Archbishop of York’s Christmas Day sermon ‘empty words’, Bishop of Newcastle says

The Bishop of Newcastle has criticised the Archbishop of York’s Christmas Day sermon as “empty words” after he said the Church of England must repent and “be changed”.

Stephen Cottrell said that the Church must “kneel in penitence” after a turbulent year in which senior leaders apologised for their handling of historic allegations of abuse.

Following his service on Wednesday, Bishop of Newcastle Helen-Ann Hartley took to social media to give her verdict, saying: “The Archbishop of York says this today: ‘Right now, this Christmas, God’s Church itself needs to come again to the manger and strip off her finery and kneel in penitence and adoration. And be changed’.

“Empty words. I have no words more than that to describe their meaning.”

Following the resignation of the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, the Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell is to effectively become the temporary leader of the Church of England next month.

Dr Welby stood down in November after a damning report exposed a “conspiracy of silence” about the abuse of children and young men perpetrated by barrister John Smyth. Mr Cottrell has also had to apologise this month over the handling of a sexual abuse case while he was Bishop of Chelmsford.

With Dr Welby out of public view this Christmas and not delivering the 25 December sermon, focus shifted to Mr Cottrell’s speech from York Minster.

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He said in his sermon that the needs of others, including victims of abuse and exploitation must be put first – and challenged people not to “just talk about justice” but act to change things for the better.

Earlier this week, Mr Cottrell acknowledged things “could have been handled differently” after revelations that a priest at the centre of a sexual abuse case was twice reappointed under him while he was serving as bishop of Chelmsford.

Victims of David Tudor have branded Mr Cottrell’s response to the case “insulting and upsetting” and suggested that his resignation or being forced out of his leading role in the Church was “inevitable”.

The archbishop said he was “deeply sorry that we were not able to take action earlier”, insisting that he had acted at the first opportunity that was legally available.

Dr Hartley was among those who criticised Mr Cottrell after his apology.

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In his Christmas Day sermon, Mr Cottrell said: “Right now, this Christmas, God’s Church itself needs to come to the manger and strip off her finery and kneel in penitence and adoration. And be changed.

“At the centre of the Christmas story is a vulnerable child; a vulnerable child that Herod’s furious wrath will try and destroy, for like every tyrant he cannot abide a rival.

“The Church of England – the Church of England I love and serve – needs to look at this vulnerable child, at this emptying out of power to demonstrate the power of love, for in this vulnerable child we see God.

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“If you’re in love, show me. If you have love in your hearts, embody and demonstrate that love by what you do.

“This is what we learn at the manger. Put the needs of others first – those who are cold and hungry and homeless this Christmas.

“Those who are victims of abuse and exploitation. Those who, like the little holy family, have to flee oppression and seek refuge in a foreign land.”

Referring to the musical My Fair Lady, he pointed to the example of Eliza Doolittle who he says is “utterly exasperated by the empty promises”.

Referencing a message for the world, Mr Cottrell raised the importance of deeds over words, adding: “Don’t just talk about justice, don’t just talk about service, don’t just talk about love. Show me.”

Bishop of Dover Rose Hudson-Wilkin gave the sermon at Canterbury Cathedral in place of Dr Welby and spoke of the birth of Jesus as a triumph of “light and hope” over “fear and darkness”.

The bishop, who visited Calais in recent days to meet asylum seekers and volunteers supporting them, said: “The story of Christmas is today’s story – still costly, continuing to reflect vulnerability and the pain of rejection; the pain that comes with repeatedly knocking at the door of the inns of our lives and hearing the words, ‘There is no room’.

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“The story of Christmas is today’s story, relevant to the thousands of people in pain due to being abused, dislocated, in refugee camps, fleeing violence, war, climate change, famine.”

Meanwhile, Bishop of Oxford Steven Croft reflected on a “difficult and eventful year here on planet Earth”, as well as in the Church.

He said: “We’ve seen a crisis of confidence in many of our institutions, including in our own Church.

“We need to pause and take stock at Christmas time. Underneath all of these crises and difficulties, we find a simple question. What does it mean to be human, to live well, to build a good society?”

Dr Welby announced last month that he would resign, after initially declining to do so, in the wake of the Makin Review, which concluded that barrister John Smyth – the most prolific serial abuser to be associated with the Church – might have been brought to justice had Dr Welby formally reported him to police in 2013.

The process to replace Dr Welby is expected to take months, with an announcement about a new archbishop of Canterbury possible in autumn 2025.