The archbishop of York has been the subject of a revolt by a significant minority of members at the Church of England’s ruling body after an attempt was made to block his opening address.
A third of members of the General Synod declined to give Stephen Cottrell their backing, by either voting in favour of the move to prevent his speech or abstaining.
The action was intended to “send a message to the nation” that his position was no longer tenable, said Sam Margrave, who moved the motion.
It came after a senior bishop again called for Cottrell to quit, saying it was inappropriate for him to be “leading change that the church needs at this time”.
Helen-Ann Hartley, the bishop of Newcastle, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I think he is the wrong person. I think to be in that position of leadership, you have to talk the talk and walk the walk, and you can’t have one without the other. And I think for him to have allowed [a priest accused of abuse] to remain in post, I do find abhorrent.”
But Beverley Mason, bishop of Warrington, who made a complaint of sexual harassment against a fellow bishop, said she did not support demands for Cottrell to quit.
In a letter to fellow synod members, she said: “I would like to openly and publicly state that I do not support such calls and would ask that in our pursuit of good and transparent processes and structures that are fit for purpose, we do not weaponise or personalise this endeavour to the detriment of individuals.”
In his opening address at the start of a tense and demoralised five-day meeting of the synod, Cottrell acknowledged he had made mistakes and pledged to work to rebuild trust in the C of E.
Cottrell, the de facto leader of the C of E until the next archbishop of Canterbury is appointed, told its ruling body that he was “deeply dismayed by our failings” and “determined we make the changes necessary that will prevent these failings ever happening again”.
Cottrell told the synod that Justin Welby, who took the unprecedented step of quitting as archbishop of Canterbury in November, “did an honourable thing in standing down”.
He added: “Let’s not squander the opportunity this vacancy creates to be a better, more accountable and more transparent church.”
Welby resigned as England’s most senior cleric in November after an investigation into John Smyth, a sadistic abuser of young Christian men, found that he had failed to take effective action. His departure plunged the C of E into crisis.
Cottrell has also faced repeated calls to stand aside over his alleged failures in two cases, one of a priest who allegedly abused women, and the other of the former bishop of Liverpool who left his post last month after claims of sexual misconduct emerged.
In recent weeks, the church had “rightly seen a level of scrutiny that none of us have ever seen before, Cottrell said.
“All of us, and I assure you I begin with myself, must be subject to proper processes of accountability.” That sometimes meant “it is no longer appropriate for someone to hold public office. Sometimes criminal proceedings.”
Trust had been broken and confidence damaged. “And I am more sorry about this than I can say. I know mistakes have been made. I have made mistakes.”
The church must rebuild trust, apologise when it had got things wrong, seek to make amends and ask for help when it was needed, Cottrell said.
