New archbishop urged to scrap £100m fund over slavery links

The incoming Archbishop of Canterbury has been urged to scrap plans to spend £100 million on the Church of England’s historical links to slavery.

In a letter The Sunday Times sawA group of Conservative MPs and her colleague called on Dame Sarah Mullally to stop the Church from spending the money.

They claim that the funds can legally only be spent on churches and paying clergy salaries.

In a statement to the newspaper, the Church Commissioners said the arrangements for the fund “were developed in a transparent manner in accordance with the aid law”.

Mullally, who currently serves as Bishop of London, will take up her new role as the first female Archbishop of Canterbury next month.

Church of England proposal for slavery links Announced January 2023 Following the publication of a report into the church’s historical links to transatlantic slavery.

reportThe investigation, requested by the Church Commissioners, the church’s funding arm, found that a fund established by the Queen Mother in 1704 to help poor Anglican clergy was used to finance “great evil”.

The fund, known as Queen Anne’s Bounty, invested in and received donations from chattel slavery in Africa, according to the report.

Following the publication of the report, the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said he was “deeply saddened” by the links and that action would be taken regarding the Church’s “shameful past”.

The Church Commissioners have announced a new fund of £100 million committed over a nine-year period to be spent on “a program of investment, research and engagement” in communities harmed by the enslavement of African people during the transatlantic slave trade.

But in their letter to Mullally, MPs and colleagues called on the Church to focus on “strengthening congregations” rather than pursuing what they described as “high-profile and legally dubious vanity projects”.

The letter, whose co-authors include MPs Katie Lam, Chris Philp and Claire Coutinho, adds: “By law, the donation must be used to support church ministry, maintain church buildings and maintain the Church’s historical records.

“At a time when churches up and down the country are struggling to keep their doors open, with many falling into disrepair, it is wrong to try to justify diverting £100 million from these core obligations to a project that is completely different.”

A spokesperson for the Church Commissioners told the Sunday Times: “The Church Commissioners, a 320-year-old Christian perpetual endowment fund, has committed £100 million to establish a new investment fund to support healing, justice and reparation in response to the discovery of historical links to transatlantic African chattel slavery.

“This is consistent with the Church of England’s Fourth Mission Mark: ‘to seek to transform the unjust structures of society, to challenge all forms of violence and to pursue peace and reconciliation’.”

“Governance arrangements are developed in a transparent manner in line with charity law, our fiduciary duties and our moral purpose to ensure appropriate oversight and accountability.”

Mullally will officially succeed Welby at a ceremony at St Paul’s Cathedral in January, before ascending to the throne at Canterbury Cathedral in March.

The 63-year-old, a former NHS chief nurse, was ordained a priest in 2006 and was appointed the first female Bishop of London in 2018; He was the third most senior member of the clergy in the Church of England.

The church has been without anyone in a senior role for almost a year after Justin Welby resigned amid a security scandal.