New Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally, the first woman to lead the world’s Anglican Christians is set to visit Rome and the Vatican this weekend for an audience with Pope Leo XIV.
Mullally will meet the leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics during a four-day trip beginning Saturday, her first international visit since her enthronement last month as head of the Church of England.
The meeting comes 60 years after a landmark 1966 encounter between then-archbishop Michael Ramsey and Pope Paul VI—the first such high-level meeting since the Church of England broke from Rome in the 16th century under Henry VIII.
While relations between the two churches have steadily improved, tensions remain. In 2016, their leaders acknowledged “new disagreements,” particularly over the ordination of women, making Mullally’s visit a significant moment in ongoing efforts toward unity.
At 63, Mullally, a former nurse and mother of two, now leads the global Anglican Communion of around 85 million members. While women have been ordained as bishops in the United States since 1989 and in England since 2014, the issue continues to divide Anglicans worldwide.
The Catholic Church, by contrast, continues to reject the ordination of women as priests, and maintains clerical celibacy, with limited exceptions.
Advocates for women’s inclusion in church leadership have welcomed the visit. Sylvaine Landrivon of the Catholic feminist group Magdala suggested the meeting could prompt reflection within the Vatican.
“If a female archbishop comes to see him, it might give Pope Leo XIV pause for thought,” she said, adding that women “have the same abilities as men.”
A step toward unity
The visit follows a symbolic moment earlier this year when Charles III became the first Supreme Governor of the Church of England to pray alongside a pope.
In a message marking Mullally’s enthronement, Pope Leo expressed hope for a “reconciled, fraternal and united Christian community.”
According to Anthony Ball, the archbishop’s envoy to the Holy See, the meeting offers a chance to build a personal relationship while strengthening institutional ties.
Both leaders face shared challenges—from global issues such as migration, poverty, conflict, and climate change, to internal questions about engaging younger generations.
Both churches have also been shaken by clerical sexual abuse scandals. Mullally’s predecessor, Justin Welby, resigned over his handling of such a case.
Divisions within and between churches
Internal tensions continue to test unity within both the Anglican Communion and the Catholic Church, particularly between conservative and progressive factions over issues such as same-sex marriage, liturgy, and clerical celibacy.
Mullally’s own appointment proved controversial, drawing criticism from some conservative Anglican leaders—especially in Africa—over both her gender and her support for same-sex marriage.
Despite these divisions, Ball described both Mullally and Pope Leo as “careful listeners” committed to dialogue.
“He is taking time to listen and discern how people can move forward together,” Ball said of the pope. “Archbishop Sarah is similar in that regard.”
AFP
