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The Archbishop of York, who will effectively take over as leader of the Church of England next month, is expected to call for actions rather than words in his Christmas sermon. Stephen Cottrell is due to deliver the sermon as the Church faces abuse scandals. Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby resigned last month after he was criticised for not doing enough to stop a prolific abuser. Mr Cottrell, set to take over many of the Church’s leadership duties on 6 January when Mr Welby leaves his position, has himself faced calls to step down. Some victims directly affected by the Church abuse scandals have spoken about experiencing a difficult Christmas with feelings that they are still not being listened to.
At York Minster on Christmas morning, Mr Cottrell will talk of the need not just to talk about justice and love but to “walk the talk”. He will speak of “the inadequacies of those who talk a good game, but whose words are never embodied in action”. He will talk of helping the most vulnerable, saying: “Put the needs of others first – those who are cold and hungry and homeless this Christmas. Those who are victims of abuse and exploitation.”
“Right now, this Christmas, God’s Church itself needs to come to the manger and strip off her finery and kneel in penitence and adoration,” he is expected to say. “And be changed. At the centre of the Christmas story is a vulnerable child; a vulnerable child that Herod’s furious wrath will try and destroy, for like every tyrant he cannot abide a rival. The Church of England… needs to look at this vulnerable child, at this emptying out of power to demonstrate the power of love, for in this vulnerable child we see God.”
Mr Cottrell has been under scrutiny over his handling of a priest in his charge, David Tudor, who had been barred by the Church from being alone with children but who for years remained in his post.
In November the Archbishop of Canterbury resigned following a report that criticised his handling of John Smyth who abused more than 120 boys and young men.
Other bishops have confronted the Church crisis head on in their Christmas messages. The Bishop of Oxford, Steven Croft, who has faced his own calls to resign, spoke of “a crisis in confidence in many of our institutions, including in our own Church”. Churches around the country are focussing on a gospel story of hope defying darkness, but this year with an unusually troubled backdrop, local clergy are hearing frustration from parishioners.
“It’s just a magical time for the community, but this month has been really hard to be in the Church of England because of all that’s going on. It’s an institution that’s probably in crisis really,” said Rev Matt Woodcock, vicar at St Stephen’s Church in York. “There is a sense that people feel really confused and disappointed with what’s going on, and just longing for some leadership to get things sorted out,” he says, adding that he has often felt the need to apologise for the institution to which he belongs.
One woman has told of her profound disappointment at the response of the national Church leadership to the abuse she says she faced. The woman, who does not want to be identified, says she was sexually abused as a girl in the 1980s by the priest David Tudor. She only discovered last year that Tudor had been allowed back into the Church after suspension and had served as a priest for nine years under Mr Cottrell.
“I will find it difficult to listen to [a Christmas sermon from] Stephen Cottrell and not separate the message that he’s putting across from what I know,” she says.
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