The appointment of Sarah Mullally (63) as spiritual leader of the Anglican Church of England could have a negative impact on the Catholic-Anglican dialogue.
Curia Cardinal Kurt Koch, head of the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, made this clear on Sunday at a symposium in Vallendar near Koblenz.
Koch explained that the bishop's positions on sexual ethics issues had led to a split between the conservative Global Anglican Future Conference (Gafcon) and the English mother church.
This raises the question for the Catholic Church as to who will be the ecumenical point of contact in the future: "Who will we dialogue with in the future if the Anglican world community is so divided?"
Dispute over treatment of sexual minorities
In 2023, the General Synod of the Church of England decided, on the recommendation of the bishops, to develop a "comprehensive pastoral service" to welcome LGBTQI+ people - i.e. lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer and people of other gender identities. This met with fierce resistance, particularly in Africa.
As a result, the theologically conservative Anglican network Gafcon broke away from the Church of England.
A few weeks ago, London Bishop Sarah Mullally was appointed by King Charles III as the new Archbishop of Canterbury and thus the spiritual head of the Church of England and honorary head of the Anglican church community.
She is the first woman to hold this office, which she is expected to take up in March.