Sarah Mullally installed as first female Archbishop of Canterbury > Now is a schism developing with the African Church?

 

 

Sarah Mullally becomes first woman archbishop of Canterbury

By Lisa Hornung

   

1 of 2 | Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally meets well-wishers after her installation in Canterbury Cathedral in Britain on Wednesday. The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop, leader of the Church of England, and ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Sarah Mullally is the 106th and first female Archbishop of Canterbury since the role was created in 597. Photo by Neil Hall/EPA

March 25 (UPI) -- Sarah Elisabeth Mullally was installed Wednesday as the first woman to hold the title of archbishop of Canterbury, the leader of the Church of England and the Anglican Communion.

Mullally, 63, is the 106th person to hold the title of the most senior cleric in the Church of England and spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion, which includes some 85 million Anglicans around the world. And she is the only one who isn't a man.

In her first sermon as archbishop, she honored victims of church abuse.

"We hold victims and survivors in our hearts and in our prayers, and we must remain committed to truth, compassion, justice and action," she said.

"In a world already torn by conflict, suffering and division, we must also acknowledge the hurt that exists much closer to home," she said. "We must not overlook or minimize the pain experienced by those who have been harmed through the actions, inactions or failures of those in our own Christian churches and communities."

About 2,000 invited guests attended the ceremonial installment, which is historically called an enthronement, including William, Prince of Wales, and Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales. Prime Minister Keir Starmer was also there. Also in the congregation was a contingent of nurses and caregivers from Canterbury to honor Mullally's former career as a nurse.

While Mullally has served in the position since January, the Wednesday's ceremony marks the symbolic beginning of her service as the archbishop. She was named to the position in October.

She replaced the former archbishop Justin Welby, who resigned in January 2025 over his handling of a sex abuse scandal in the diocese.

A Christian camp organizer, the late John Smyth, had allegedly abused boys at the camp in the 1970s and '80s. A report found that Smyth might have faced charges while he was alive if Welby had reported the abuse when he learned about it in 2013. Smyth died in 2018.

The first archbishop of Canterbury -- St. Augustine -- was enthroned in 587. The Church of England officially allowed women to become priests in 1994.

"As I look back over my life at the teenage Sarah, who put her faith in God and made a commitment to follow Jesus, I could never have imagined the future that lay ahead, and certainly not the ministry to which I am now called," she told the congregation.

Her enthronement is not welcomed by all in the Anglican Communion. Many traditionalists in Britain and abroad still believe that only men can be priests.

Earlier this month in Abuja, Nigeria, conservative clergy selected their own leader to follow, Rwandan Archbishop Laurent Mbanda.

Mbanda issued a statement in January in which he said the "majority of the Anglican Communion still believes that the Bible requires a male-only episcopacy."

In the days before the service, Mullally walked an 87-mile pilgrimage for six days from London's St. Paul's Cathedral to Canterbury Cathedral. She is the first archbishop in modern times to make the trip, which was memorialized in Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales.

Ahead of the ceremony, the Very Rev. David Monteith, dean of the Canterbury Cathedral, said, "Today matters."

Monteith described Mullally as a person of "really deep and profound faith," as demonstrated by her giving up her nursing career, he told The New York Times.

"That's a big, risky thing to do, and it's born of somebody who had a lively sense of faith and connection with God, sufficient for her to hear a call to turn in a different direction and follow another path," he said. "And I think that speaks well to me of somebody of integrity and of depth as well."

After a Thousand Years a Woman is selected as Archbishop of Canterbury

 

Sarah Mullally becomes first woman to lead

Church of England

By Mike Heuer

   

Sarah Mullally (C) departs St. Paul's Cathedral in London after becoming the 106th and first female Archbishop of Canterbury on Wednesday. Photo by Neil Hall/EPA

Jan. 28 (UPI) -- Sarah Mullally was confirmed as the first female and 106th archbishop of Canterbury during a formal ceremony at St. Paul's Cathedral in London on Wednesday.

Mullally, 63, previously was Britain's top nursing officer and had been the Bishop of London since 2018. She said she has received significant support for her appointment as Archbishop.

"There's a sense of the weight of office that I feel, but I've also been very conscious of the huge support that I've had from people either writing [to me] or passing me in the streets," Mullally told the BBC.

She said raising awareness of misogyny will be among her goals in her new role.

Related

• Richard Moth to lead Roman Catholic church in England, Wales
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"It is fair to say that I have, both in my secular role as well as in the church, experienced misogyny at times," Mullally said.

"I'm conscious that being in this role, it's important for me to speak it because there are some that don't necessarily have the status or power of this role and feel more hesitant to do it," she added.

"I commit myself to making an environment where all people can flourish and which is safer for all," Mullally said.

Sounds like a woke mentality. Perhaps even an agenda to change the thousand year old church to make it more welcoming for gay and lesbian leaders.

St Paul wrote that women should not be in a position of authority in the church over men. He cited Eve's disastrous decision in the Garden and her influence over Adam in sharing that decision as reason for men to be responsible for women in spiritual matters. This doctrine has worked in the church for a millenium, but suddenly is not good enough. Watch for trouble between the African church and Canterbury. There will be much spiritual antagonism there,

Mullally's ascent to the Church of England's leading role ends the scandalous term of former Archbishop Justin Welby, who resigned in 2024 due to concerns that he did not do enough to stop a known abuser of boys and young men, who was associated with the church.

Welby was the first archbishop to resign from the Church of England due to a scandal in 1,000 years.

Mullally's rise to archbishop was not universally welcomed within the church.

Some African church elders were unhappy with her confirmation, and others have questioned her ability to protect church members.

Church of Nigeria Archbishop Henry Ndukuba said Mullally's new role as an archbishop runs counter to the "conviction of the majority of Anglicans who are unable to embrace female headship of the episcopate."

Echoing that sentiment, Rwanda Anglican Church Archbishop Laurent Mbanda issued a statement in which he said the "majority of the Anglican Communion still believes that the Bible requires a male-only episcopacy."

Mullally acknowledged such concerns and said she understands that some will find it problematic for a woman to lead the Church of England.

"What I hope to do is to be able to provide a space where I can offer hospitality to people, where I can listen to what their concerns are and, in a sense, find some way in which we can at least have a partnership together in that way," she said.

Mullally acknowledged other concerns that include her support for same-sex marriage and her ability to safeguard church members following the scandal that forced Welby to resign.

The Church of England also recently dismissed a complaint that accused Mullally of protecting an alleged abuser while she was the bishop of London by sharing emails detailing abuse allegations against that person.

Former London Diocese safeguarding adviser Michell Burns has accused the diocese of placing a greater importance on protecting its reputation than addressing the potential abuse of victims.

Bits and Bites > Priest Bites woman during Holy Communion

 

Florida priest bites woman during altercation over Holy Communion

By Sarah Do Couto  Global News

Posted May 24, 2024 11:39 am

 3 min read

A Florida priest may face criminal battery charges after he bit a woman during an altercation over Holy Communion at a Sunday mass.

The Diocese of Orlando told ABC News the incident occurred at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in St. Cloud, Fla. on May 19 while Father Fidel Rodriguez was leading a service.

The religious authority said an unnamed woman attended the church’s 10 a.m. mass and joined the congregation’s line to receive Holy Communion. Rodriguez said he did not know the woman.

Church officials alleged the woman “appeared unaware of the proper procedure,” and was told by Father Rodriguez to receive the Sacrament of Penance (also called confession) before she can receive the Eucharist, as is commonly encouraged.

Rodriguez gave the woman a blessing.

She returned for the church’s 12 p.m. mass and again attempted to receive Holy Communion.

When Rodriguez asked the woman if she’d been to confession, the Diocese alleged she responded that it was “not his business.”

“Father Rodriguez offered the woman Holy Communion on the tongue,” the Diocese claimed. “At that point, the woman forcefully placed her hand in the vessel and grabbed some sacred Communion hosts, crushing them.”

Rodriguez allegedly tried to restrain the woman with his free hand. The Diocese said she then pushed Rodriguez.

Believing that he was responding to a “perceived act of aggression,” Rodriguez bit her hand in an attempt to get her to release the Communion hosts, church officials said.

The woman was then asked to leave the church. She later reported the incident to police and said the priest had been forceful in placing the Eucharist on her tongue.

Police told local news station WDBO they’ve recommended the priest be charged with battery. There have yet to be any charges.

The news outlet obtained police body camera footage from the investigation, which featured a live-streamed recording of the incident. In the video, the woman and the priest are seen engaged in a brief scuffle.

The woman can also be heard calling the Eucharist “a cookie” while speaking to police. She said the priest may have refused to give her Holy Communion because of her “sexuality” or how she was dressed. (The woman was wearing a white button up shirt and black trousers. She did not identify her sexuality.)

Rodriguez told police he did not know the woman and does not care about her sexuality. He maintains he was protecting the sanctity of the Eucharist. He did not deny biting the woman.

“While the Diocese of Orlando does not condone physical altercations such as this, in good faith, Father Rodriguez was simply attempting to prevent an act of desecration of the Holy Communion, which, as a priest, Father Rodriguez is bound by duty to protect,” church officials said. “The Diocese of Orlando believes all people of all faiths should be respected and that their religious ceremonies or services should never be disrupted.”

“The priest was trying to protect the Holy Communion from this sacrilegious act,” the Diocese continued. “In the Catholic Tradition, the Eucharist is considered ‘the source and summit’ of worship and faith. The act of participation in Holy Communion therefore calls for a proper understanding, reverence, and devotion. It is not something a person can arbitrarily demand and is certainly not a mere ‘cookie’ as the complainant called it.”

Berlin Metro Attacker Jailed for Booting Woman Down Stairs in Horror Assault

The 28-year-old man who sparked internet outrage after leaked footage showed him kicking a woman down the stairs of a Berlin metro station has been jailed for nearly three years.

Identified only as ‘Svetoslav S.’, the man was sentenced to two years and 11 months in prison after he was convicted of causing grievous bodily harm by a German court.

Police appealed for witnesses to the October 2016 attack by releasing footage of a young woman being kicked down the stairs of Hermannstrasse U-Bahn station. She suffered a broken arm and head injuries.

Svetoslav admitted to kicking the woman in court, but maintained that he had no memory of the incident as he was under the influence of alcohol, marijuana, cocaine and crystal meth at the time.

The Bulgarian apologized to his victim in court and insisted he only became aware of the incident after watching the footage online like everyone else. “I found it horrible myself when I saw it,” he said, reports Süddeutsche Zeitung.

The sentence was less than the three years and nine months sought by the prosecution after Svetoslav has found to not have full control over his emotions or decisions.

The court heard from his wife, who claimed the pair had fought that night, and Svetoslav had struggled to control his aggression and drug dependency since a car crash in 2008 left him badly injured.

A psychiatric expert testified that Svetoslav suffered a serious head injury in the crash and had reduced culpability as a result of the alcohol and drug abuse. The expert also claimed Svetoslav had an IQ of 63, classifying him as intellectually impaired and unable to control his emotions.

Then you add drugs and alcohol and his IQ was probably closer to half that. Mind you, use of drugs and alcohol should not diminish responsibility or reduce culpability. When we choose to use alcohol or drugs, we are choosing to reduce our mental and emotional capabilities.

Insane Woman Burns Koran, Muslims Go Nuts and Burn Her

Afghan president orders inquiry into woman's killing

Scene of the killing in Kabul. 20 March 2015
A blackened area by the river marks the spot where the woman's body was burned

 From BBC Asia

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has called for an investigation after a mob beat a woman to death in the capital, Kabul, and then set her body on fire.

The woman had been accused of setting fire to copies of the Koran in a nearby mosque.

President Ghani said no-one had the right to stand in judgement and use violence to punish others.

At least four suspects have been arrested in connection with the incident.

The family of the woman, named by Afghanistan's Tolo news agency only as Farkhunda, said she had been mentally ill for some years.

Her parents told Tolo she had not intentionally burnt the Koran.

The BBC's David Loyn in Kabul said some bystanders tried to hold the mob back as the woman was dragged from the Shah-Du-Shamshaira mosque.

After she had been beaten to death, her body was thrown down the bank of a river and set alight.

The woman was attacked outside the Shah-Du-Shamshaira mosque in Kabul
Afghan men feed pigeons in front of the mosque

A number of police from different forces were close by, our correspondent says, including anti-terrorist officers protecting the centre of Kabul.

The head of Kabul's criminal investigation division, Mohammad Farid Afzali, said officers had fired into the air to try to disperse the crowd, but had "reacted too late".

Mr Ghani said in a statement: "No-one has the right to take it upon themselves to act as judge and court, nor to commit violence against anyone for any reason."

He ordered an inquiry into the attack to be conducted by the interior ministry together with the Ulama Council - which oversees religious issues - and the leadership of the mosque.

An Ulama Council member, Ahmad Ali Jebreili, condemned the attack and said it was against Islamic law.

An inquiry and even prosecutions will make not one wit of difference in Islam. This is another example of the hair-pin triggers many Muslims have. Their ability to go from the "religion of peace" to hysterical murderers in seconds makes them dangerous and untrustworthy in any society. Western countries who import these potential, lunatic assassins are importing a whole lot of trouble.