Vatican cardinal warns Sarah Mullally’s liberal views on LGBTQI+ could split Anglican Communion, jeopardizing Catholic ecumenical dialogue.
Newsroom (04/11/2025, Gaudium Press ) The impending elevation of Sarah Mullally as the first female Archbishop of Canterbury has drawn sharp criticism from a senior Vatican cardinal, who warned that her liberal stance on sexual ethics could deepen divisions within the global Anglican Communion and complicate ecumenical talks with Rome.
Speaking Sunday at a symposium in Vallendar near Koblenz, Cardinal Kurt Koch, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, questioned the future of Catholic-Anglican relations amid the rift between the Church of England and conservative provinces.
“Who will we dialogue with in the future if the Anglican world community is so divided?” Koch asked, pointing to Mullally’s role in advancing pastoral provisions for LGBTQI+ individuals.
The 63-year-old Bishop of London was formally appointed by King Charles III several weeks ago and is set to assume the primacy in March, succeeding Justin Welby as spiritual leader of the Church of England and honorary head of the 85-million-member Anglican Communion.
Roots of the Schism
Tensions escalated in 2023 when the Church of England’s General Synod, acting on bishops’ recommendations, authorized the development of special services to welcome lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer, and other gender-identity communities.
The move triggered a decisive break with the Global Anglican Future Conference (Gafcon), a theologically conservative network dominated by African provinces. Gafcon leaders formally severed ties with Canterbury, declaring the mother church had abandoned biblical teaching on marriage and sexuality.
Koch described the fracture as a “split” that leaves Rome uncertain about its primary ecumenical counterpart.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from KNA News
Related Images:
