How the next Archbishop of Canterbury will be appointed as favourite Stephen Cottrell rejects call to resign
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The King and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer both have roles to play in the process of appointing the new archbishop. Archbishop of York Stephen Cortrell has apologised as scrutiny mounts over his handling of Church of England-linked sexual abuse case in 2019, leading to fresh questions around who will become the next Archbishop of Canterbury.
![[Justin Welby with the King at his coronation]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/11/12/16/3fa33df15c3bfde56cf5d12dee76680eY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzMxNTEzNDA2-2.72045046.jpg)
A BBC investigation has alleged that in a previous post as Bishop of Chelmsford, Mr Cottrell allowed priest David Tudor to remain in post despite knowing that he had been banned from being alone with children and had paid compensation to a sexual abuse victim.
![[Guli Francis-Dehqani has been tipped as a possible successor to Justin Welby]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/01/29/10/Bishop%20Guli%20Francis-Dehqani.jpg)
Mr Cottrell has apologised for not taking more immediate action, but has appeared to reject calls for his resignation, saying: “I am deeply sorry that we were not able to take action earlier, but that was the situation I inherited.”. The situation marks another damaging episode for the crisis-gripped Church of England. In November, Justin Welby resigned as the Archbishop of Canterbury after coming under sustained pressure over his handling of a Church-linked abuse case.
Mr Cottrell is due to take over as temporary leader of the Church of England in just three weeks’ time, as a new Archbishop of Canterbury is formally selected. Yet the process for electing the successor is far from simple. While several senior Church figures have been touted, it is unlikely that they were be named until the late spring, as multiple consultations, shortlisting and interviews are set to take place.
