Addressing more than 650 bishops from around the world at the once-a-decade Lambeth conference, Justin Welby said: “We are not free to choose who our brothers and sisters are… We should passionately seek the visible unity of church. But this is very difficult, because it so often leads to criticism in our society.” Welby felt the full force of such criticism this week when broadcaster and author Sandi Toksvig accused him of endangering the lives of LGBTQ+ people after he said the controversial 1998 statement was “not disputed”. Following Toksvig’s open letter to the archbishop and his “shredded gang”, Welby agreed to her suggestion that the pair meet to discuss the issues. On Friday, in his second keynote speech at the conference, held in Canterbury, Welby said the global Anglican church of 85 million must be a place of “non-violent revolution”, championing justice and challenging the “selfishness of the rich”. . . The church must not “tolerate what is wrong because it fits the culture or we’ve always done it that way, or because our lawyers say so. We must remain rebellious.” As climate change “wreaks havoc around the world”, he raised the prospect of the wealthy retreating behind “high, armored walls”. Welby tried to focus global attention on issues such as the climate crisis, inequality and conflict, but the vicious issue of sexuality remained central. The conservative Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches, which claims to represent 75% of all Anglicans, said it “cannot accept a plurality of views on essential truths”. Justin Bundy, the archbishop of South Sudan, told a news conference on Friday: “We [the Global South] they represent the global face of Anglicanism. We hear the call to return to biblical faith.” The world church could not “continue limping between two different opinions.” Orthodox bishops were “obliged before God not to ‘live and let live’ under the guise of simply walking along continuing dialogue with those who have left the way (or path) of truth,” he said. Meanwhile, 170 archbishops and bishops issued a statement affirming the “sanctity of the love of LGBT+ people”. Many LGBT+ people had been “historically wounded by the church and particularly hurt by the events of recent weeks.” Jayne Ozanne, a prominent campaigner for LGBT+ equality within the church, said she was “overwhelmed by the level of support and concern … for the global LGBT+ community.” Ozan added: “We must now look at practical ways to help educate people about sexuality and gender identity and share the theological basis that has led so many to affirm and celebrate same-sex relationships.” Broadcaster and Church of England cleric Richard Coles said the Archbishop of Canterbury’s job was “very tough”. He told BBC Radio 4’s The World at One: “He has to try to hold one together [global church] in which there is a huge diversity of opinion. Many of the churches take a very conservative line, and there are a growing number of churches that take a more liberal line. He has to somehow try to find a way to hold it together.” Welby’s position was “vicious”, he added, with the post of Archbishop of Canterbury being one that almost always “devoured the holder”, he said.
