The Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally has resigned amid criticism over her handling of sexual abuse.
The Church of England has appointed Dame Sarah Mullally as the first female Archbishop of Canterbury since the church was founded in 1534.
The ceremony took place in Canterbury Cathedral on Wednesday, and was attended by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, as well as Prince William and his wife, Catherine, Princess of Wales.
In her speech, Mullally, a former NHS nurse, pledged to stand up for victims of historic abuse, and focus on safeguarding and accountability.
“We must not ignore or minimize the pain experienced by those who have been hurt through the actions, inactions and failures of those in our churches and Christian communities,” He said.
The new Archbishop’s predecessor, Justin Welby, resigned following widespread criticism of his handling of the cover-up of sexual abuse by prominent church lawyer John Smyth in England and Africa in the 1970s and 1980s.
Mullally himself has come under fire in the media recently, after what some saw as his failure to take a strong stand against a parliamentary bill seeking to outlaw late-term abortions in the UK. Currently, women in the UK can seek an abortion up to 24 weeks into pregnancy, with some exceptions.
“I don’t think women responsible for their pregnancies should be prosecuted, but I also don’t want to see any increase in abortions later,” Mullally said in the House of Lords last week. He emphasized that he would not support the amendment regarding abortion.
The bill is currently being debated by the upper house of the British Parliament. Although the Archbishops of Canterbury are less politically influential than they historically were, they have a seat in the House of Lords along with other archbishops and are involved in passing legislation.
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