer, a role overseeing the roles of nurses in the English health system. In 2005 she was knighted a “Dame”. After training to be a minister, Mullally worked in various clerical roles, including at Salisbury Cathedral. In 2015, when women were admitted as bishops for the first time, she filled this position in the Exeter region of western England. In 2018 she was appointed Bishop of London, which also gave her parliamentary functions in the British House of Lords.
After Resignation of her predecessor Justin Welby A year ago, she was chosen as his successor in October. In times of political division and in view of the uncertainty of the world situation, she wanted to pray for spaces in which bread could be shared together. When she was appointed yesterday, she said it was about highlighting what people had in common.
Mullally is accused of not having made any efforts to be transparent when it comes to the issue of abuse in the church
In doing so, she promised to listen to those whose voices are ignored or unheard, including victims and survivors of abuse within the church. It wants to further strengthen protective procedures and measures against abuse and make them independent of church influence. It is an issue that Welby stumbled upon because he is said to have failed to publicize abuse within church structures. Critics also accuse Mullally of not having made any efforts to be transparent on the issue in the past. She now obviously wants to correct this impression.
Opponent of euthanasia
Other demands that the archbishop has made so far include better social and palliative care. Mullally also spoke out against attempts to legalize euthanasia. She wants to continue to pursue reparation payments of 100 million pounds for the church’s involvement in transatlantic slavery, although a group of conservative politicians strongly criticized this: This would mean that the church communities would deprive themselves of their funds.
Mullally is not without controversy among Anglicans. Even during her ceremonial appointment, a man loudly declared his rejection, although he did not stop the ceremony. Mullally told Britain’s BBC that she had encountered misogyny both in her secular career and in the church and was aware of the importance of her speaking out about it.
It is also controversial for some Mullally’s support of blessings of LGBTQIA+ couples. At the same time, however, she maintains that church marriage can only be a marriage between a man and a woman. Mullally supports abortion rights for others, while her own choice is more “pro-life,” as she once put it.