The Archbishop of Canterbury has admitted it is almost impossible for a divided global Church of England to reach a consensus on sexuality after facing sharp criticism for upholding a 1998 declaration that gay sex is a sin.
Addressing more than 650 bishops from around the world at the once-a-decade Lambeth conference, Justin Welby said: “We are not free to choose who our brothers and sisters are… We must passionately seek the visible unity of the church. But this is very difficult as it will so often lead to criticism in our society.
Welby felt the full force of such criticism this week when broadcaster and author Sandy Toksvig accused him of putting the lives of LGBTQ+ people at risk after he said the controversial 1998 declaration was “not in doubt”.
After Toksvig’s open letter to the archbishop and his “fine-clothed gang”, Welby agreed to her suggestion that the two meet to discuss the issues.
On Friday, in his second keynote address to the conference held in Canterbury, Welby said the 85-million-strong global Church of England should be a place of “non-violent revolution”, championing justice and challenging the “selfishness of the rich”.
The church should not “tolerate what is wrong because it fits the culture or we have always done it this way or because our lawyers say so. We must remain revolutionaries”.
As climate change “wreaks havoc around the world”, he raised the prospect of the wealthy retreating behind “tall, armored walls”.
Welby seeks to focus the global gathering on issues such as the climate crisis, inequality and conflict, but the vexed issue of sexuality remains central.
The conservative Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches, which claims to represent 75% of all Anglicans, said it “cannot accept multiple views on fundamental truths”.
Justin Badi, the archbishop of South Sudan, told a news conference on Friday: “We [the Global South] represent the global face of Anglicanism. We issue a clarion call for a return to biblical faithfulness.”
The global church could not “continue limping between two different opinions.” Orthodox bishops are “obliged to God not to ‘live and let live’ under the guise of simply walking together in ongoing dialogue with those who have strayed from the path (or path) of truth,” he said.
Meanwhile, 170 archbishops and bishops issued a statement affirming “the sanctity of the love of LGBT+ people.” Many LGBT+ people have been “historically hurt by the church and especially hurt by the events of the past few weeks.”
Jane Ozan, a prominent campaigner for LGBT+ equality within the church, said she was “overwhelmed by the level of support and concern … for the global LGBT+ community.”
Ozan added: “Now we need to look at practical ways to help educate people about sexuality and gender identity and share the theological foundation that has led so many people to affirm and celebrate same-sex relationships.”
Broadcaster and Church of England priest Richard Coles said the Archbishop of Canterbury’s job was “very difficult”.
He told BBC Radio 4’s The World at One: “He has to try and hold together a [global church] in which there is a huge variety of views. Many of the churches take a very conservative line and there is a growing number of churches that take a more liberal line. He has to somehow try to find a way to hold this together.
Welby’s position was “adverse”, he added, with the post of Archbishop of Canterbury being one that almost always “swallows up the incumbent”, he said.
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