Who is Justin Welby?

Good Society

Left Foot Forward looked at the new Archbishop and his opinions on the issues that are at the epicenter of the church's present problems.

Justin Welby will be ordained as 105th Archbishop of Canterbury this afternoon, taking up the position at a time of division within the Anglican Church and spiraling public apathy towards religion.

In light of this, Left Foot Forward looked at the new Archbishop and his opinions on the issues that are at the epicenter of the church’s present problems.

Gay rights

Most contentiously, Welby supports the Church of England’s formal opposition to active homosexuality and firmly believes “marriage is a lifelong union between one man and one woman”. He openly criticised the same sex marriages bill last month before it was passed in the house commons.

Nevertheless, the new Archbishop has offered to meet human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, who openly scorned the churches opposition to same-sex marriage in an open letter this week. Welby praised the letter as “very thoughtful” and proposed to “explain my own thoughts” and “listen to you in return”.

Tatchell lauded the Archbishops “commendable” response which marks him as the first in the churches history to meet gay rights campaigners.

Women

Welby is also a fervent supporter of female bishops. He matched previous Archbishop Reverend Rowan Williams’ sadness at the churches rejection of plans to admit women to the episcopate, calling the election at the Church of England’s Synod last year “a very grim day, most of all for our women priests and supporters”.

Like his predecessor the new Archbishop seems to be a reformist voice in the Anglican ranks, the fact that Welby will be led to the diocesan throne by Ven Sheila Watson, the first woman to enthrone an Archbishop of Canterbury is perhaps a symbol of the direction the new Archbishop wants to take to heal the fierce divisions within the church and plug the persistent decline in congregation size.

The coalition

The new head of the church has also criticised the coalition’s cuts  – he gave his public support to a letter sent to the Sunday Telegraph which argued that the governments planned cap to welfare would push 200,000 children in to poverty, adding  “it’s children and families that will pay the price”.

The Eton-educated ex-oil executive is also a member of the parliamentary commission on banking standards that investigates corporate transparency and the recent Libor rate fixing scandal.

Like his predecessor, the new Archbishop seems to be a reformist voice in the Anglican ranks, the fact that Welby will be led to the diocesan throne by Ven Sheila Watson, the first woman to enthrone an Archbishop of Canterbury, is perhaps a symbol of the direction which the new Archbishop wants to take to heal the fierce divisions within the church and plug the persistent decline in congregation size.

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7 Responses to “Who is Justin Welby?”

  1. Mick

    Aaah, poor little leftists, unable to see an AoF embracing practices the Bible condemns anyway. Though it’s not as if most active leftists are traditional Christians anyway, so there’s no real loss there.

    Indeed, there’s a greater tendency to embrace Islam, which Rown Williams certainly did when he infamously declared the adoption of Sharia Law into our legal system was inevitable. (He should read the Koran, which calls Jews and Christians ‘the sons of apes and pigs’ before demanding they be converted, oppressed or killed.)

    The last Archie also backed hoodie gangs, also stating they clustered in intimidating gangs because they were frightened of adults, ie normal people. I’ve seen no evidence yet that Welby is as under the influence of left wing stupid. (Google ADULTS TO BLAME FOR FERAL GANGS SAYS WILLIAMS IN NEW CONTROVERSY.)

    The Church needs a less-PC Archbishop who nevertheless moves with the times. And Christians may have just found one.

  2. Mr Reasonable

    This is the most well-written, lucid and cogent piece of prose I have ever read. Simply sublime.

  3. Mat Bob Jeffery

    … Just wondering like… who gets to say who is a traditional Christian?

    You think Jesus was a hard-core free market capitalist?

  4. Mat Bob Jeffery

    for your sins, check out Jesus’ self description of his mission in Luke 4:17-21

    http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%204:17-21&version=NIVUK

    And, for good traditional measure, prostrate yourself on the floor, and cry out

    “Κύριε, ἐλέησον” about seven times.

  5. Mick

    Jesus was certainly fresh in his day – Son of God, humanitarian, top rabbi. I couldn’t say He was some kind of revolutionary in the modern left wing sense.

    Plenty of moderate socialists have been morally conservative though, going to Church when thinking God was the meaning of Life was the norm.

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