Mullally Named First Woman Archbishop of Canterbury

Sarah Mullally has been named the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury, becoming the first woman to lead the Church of England and the spiritual head of roughly 85 million Anglicans worldwide. The 63-year-old former chief nursing officer and Bishop of London, who was ordained in 2002 and was made a dame in 2005, said she will bring a ministry of listening, hope and healing. She succeeds Justin Welby, who resigned amid a sex-abuse cover-up scandal, and Mullally has pledged to tackle misuse of power and widespread safeguarding failures. Her appointment has been welcomed by many religious and state figures, including King Charles III and officials at the Vatican’s ecumenical office, which expressed hope she could be an instrument of communion and unity. Conservative Anglican leaders, especially in parts of Africa, criticized the selection and warned it will not resolve deep theological and cultural divisions over women’s leadership and same-sex relationships.