Inside the race not to be Archbishop of Canterbury
Yet eight months after Justin Welby quit as Archbishop of Canterbury, following a safeguarding scandal over the serial child abuser John Smyth, the Church of England is still leaderless and is likely to remain so until the autumn. Why is it taking the Anglicans so long?
In the wake of the Smyth scandal, finding a suitable candidate to replace Welby — who fits the bill, has no safeguarding issues in their past, and actually wants the job — is proving far from straightforward. In fact, many potential candidates are shying away from the role of leading the 85 million-strong Anglican Communion. The Anglican church has a longstanding tradition of would-be archbishops claiming nolo episcopari: I do not want to be bishop. On this occasion, however, most of them actually mean it.
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