Archbishop of York likely to call on Church of England to ‘kneel in penitence’ over abuse scandals

By Nur Asena Erturk

The archbishop of York is expected to call on the Church of England to “kneel in penitence” over numerous abuse scandals, according to local media on Wednesday.

This comes as the church has faced criticism over how it handled abuse scandals.

Stephen Cottrell, the archbishop of York, who will temporarily replace the archbishop of Canterbury, is expected, during his Christmas Day Sermon, to call on the church to "kneel in penitence and adoration," and "be changed," according to UK broadcaster Sky News, referring to extracts from his upcoming speech.

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby announced his resignation in November after a damning report showed that he failed to report to police a prolific child abuser associated with the church.

Findings of an independent review by Keith Makin, a former social services director, revealed that Welby and other senior church officials had enough information in 2013 to report allegations against John Smyth to authorities but failed to act.

Smyth, a prominent Christian barrister and summer camp leader, was accused of physically and sexually abusing boys and young men in the UK in the 1970s and 1980s and later in Zimbabwe and South Africa. He died in 2018 without being brought to justice.

Welby is due to step down on Jan. 6, with Cottrell taking charge until a permanent replacement is found, which is expected to take six months.

The Archbishop of Canterbury is the Church of England’s senior clergyman.

Cottrell is also facing pressure and calls for resignation after it turned out that priest David Tudor, who is at the center of a sexual abuse case, was twice reappointed under him while he was the bishop of Chelmsford.