Over the past year, clerics in the Church of England, which Welby headed until a week ago, have approved prayers to be said for same-sex couples while not changing the doctrine of the church, which says that marriage is reserved for heterosexual couples.
On Oct. 24, after saying on a podcast that he backed same-sex marriage, Welby issued a statement clarifying that he was only expressing his personal views. On Oct. 31, GAFCON leaders meeting in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, rebuked the archbishop for supporting the blessing of such unions. The primates urged Welby to repent of the denial of his vows, in which he promised to “teach the doctrine of Christ as the Church of England has received it.”
Several African Anglican bishops regretted Welby’s resignation, including the chair of the GAFCON Primates Council, Archbishop Laurent Mbanda of Rwanda, who said he was saddened by the resignation and called the developments an occasion for grief and self-reflection.
Mbanda said child sexual abuse in the church was a pernicious evil that has brought devastating, long-term effects upon survivors and their families. “Yet their trauma is only exacerbated by negligence or inaction in pursuing and prosecuting perpetrators for their crimes. Such failures to act also grieve the heart of God and bring shame upon his church,” said Mbanda, in the Nov.13 statement.
Anglican Archbishop Stephen Samuel Kaziimba Mugalu of Uganda was more critical in his statement, saying, “Unfortunately, this is the same compromised leadership that has led to the fabric of the Anglican Communion being torn at its deepest level.”
Mugalu was one of the archbishops at the fourth GAFCON conference in Kigali, Rwanda, in April 2023, after the Church of England moved to allow the blessing of same-sex unions, where the primates in attendance announced they had lost confidence in Welby and the Church of England.
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Archbishop Justin Badi Arama, primate of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan, where Welby had traveled recently to promote peace in the company of Pope Francis, is also chair of another group critical of Welby, the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches. In a pastoral statement released the day after Welby resigned, Arama prayed for Smyth’s victims, adding, “It is also a time of great personal challenge for the Archbishop himself and his family, who are coming under great strain. We continue to uphold them in prayer during this difficult time.”
Kenya Archbishop Jackson Ole Sapit regretted that the abuses had gone on for too long, while condemning any act of abuse, oppression and injustices and any form of cover-up. “We call upon the Church of England to extend full support to all affected and to correct such historical wrongs and prevent a repeat of such failures,” he said in a statement.
This article originally appeared here.
