The previous head of the church resigned last November over a sex abuse scandal<\/p>\n
The Church of England has appointed its first female Archbishop of Canterbury, ending 1,400 years of male leadership. Former top British nurse, Sarah Mullally, was installed as the confession\u2019s highest-ranking clergy by a church synod on Friday.
\nThough female priests were first ordained in 1994, women were not permitted to take senior posts until 2014, a reform that followed years of internal schisms and debates within the Church.
\nBefore entering the clergy, Mullally built a distinguished career in nursing, rising to become England\u2019s Chief Nursing Officer. She was ordained as a priest in 2002, and went on to serve as as Bishop of Crediton and then Bishop of London, the Church\u2019s third most senior post. Known for her inclusive stance, she has supported prayers and blessings for same-sex couples, framing her leadership around openness and pastoral care.
\nHer appointment follows the resignation of her predecessor Archbishop Justin Welby last November, after an inquiry found he failed to act on warnings about a pastor who had abused children for decades.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
England\u2019s top Archbishop resigns over sex abuse scandal<\/p>\n
The second-most senior bishop in the Church of England, Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell, who took on caretaker functions after Welby\u2019s departure, has also come under fire after a BBC investigation found he had allowed a priest with a history of abuse allegations to remain in ministry. Though he remains in post.
\nMullally\u2019s promotion has already drawn resistance from conservative factions within the Anglican Communion, particularly in Africa, where leaders have long opposed women in top clerical roles and condemned the Church of England\u2019s liberal stance on sexuality. GAFCON, a grouping of conservative Anglican churches, said the move showed the English church had \u201crelinquished its authority to lead.\u201d<\/p>\n
READ MORE: \u2018Woke\u2019 UK archbishop protected pedophile priest \u2013 media<\/p>\n
The Church of England is a Protestant denomination created in 1534, when King Henry VIII rejected the authority of the Roman Catholic Pope in a divorce dispute. Its titular head is the British monarch, while the Archbishop of Canterbury acts as its primate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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