The Church of England must show it can manage disagreement “gracefully” over issues such as women bishops and gay marriage, the new Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said on Sunday.
Welby said the Church faced the “challenge” of showing society that its members can hold different views but still remain “gracefully and deeply committed to each other” before it could be a “sign to the world” of peace and reconciliation.
“We need to understand reconciliation within the Church as the transformation of destructive conflict, not unanimity,” he said.
“It doesn’t mean we all agree, it is that we find ways of disagreeing, perhaps very passionately but loving each other deeply at the same time, gracefully and deeply committed to each other.
“That is the challenge for the Church and that is the challenge if the Church is actually going to speak to our society which is increasingly divided in many different ways, here and overseas, over huge issues.”
Welby made the remarks in a wide-ranging interview for Easter Sunday on Premier Christian Radio.
The 57-year-old former oil executive who left the industry in 1989 to be ordained was due to preside over his first Easter sermon at Canterbury Cathedral on Sunday.
One of his predecessors as leader of the world’s Anglicans, George Carey, on Saturday accused Prime Minister David Cameron of making Christians feel marginalised because he had backed the legalisation of gay marriage and other policies.
Carey spoke out following comments Cameron made at a pre-Easter reception for faith leaders at which he urged them to oppose “aggressive secularisation”.
“It was a bit rich to hear that the prime minister has told religious leaders that they should ‘stand up and oppose aggressive secularisation’ when it seems that his government is aiding and abetting this aggression every step of the way,” Carey said.
But Cameron used his Easter message to hail the “incredible role” played by Christian churches and organisations in Britain and across the world.
“As long as I am prime minister, they will have the support of this government,” he said.
Church of England must disagree 'gracefully'
