Former Anglican bishop warns of Catholic conversion surge as Anglican Communion splits over liberal reforms, coinciding with King Charles III’s Vatican visit.
Newsroom (24/10/2025, Gaudium Press ) A former Anglican bishop has called on Catholic leaders to brace for a surge of conversions from the Anglican Communion, as deepening divisions over liberal reforms culminated in a historic break with the Church of England, coinciding with King Charles III’s landmark Vatican visit on Oct. 23, 2025.
Msgr. Michael Nazir-Ali, who joined the Catholic Church in 2021 after serving as Anglican bishop of Rochester from 1994 to 2009, told OSV News that the Church of England’s shift toward liberal Protestantism has abandoned its claim to Catholic apostolic succession. “We’re already seeing a significant new wave of conversions, and the church needs to consider how best to respond,” he said.
The warning comes as the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON), claiming to represent at least half of the world’s 85 million Anglicans, severed ties with the Church of England over the appointment of Bishop Sarah Mullally of London as the 106th archbishop of Canterbury on Oct. 3, 2025. GAFCON accused Mullally, the first woman in the role, of promoting “unbiblical and revisionist teachings” on marriage and sexual morality, particularly for supporting same-sex blessings. Her nomination followed the July 25 appointment of Cherry Vann, a lesbian in a same-sex partnership, as Anglican archbishop of Wales.
“The Archbishop of Canterbury has functioned not only as Primate of All England but also as spiritual and moral leader of the Anglican Communion,” said GAFCON’s statement, signed by Rwandan Bishop Laurent Mbanda, chair of its Primates Council. “Due to the failure of successive Archbishops of Canterbury to guard the faith, the office can no longer function as a credible leader of Anglicans, let alone a focus of unity.”
Msgr. Nazir-Ali, a Pakistan-born scholar educated at Cambridge, Oxford, and Harvard, expressed respect for Anglicans striving to uphold orthodox Christian teachings within their church. However, he criticized GAFCON’s emphasis on the autonomy of Anglican provinces and Scripture as the “sole foundation of communion,” arguing it fosters chaos. “The Catholic Church agrees Scripture is the highest authority in matters of faith — but relying on Scripture alone is dangerous,” he said. “If each province is free to do what it likes, this is a recipe for chaos in today’s fast-changing world.”
The Anglican rift unfolded as King Charles, supreme governor of the Church of England, made a conciliatory state visit to the Vatican, where he joined Pope Leo XIV and Anglican Archbishop Stephen Cottrell of York for an unprecedented ecumenical prayer service in the Sistine Chapel. Msgr. Nazir-Ali noted that while King Charles constitutionally approved Mullally’s appointment, he was not “personally implicated” in the Church of England’s recent decisions. Still, GAFCON provinces have signaled they will boycott the Anglican Communion’s decennial Lambeth Conference and other international meetings, complicating ecumenical ties with Catholics.
“While some older differences seemed to be set aside during this Vatican visit, new differences have now emerged,” Msgr. Nazir-Ali told OSV News. “Orthodox Anglicans are unlikely to stay with the liberal Protestant remnant which the Church of England is becoming.”
Cardinal Vincent Nichols, chairman of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, pledged to maintain “bonds of friendship and shared mission” with Anglicans. Dominican Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe, based in Oxford, praised Mullally’s “calm grounding in faith” and her potential to foster unity, likening her to Pope Leo XIV. However, Msgr. Nazir-Ali, who served on two international Catholic-Anglican commissions, dismissed prospects for “organic unity” between the traditions. “We can keep talking in a friendly way, as we do with people of other faiths — but any hope of restoring unity has, short of some miracle, gone out of the window,” he said.
Archbishop-designate Mullally, in a statement, emphasized her commitment to “listening deeply, serving faithfully, and fostering unity” across the Anglican Communion’s 42 national churches. Meanwhile, the Anglican Consultative Council will convene in Belfast in June 2026 to discuss structural reforms, while GAFCON meets in Nigeria in March to elect new leadership.
Father Marc Homsey, national ecumenical officer for the English and Welsh bishops, told OSV News that the Catholic Church remains committed to dialogue with Anglicans, though he described the Anglican Communion’s governance as an “internal matter.” The Catholic Church has not rescinded Pope Leo XIII’s 1896 declaration in Apostolicae Curae that Anglican holy orders are “absolutely null and utterly void.”
- Raju Hasmukh with files from OSV News
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